The History of The Brighton Depot
"Handsome New Union Pacific Depot at Brighton" May, 1907

The History of Brighton, Colorado is wrapped up in its railroad depot more than any other building in the community. A series of depots stood in the same place for more than a century. In fact, there was a depot in Brighton long before there was a city. It was the location of the depot which provided the impetus for the city.

Stage Coach lines were organized to connect Denver and the mountain mining towns with the East and West coasts. The people of Colorado expected the new transcontinental railroad to follow the same route, but the Union Pacific chose a shorter route which bypassed Denver in favor of Wyoming.  When the tracks reached Cheyenne, many Denver merchants relocated to that city, predicting Denver’s fate as a ghost town.

In desperation, the Denver business community organized the Denver Pacific Railway and Telegraph Company to construct their own railroad between Denver and Cheyenne.  Their plans called for a spur line at the 40th parallel running west to the Erie coal fields.  It was at the junction of these two lines that the city of Brighton was built.