Hampden South (Denver, Colorado)

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Originally, the Hampden South neighborhood was part of the vast land holdings of Rufus Clark, better known as "Potato Clark." Clark homesteaded 160 acres in July of 1859, including Overland Park, and amassed a fortune over the next eight years by raising potatoes which he sold for 35 cents a pound. During these years he continued buying up land in the Denver area until he had accumulated over 20,000 acres. One large tract of over 15,000 acres was located 7.5 miles southeast of Denver. He sold that tract to an English concern for colonization. This area became known as "Clark Colony."

The neighborhood, still largely undeveloped, became part of the City and County of Denver through a series of 11 annexations between 1962 and 1972. This accounted for 20 percent of the city's physical growth over that decade.