Pioneer Monument Foutain

The Pioneer Monument

A stop on the Denver audio-guided tour, this monument stands on Cheyenne Place. Contrary to what one might think, the square already bore this name at the end of the nineteenth century, in tribute to the people of the Cheyenne nation, a rare thing for the time.

The end of the Smoky Hill Trail

The ensemble celebrates the figure of the pioneer in an idealised vision of the conquest of the West. The monument symbolically marks the end of the Smoky Hill Trail, a perilous six-hundred-kilometre route linking Kansas to Denver. Nicknamed the starvation route, it drew thousands of adventurers towards the Pike's Peak gold fever in 1859; many never reached their destination.

What to see

In 1905, the elites of Denver decided to honour these pioneers, and the Pioneer Monument Fountain was installed here in 1911. The work, by the sculptor Frederick MacMonnies, aroused in its time a fascinating controversy revealing the tensions of the era. Observe this monument with the perspective that history invites us to bring to the conquest of the West.

Practical information

The Pioneer Monument is on Cheyenne Place, in the centre of Denver. Freely accessible, it can be seen at any time.

What does the Pioneer Monument symbolise ?

The end of the Smoky Hill Trail, a perilous route linking Kansas to Denver during the gold rush.

Why was the route nicknamed the starvation route ?

Because many adventurers did not survive it, victims of storms, dangers and thirst.