# 3885 sq km of Colorado officially independent from the US for three days every year? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 21, 2009, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915 "2009-09-21T06:56:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/1 "2009-09-21T06:56:26Z")
…or so the “It’s True!” column in the newspaper tells me - apparently the result of some sort of border/surveying dispute. Which three days each year does this happen? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/2 "2009-09-21T07:14:20Z")
Never heard of it and it is basically impossible at face value. Do you have a link? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/3 "2009-09-21T07:21:27Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Never heard of it and it is basically impossible at face value. Do you have a link? No. Just the “fact” given in the newspaper. Would a child born in the area during those three days be a US citizen? Are the normal federal and state laws suspended for three days each year, resulting in a crime wave? ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/4 "2009-09-21T07:45:22Z")
Ahah! It helps if I search on the imperial equivalent of 3885 km[sup]2[/sup], which just happens to be about 1500 miles[sup]2[/sup]. Which leads to this [Trivia Page](http://www.trivia-library.com/b/united-states-trivia-and-history-quiz-answers-part-4.htm) entry: > [@](#): > > 1. There is a 1,500-sq.-mi. section of northern Colorado, west of Denver, not owned by the U.S. three days a year. According to the records of the General Land Office, this territory “was acquired neither through the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the Texas annexation of 1845, nor by treaties with the Utes who apparently never claimed it.” This un-American region–its residents possibly not U.S. citizens–included the town of Breckenridge. To check this further, in 1977 the Almanac editors called the Colorado Bureau of Land Management, who admitted the questionable area “was blank” on their maps, showing no admission date to the U.S. According to the Colorado Historical Society, a strip of land 90 mi. long and 30 mi. wide in the Breckenridge area had been a no-man’s-land due to an early surveyor’s error, but was offically made part of the U.S. on Aug. 8, 1936, with a special proviso that the area retain “the right to be a free and independent kingdom three days each year.” Since then, a “No Man’s Land” festival has been held annually in August. However, part of the region may still not be U.S. territory. If any readers have further information, let us know. The original source is given as: > [@](#): > > © 1975 - 1981 by David Wallechinsky & Irving Wallace > Reproduced with permission from “The People’s Almanac” series of books It all sounds rather dubious. Can anyone confirm that this area of land is indeed “a free and independent kingdom three days each year”? ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/5 "2009-09-21T07:53:34Z")
[This](http://www.abbettplacer.com/history.cfm) sounds a little more plausible: > [@](#): > > An error was discovered in the drawing of two important U.S. annexation maps: one map covered the Continental Divide to the eastern slope, and the other from the Continental Divide to the western slope. Where the maps were supposed to meet, a 40-mile strip of land from Hoosier Pass to Slate Creek through central Summit County had been omitted. This ungoverned void gave the good-humored residents of the area the idea that their County Seat could become its own Kingdom. Never missing the opportunity for a party, the “Kingdom of Breckenridge” established No Man’s Land Day. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/6 "2009-09-21T14:33:44Z")
I live and work in Breckenridge (well, real close anyway). And I work for the GIS department for Summit County. The story I heard, was that Breckenridge was mistakenly left off of a USGS map some years ago. Hence, the ‘Kingdom’ of Breckenridge. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/7 "2009-09-21T16:58:24Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > The original source is given as > > > [@](#): > > > > © 1975 - 1981 by David Wallechinsky & Irving Wallace > > Reproduced with permission from “The People’s Almanac” series of books > > It all sounds rather dubious. When I see something sourced to Wallechinsky & Wallace, my dubious-o-meter always seems to go off right away. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/8 "2009-09-21T17:02:36Z")
Hell, we don’t let _other countries_ be “free and independent kingdoms.” You really think we’d allow something like that within our own borders? The “People’s Almanac” was compiled by people who spent a great deal of their day smoking their running socks. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/9 "2009-09-21T17:40:29Z")
From the cite above: > [@](#): > > There is a 1,500-sq.-mi. section of northern Colorado, … a strip of land 90 mi. long and 30 mi. wide in the Breckenridge area Uh, isn’t a strip of land 90 miles x 30 miles actually **2700** square miles? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/10 "2009-09-21T17:42:01Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I live and work in Breckenridge (well, real close anyway). And I work for the GIS department for Summit County. > > The story I heard, was that Breckenridge was mistakenly left off of a USGS map some years ago. Hence, the ‘Kingdom’ of Breckenridge. Jesus. What are the odds that such a unique topic would come up on these boards for a tiny little parcel of land regardings it historical survey and geographic history, and someone from the friggin’ GIS department of that county would be a long standing member on this board?!? Unbelievable! ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/11 "2009-09-21T17:45:15Z")
> [@SCSimmons](#): > > When I see something sourced to Wallechinsky & Wallace, my dubious-o-meter always seems to go off right away. Preach it. The _People’s Almanac_ was cool as shit when I was in the fifth grade, but then when I actually started thinking about some of what they said it just didn’t make sense. Like that guy who ‘disappeared’ into the fourth dimension. Everything about that story sounded more like he fell into a sinkhole or something and met the unfortunate fate of having a stupid family. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/12 "2009-09-21T18:55:43Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > Would a child born in the area during those three days be a US citizen? Are the normal federal and state laws suspended for three days each year, resulting in a crime wave? If laws are suspended, how could there possibly be any crime? ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/13 "2009-09-21T19:10:35Z")
The United States most assuredly secured sovereignty over the area in question via the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and it has been part of the United States ever since. The fact that some dingbat left it off of a survey map, decades later and long after the demarcation of the frontier, affects that not in the slightest. As for the three days, it’s a little joke indulged in by the good citizens of Breckenridge, much like the “Conch Republic” in the Florida keys. Rest assured, if you commit a federal crime during the annual Kingdom-fest, the feds will have _no trouble_ in prosecuting you to the fullest extent of the law. Which is another way of saying, as so often, “It’s true!” is a synonym for, “It’s bullshit!” ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2009, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/14 "2009-09-21T21:21:20Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > From the cite above: Uh, isn’t a strip of land 90 miles x 30 miles actually **2700** square miles? Holy smokes, there’s **another** 1200 square miles of independent land! ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/15 "2009-09-22T01:27:37Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > From the cite above: Uh, isn’t a strip of land 90 miles x 30 miles actually **2700** square miles? Presumably the strip in question isn’t very close to rectangular. Much in the way that Israel is sometimes described as 263 miles by 71 miles and yet only has an area of 7,992 sq miles instead of 18,673 sq miles. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/16 "2009-09-22T12:13:10Z")
> [@Valgard](#): > > Holy smokes, there’s **another** 1200 square miles of independent land! Shhh!! Don’t tell the feds! ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/17 "2009-09-22T15:14:06Z")
If this was even remotely true the wackos who consider themselves to be libertarian would be there in droves. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/18 "2009-09-22T17:34:55Z")
Not quite the same thing, but I’ve heard similar stories about how the wedge of land on the south end of the Oregon-Idaho border formed by the meridians not lining up belongs to neither Oregon or Idaho. If you look at the land survey grid around the area, it seems to give it to Oregon, but there are some very funny shaped sections in there. I’m guessing since the area in question is miserable scrubland, it’s never been an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/19 "2009-09-23T02:52:02Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > Not quite the same thing, but I’ve heard similar stories about how the wedge of land on the south end of the Oregon-Idaho border formed by the meridians not lining up belongs to neither Oregon or Idaho. If you look at the land survey grid around the area, it seems to give it to Oregon, but there are some very funny shaped sections in there. > > I’m guessing since the area in question is miserable scrubland, it’s never been an issue. My understanding is that borders are as surveyed and not legally described so if the original surveying were off but accepted by the states in question, then it is the legal border. With the advent of GPS, it would be an interesting question if states would be willing to resurvey their borders in accordance with the legal description. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915/20 "2009-09-23T03:54:05Z")
I meet a guy once who found a tiny sliver of unclaimed land that existed in Denver? Colorado. I think it had never been claimed because of survey errors that created a tiny no mans land. He made a claim for it though some legal process and got it. Built a house on it too. At least thats how I recall the story. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/3885-sq-km-of-colorado-officially-independent-from-the-us-for-three-days-every-year/510915.md?page=2)