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In the early to mid 1800s, the nomadic Southern Arapaho Native American tribe frequently wintered at the base of the foothills in the Boulder area. Chief Niwot and his band called the site their home. Other nomadic tribes included the Utes, Cheyennes, Comanches, and Sioux. The first recorded European settlers in the area were gold prospectors who arrived in 1858, when Boulder was part of the Nebraska Territory (The former boundary between Nebraska and Kansas territories is the present Baseline Road in Boulder).

The "Boulder City Town Company" was founded on February 10, 1859. Boulder's first school house was built in 1860, followed by the creation of the Colorado Territory in 1861. In 1871 then 'Boulder City' was incorporated. In 1873 the railroad was extended to Boulder and, in 1890, the Boulder Railroad Depot was constructed to serve as a station for the Union Pacific Railroad. In 1876 Colorado was granted statehood, and in that same year the University of Colorado at Boulder opened. Mining gold, silver, and coal continued to be a prominent part of the local economy until the mid 1900s. A coal miners strike lasted from 1910 to 1915, causing a military presence in nearby Louisville. Mining's relevance in the local economy declined in the 1940s, when the city began actively recruiting clean industry, such as the National Bureau of Standards, which today is the National Institute of Standards and Technology. (Home of the atomic clock.)

Streetcars operated in Boulder from the late 1800s through 1931. A lobbying group exists today to restore the streetcar to Boulder, albeit with a new route. Boulder adopted an anti-saloon ordinance in 1907. Statewide prohibition started in Colorado in 1916 and ended with the repeal of national prohibition in 1933.

Boulder was the second city in the United States to implement the Hare (or Single Transferable Vote) method of voting in 1917. It was repealed in 1947. On January 19, 1952, the Denver-Boulder Turnpike opened as a tollway between Boulder and the northern Denver suburb of Westminster. In 1967, the bonds for building the highway were paid off early, its tollway status was lifted, and it became part of U.S. Highway 36.