Records of the Colorado Beekeepers Association

The Colorado Beekeepers Association (also known more recently as the Colorado State Beekeepers Association) was organized in Salida, Colorado, in 1938 and has provided information and resources for commercial beekeepers as well as hobbyists. Beekeeping has been practiced in Colorado since 1862, and an earlier organization, the Colorado State Bee Keepers Association, was created in 1880 but ceased operations sometime after 1914.

According to the Colorado Beekeepers Association's 1938 constitution, it was organized for the purpose of "producing better beekeeping methods, better beekeepers, and a more unified system of apicultural work in Colorado." To accomplish those goals, the association invited local and national experts in the field to speak at annual association meetings, promoted legislation related to apiary inspections and honey marketing, and served as an umbrella organization for local beekeeping organizations in the state.

After 1950, the association cooperated with entomologists from the state agricultural college in Fort Collins to produce an informational newsletter called the "B Notes." Updates on bee research and legislation relevant to beekeepers were also disseminated at two association meetings each year: a summer gathering in Salida and a winter meeting held in Denver for many years. Since the 1990s, annual winter meetings have been located in Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Glenwood Springs, and Longmont, and summer meetings have been held in Glenwood Springs and Silt, Colorado.