Nebraska Territory
On May 30, 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act created the Kansas Territory and the Nebraska Territory, divided by the 40th parallel north. The Pike's Peak Gold Rush of 1858-1861 lured thousands of gold seekers into the goldfields of the northwestern Kansas Territory and the southwestern Nebraska Territory. On February 28, 1861, the western portion of the Kansas Territory and the southwestern portion of the Nebraska Territory were incorporated into the new Colorado Territory. The 40th parallel became the primary baseline for surveying the land in the eastern portion of the new territory, and a road was eventually cut along the survey baseline.