James P. Maxwell came to Colorado in 1860. After mining and lumbering in Gilpin County, he settled in Boulder County in 1863. Maxwell served in the Territorial Legislature and the first State Senate. As a surveyor and entrepreneur, he was involved in development of the Maxwell and Mapleton Hill areas of Boulder, construction of Silver Lake and other irrigation ditches, and building and improving early roads. Also a rancher, Maxwell was Boulder’s second mayor and a First National Bank president.