Barnum began as a nineteenth-century Denver suburb, developed as a haven for working-class families. P. T. Barnum’s involvement with his namesake’s development has become part of Denver folklore, especially in the durable legend of the showman’s plan to establish a winter home for his circus in the city. Beginning in the 1950s, large numbers of Hispanic residents, whether from long-established Colorado families relocating to jobs and opportunities in Denver or relatively new immigrants from Mexico, began to make Barnum a distinctly Hispanic neighborhood. In 1950, just ten percent of Barnum’s residents were Hispanic; three decades later, in 1980, a majority of its residents (50%) were Hispanic.