Editing Broomfield, Colorado (section)

==History==
The Broomfield post office opened on September 26, 1884.<ref name=CPO>{{cite book|title=Colorado Post Offices 1859–1989|first1=William H.|last1=Bauer|first2=James L.|last2=Ozment|first3=John H.|last3=Willard|date=1990|publisher=[[Colorado Railroad Museum|Colorado Railroad Historical Foundation]]|location=[[Golden, Colorado]]|isbn=0-918654-42-4}}</ref> Historians speculate that the town was named for the [[sorghum]] grown in the area, also known as broomcorn, which had stalks that were sold to make brooms and whisk brooms.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Connor |first=Colleen |date=April 27, 2016 |title=Broomfield's historic train depot evokes forgotten history in Colorado |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2014/03/16/broomfields-historic-train-depot-evokes-forgotten-history-in-colorado/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205212405/https://www.denverpost.com/2014/03/16/broomfields-historic-train-depot-evokes-forgotten-history-in-colorado/ |archive-date=December 5, 2021 |access-date=April 11, 2023 |website=[[The Denver Post]]}}</ref>

Several railroads figure in the development of this area. The [[Colorado Central Railroad]] built a [[Narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge]] line from [[Golden, Colorado|Golden]] in 1873; the Denver, Utah and Pacific Railroad arrived in 1881; and the Denver, Marshall and Boulder Railway built a line through what is now Broomfield in 1886. The Denver, Utah and Pacific was widened to [[Standard-gauge railway|standard gauge]] in 1889. One of the early names for the area was Zang's Spur, after the railroad spur serving Adolph Zang's grain fields.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Broomfield |url=https://www.broomfield.org/386/History-of-Broomfield |access-date=April 23, 2024 |website=City and County of Broomfield |publisher=City and County of Broomfield}}</ref>

The [[U.S. Route 36 in Colorado|Denver–Boulder Turnpike]] was constructed through the Broomfield area to speed automobile travel between the state capital of [[Denver]] and the university city of [[Boulder, Colorado|Boulder]]. Construction of the [[toll road]] began in 1950 and the turnpike was opened to traffic on January 19, 1952, with the sole toll plaza at Broomfield with access to [[U.S. Route 287 in Colorado|U.S. Route 287]] through the town.<ref name=DBT>{{cite web|url=https://www.mesalek.com/colo/dbt.html|title=Colorado Highways: The Denver-Boulder Turnpike|first=Matthew E.|last=Salek|date=17 November 2013|access-date=December 27, 2024}}</ref> The toll to travel from [[U.S. Route 287 in Colorado|Federal Boulevard]] in [[Adams County, Colorado|Adams County]] to Broomfield was 10 cents and the toll from Broomfield to Boulder was 15 cents, or 25 cents for the whole route.<ref name=DBT/>

The City of Broomfield was incorporated on June 6, 1961, in the southeastern corner of [[Boulder County, Colorado|Boulder County]].<ref name=MuniIncCO/> The Denver–Boulder Turnpike was a common [[commuting]] route and Broomfield became a popular residential area. On September 14, 1967, having paid off its construction and operating expenses, the turnpike was made free and became the official route of [[U.S. Route 36 in Colorado|U.S. Route 36]] between Denver, Boulder, and the [[Rocky Mountain National Park]]. The turnpike became the first public toll road in the United States to become free.<ref name=DBT/>

In the 1990s, after three decades of aggressive annexation, the City of Broomfield had expanded into [[Adams County, Colorado|Adams]], [[Jefferson County, Colorado|Jefferson]], and [[Weld County, Colorado|Weld]] counties in addition to Boulder.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 10, 2022 |title=Broomfield with Legacy County Boundaries |url=https://broomfield.org/DocumentCenter/View/15268/Broomfield_W_Legacy_County_Boundaries |access-date=April 22, 2024 |website=City and County of Broomfield |publisher=City and County of Broomfield}}</ref> City leaders felt increasing chagrin with the need to deal with four different county governments, four separate county sales tax bases, and four separate court districts. They began pushing to make Broomfield a consolidated city-county similar to [[Denver]], reasoning that they could provide services more responsively if Broomfield had its own county government.

The city sought an amendment to the [[Constitution of Colorado|state constitution]] to create a new county. The amendment was passed in 1998, after which a three-year transition period followed.

On November 15, 2001, Broomfield County became the 64th and least extensive [[List of counties in Colorado|county of Colorado]]. It is the newest county in Colorado (and in the entire United States, if [[County (United States)#County equivalents|county equivalents]] are not included).<ref>{{cite web |date=October 8, 2021 |title=Substantial Changes to Counties and County Equivalent Entities: 1970-Present |url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/technical-documentation/county-changes.html |access-date=April 22, 2024 |website= |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau}}</ref>