Strange But True: Tesla Produced Artificial Lightning in Colorado

Colorado is full of history, and while some stories have been taught in schools for a number of years, certain anecdotes from the Centennial State's past are almost stranger than fiction.

Read More: Colorado History: How Coors Survived During Prohibition |

One of these stories that isn't exactly common knowledge involves a legendary scientist conducting equally legendary experiments in the hills just outside of Colorado Springs.

Nikola Tesla Produced Artificial Lightning in His Colorado Lab

Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-American scientist and inventor, is perhaps best known for creating the coil that shares his surname.

Get our free mobile app

Interestingly, for a short time between the years of 1899 and 1900, Tesla conducted experiments in a lab located just outside of Colorado Springs, including some that generated millions of volts of power.

This lab would house the largest Tesla Coil in existence, measuring nearly 50 feet in diameter, which was used to create artificial lightning.

Tesla chose to relocate from his lab in New York City to the Centennial State for the purpose of having more room to conduct experiments that included producing charges up to 135 feet long that, despite his lab being located outside of the Olympic City, could be seen from the streets below.

Unfortunately, Tesla's time in Colorado would be short-lived, as the scientist's final journal entry from this lab was dated January 7, 1900. It was around this time that Tesla was sued for unpaid debts.

The Tesla Experimental Station on Knob Hill in Colorado Springs was torn down in 1904 and much of the equipment was later sold to satisfy these debts, marking the end of a short, yet legendary, era.