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| 1881 Denver newspaper article | 
 Since the 1970s, local newspaper articles have mentioned that Fountain was at one time in the running for state capital of Colorado.  It is said that in 1859, a meeting was held in Fountain to organize a state government in the Pikes Peak region, and that in 1888, Fountain vied for political prestige as capital city.  The explosion destroyed Fountain's chances of becoming a new state capital.
I have been unable to find any documents supporting this claim, but neither have I found any documents against it.  Since none of us were there, we may never know.  Here is what I learned in the process of researching this article.