Colorado grew in the 1860s due to the discovery of gold in the Denver area and the Front Range mountains. Below is a mov

2. Colorado grew in the 1860s due to the discovery of gold in the Denver area and the Front Range mountains. Below is a movie scene created by Thomas Edison.

3. Today’s Lesson The first gold strike that brought miners and settlers to Colorado happened in the Denver area in 1858. The first discovery of gold was along the South Platte River and led prospectors up the streams into the mountains to find the source of this gold. This is the story of the first large mining district in the mountains above Denver where gold was found.

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7. Gregory and the Russells In 1858 a group of Georgia miners, led by William Russell of Auraria , GA. had found some gold in the foothill streams along the Rockies and had become Colorado’s first real pioneers. News of their discoveries reached John H. Gregory at Ft. Laramie, Wyoming. He was enroute to some Canadian mines. Immediately he started south. He prospected extensively to the Vasquez Fork of the South Platte River. He followed up the river alone to prospect wherever the creek forked, and to follow the branch that looked the most promising. Arriving at the area by Black Hawk, Gregory felt certain that he had found the gold. But before he could prove this, a heavy snowstorm occurred which almost took his life. He went to the Denver area for the winter. He was able to locate the gold and stake claims in May of 1859. He was an expert at finding gold and was soon selling claims to others.

8. View of Black Hawk and Gregory Gulch, Colorado, . Church appears in upper right (dedicated 1863); near left foreground is Main Street, and The Gilpin Hotel.

9. Central City On the hill above Blackhawk more mining towns began to appear. The main town on the hill was Central City. Many mines covered the hills in the whole area.

10. Central City, Colorado, is shown during its early days in the 1860's in this view. People arrived in the area by covered wagon. Buildings line the dirt streets of the mining town.

11. About Central City and Black Hawk One story is that a miner's supply store in the area had a sign over the entrance "Central City Store." Central City, the cradle of Colorado, was born. Its official name: The City of Central. The first newspaper published in the mountains was the Rocky Mountain Gold Reporter and Mountain City Herald. Its first issue was dated August 13, 1859. A later newspaper,The Register Call is still being published. Within three months the area contained about 300 buildings with a population of between 2,800 and 3,000, nearly all of whom were miners. The December 21, 1859 issue of The Rocky Mountain News estimated: "From a million and a half to two millions of dollars in dust has been taken out.” In 1859, gold was worth about $16.00 per ounce. One and one-half to two million dollars worth of gold at that price would weigh between 90,000 and 125,000 ounces.

12. View of the Iron City Mill in Black Hawk, Gilpin County, Colorado. The mill is between a tramway and a branch of the Colorado and Southern (C&S) Railway.

13. Gold Rush Songs Here are the first lines of some songs from the gold rush days which may have been sung by the miners in Black Hawk/Central City. First line of song: My name is Joe Bowers First line of song: Oh, don't you remember sweet Betsy from Pike First line of song: I've just got in across the plains First line of song: When I left the States for gold First line of song: When the gold fever raged I was doing very well First line of song: Come all ye poor men of the north who are working for your lives First line of song: Now if you listen to the tale I will tell First line of song: Since times are so hard, I'll tell you, my wife First line of refrain: Oh leave ye miners, leave First line of refrain: Oh miners, poor miners, hungry and cold First line of refrain: Don't go there, I pray, stay away if you can 

14. Miners pose near the shaft house of the Bobtail Mine near Black Hawk, Gilpin County, Colorado.

15. Several older residents remember encounters with the Ute Indians in Black Hawk as recently as the turn of the century. The Utes would visit Black Hawk to perform dances and in later years would ask certain familiar residents for food.  Standing studio portrait of unidentified Native American (Ute) men and a woman; the men wear wrapped braids, shirts, leggings, moccasins, and blankets. The woman wears a dress, shawl, and moccasins.

16. John Evans to Abraham Lincoln, October 26, 1863 (Telegram reporting discovery of gold in Colorado)

17. General Correspondence. 1833-1916.John Evans (Gov) to Edwin M. Stanton (Sec. of War) , December 14, 1863 (Indian affairs in Colorado)

19. Rivalry Among the Cities Black Hawk and Central City are adjacent to one another, and the two towns have been rivals since their founding in the 1850s. In the late 1800s, a post office was built in Central City. Residents of Black Hawk were envious, and hooked the post office up to a team of horses in the middle of the night and dragged the building to Black Hawk. The next night, residents of Central City dragged it back to their town. Postal officials then decided to build a post office in both towns.

20. More Interesting Stories One Black Hawk resident in the early 1900s would ride his trained pig to school. The pig would wait for him at the small schoolhouse until school was over and then take him home. A submarine was built in Black Hawk and put into a lake. Somehow it sank and was removed at a later date.

21. Title printed on back of stereocard, with: "No 130. The silver bars, thirty in number, here presented, are the product of the Boston & Colorado Gold and Silver Smelting Company, Black Hawk, Colorado, and are piled in front of the Company's bullion rooms. They weigh 2,200 lbs., and are worth $45,000."

22. Central City Opera House The people of Central City wanted to have entertainment and show their wealth and ability to enjoy the finer points of life.

23. This is the interior of the Opera House.

24. Exterior front view of schoolhouse, Black Hawk, Colorado. A bell canopy is on the roof ridge and protects what is said to be the first school bell west of the Mississippi. The porch sits atop a rock wall about 12 feet high.

25. Band in Black Hawk Nine men sit and stand with brass instruments and drums in Blackhawk, Colorado. Left to right - Upper row: Snare drummer unknown, J.J. Hamllik, George Stroehle, D.D. Lake, Albert Lintz. Lower row: Adam Schussler, Tulley Jones, Aleck Newton, Alec Carson.

26. A miner poses in the shaft house of the Black Hawk Mine in Gilpin County, Colorado. The machinery includes the hoist that has "Vulcan Iron Works Wilkes-Barre PA U. S. A." embossed on the platform, and center crank engines.

27. Hardware Store B. T. Wells, Frank Lowell, W. S. Wells pose with group of children, and other men in front of their hardware store, Black Hawk, Gilpin County, Colorado. Three women, with potted plants, sit on the sills of the upper windows of the brick two story building. Bow saws, pans, bird cages, lanterns and wheelbarrows are displayed in the storefront.

28. Changes in Black Hawk and Central City Mining in the area stopped after World War II, because the U.S. government stripped the town of most of its steel and iron, , and the town's economy was almost completely devastated. Benefiting from its scenic location, Black Hawk and Central City became a favorite site of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and other members of the "Beat Generation." Later, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and others performed in Central City and visited Black Hawk. In late 1990, to save Black Hawk and Central City from closing, The towns' residents and the voters of the State of Colorado decided to permit limited stakes gambling, including low stakes black jack, poker, and slot machines.

29. Recent Changes Gambling brought great economic benefits as well as the diminishing of Black Hawk's small town magic. Nearly one half of the town's original residents moved away after gambling began. Today, thousands of gamblers descend upon the town every day. The town now has a little more than 100 residents, and gaming provides Black Hawk with an annual budget of over $16 million.

30. "Black Hawk Waltz: Tales of a Rocky Mountain Town"

31. Challenges Ahead Black Hawk and Central City have based their future on gambling to survive. Many changes have occurred in the area in the past 15 years, making Black Hawk a successful gambling place. Central City has struggled with the changes and needs a vision for the future.

32. The End The next pages are primary sources and Colorado standards.

33. Sources for this Presentation http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/papr:@field(NUMBER+@band(edmp+1173)) Cripple Creek bar-room scene Early Films Collection http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/map_item.pl Map of Colorado territory Map Collection of Library Of Congress http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~cescott/jhgregory.html John H. Gregory picture and coin No collection – article written for historical society http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query Gold Rush Songs Northern California Gold Rush Songs of the Thirties

34. http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?10017630+X-17630 Hardware store pic History of the American West Collection http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?10002145+X-2145 Band History of the American West Collection

35. http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?10060034+X-60034 Silver bricks - Boston and Colorado Mining CO. History of the American West Collection http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?11001514+Z-1514 Ute Indians History of the American West Collection http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?10060836+X-60836 Iron City Mill in Black Hawk History of the American West Collection http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/co/co0000/co0023/photos/ 021362pv.jpg Inside the Opera House History of the American West Collection

36. continued http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/co/co0000/co0023/photos/021358pv.jpg Opera House History of the American West Collection http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mal/mal1/286/2866500/001.jpg Letter to Stanton about Indians The Lincoln Papers Collection http://www.wakan.com/projects/black_hawk.htm Movie about Black Hawk No collection - Wakan Foundation

37. continued http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?00120586+L-586 Picture of Central City History of the American West http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mal/mal1/275/2751000/001.jpg Letter to Lincoln on Gold discovery in Colorado http://memory.loc.gov/mss/mal/mal1/286/2866500/001.jpg Letter about Indian affairs from Evans to Stanton http://photoswest.org/cgi-bin/imager?10060942+X-60942 Miners at Bobtail mine History of the American West Collection

38.  Gold Rush Songs Tending the Commons Collection

39. 1.3 Students use chronology to examine and explain historical relationships.

40. 2.1 Students know how to formulate questions and hypotheses regarding what happened in the past and to obtain and analyze historical data to answer questions and test hypotheses.

42. 4.3 Students understand the historical development and know the characteristics of various economic systems.

43. Colorado Model Content Standards GEOGRAPHY

44. 2.3 Students know how culture and experience influence people's perceptions of places and regions.

45. 3.2 Students know the characteristics and distributions of physical systems of land, air, water, plants, and animals.

46. 4.4 Students know the processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement.

47. STANDARD 5:5. Students understand the effects of interactions between human and physical systems and the changes in meaning, use, distribution, and importance of resources.

48. STANDARD 6:6. Students apply knowledge of people, places, and environments to understand the past and present and to plan for the future. 6.1 Students know how to apply geography to understand the past.