Wild, Wacky, Wonderful Central City, Colorado

Last weekend I visited 

historic Black Hawk and Central City;

it's one of the many things I love to do in Colorado.

Our friends John and Cindy flew in from California, 

and we headed up Clear Creek Canyon

to the Ameristar in Black Hawk.

        Ameristar, Black Hawk                                               Good Friends!

Before long, we were off to see the sights!

The guys quickly tired of accompanying 

two photo-snapping history buffs

and stopped at the Bonanza to play blackjack.

Terry and John

Main Street, Central City

So Cindy and I fast-tracked it to Eureka Street

to explore some famous landmarks, 

after giving the guys some unheeded advice:

Tee-Shirt Spotted in a Window,

Central City, Colorado

To walk along Eureka Street 

in Central City, Colorado

is to travel back in time

more than one hundred years.

Eureka Street from the Steps of the

Old Gilpin County Courthouse

All the buildings that lined Eureka Street,
between the old courthouse and Main Street 
on the morning of May 21, 1874 
are still standing,
except one ~
the white wood Presbyterian Church.

It, along with much of downtown Central City,
was destroyed during the disastrous fire
that started in the Chinese quarters
mid-morning on the 21st.

As Cindy and I walked along 
this stretch of Eureka Street,
it was easy to imagine the wild and heady days
of the Pikes Peak Gold Rush.

Prospectors in "Pikes Peak" Region of Western Kansas Territory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pikes_Peak_miners.jpg

The gold rush began in July 1858
when Colorado was part of
the Kansas Territory
and lasted until Colorado
became the Territory of Colorado in February 1861.

Colorado in Western Kansas Territory

(to left of line passing through a in Kansas and dividing 1854)

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kansasterritory.PNG

Early in July 1858, 
William Greeneberry Russell 
found the first significant gold in Colorado:
a small placer deposit 
near the mouth of Little Dry Creek 
in present-day Englewood, 
a suburb of Denver.

Russell's find was quickly followed
on May 6, 1859,
by John H. Gregory's rich discovery  
of the first Colorado vein or "lode" gold 
in Gregory's Gulch
between the future 
Black Hawk and Central City.

Some 100,000 people poured into this region
desperately seeking gold; 
a fortunate few struck riches,
especially in and around the Gregory Lode,
an area which later became known as
the Richest Square Mile on Earth.

Quartz-Sphalerite Specimen 

from the Glory Hole Mine

Central City District

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quartz-Sphalerite-266439.jpg

The story of the gold rush frenzy
is written in the mine dumps
scarring the hills surrounding the two mining towns.

Mine Dumps on the Hills 

Between Central City and Black Hawk

Before long Cindy and I were standing in front
of a prominent landmark on Eureka Street,
the old Gilpin County Courthouse
which now functions as the
Gilpin County Administrative Center.

Old Gilpin County Courthouse

203 Eureka Street

Central City, Colorado

Lamont & Ballard built the courthouse in 1900

from a Baerrenson Brothers' design

out of Fort Collins stone and yellow brick 

for the princely sum of $30,000.

It is a beautiful example of Italianate architectural style

with its arched, triple entrance

topped by a balcony and center gable

and its symmetrical square corner towers

and three-story wings.

Source:  

Up in the Gulch:  A Walking Tour Guide of Black Hawk, Central City, and Nevadaville,

by Cathleen Norman and Linda Jones,

Preservation Publishing for the Gilpin County Historical Society, Lakewood, 2005.

Outside the courthouse

Cindy and I received a wacky offer we couldn't refuse!

"Would you like to see the jail cells in the basement?"

asked a young male employee.

Would we?  Are you kidding!

Down we went into the dimly lit basement,

as Sean/Shawn/Shaun regaled us 

with stories of ghosts and poltergeists 

who haunt the courthouse basement

and shuffle chairs in the upstairs courtroom.

Many of the former cells have been removed

to provide storage room,

but enough remains to get a feel for

what it must have been like

to be locked away in a basement cell.

Inside the Gilpin County Courthouse Jail

An Inviting Cell!

Basement,

Gilpin County Courthouse

Afterwards Sean/Shawn/Shaun

showed us the old courtroom upstairs.

In it hangs a beautifully restored Centennial Flag.

This flag has 38 stars, 

and it was America's national flag

from 1877 to 1890.

Each star represents a state in the USA at that time.

The thirty-eighth star stands for Colorado

which became a state on August 1, 1876.

Presidents Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, and Harrison 

served under this 38-star flag.

http://www.usflag.org/the.38.star.flag.html

Historic Centennial Flag

Courtroom, Gilpin County Courthouse

After Sean/Shawn/Shaun returned to work,

Cindy and I went outside to see my favorite artifact

in the Central City/Black Hawk Historic District,

the wonderful little burro 

that stands outside the old courthouse.

Courthouse Burro

This little burro represents the many burros

who worked in the mines of Black Hawk and Central City.

Sturdy, sure-footed, and trustworthy

this small beast of burden 

has a unique place in the history of Colorado.

Burros accompanied prospectors and carried their supplies

throughout the Colorado mountains,

hauled in building materials for mining camps,

pulled ore wagons in the mines, 

and packed ore along treacherous trails.

Burro Train with Ore

from the Gold Mines, Colorado

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Burro_train%2C_with_ore_from_the_gold_mines

%2C_Col._U.S.A%2C_by_Singley%2C_B._L._%28Benjamin_Lloyd%29.png

One day 

I will know the little burro's full history.

This day, 

Cindy and I learned another piece of its story

when we chanced to talk with Tom Miller,

proprietor of Bevie Sue's Emporium

and long time resident of Central City.

Tom told us that there were 

many stories about the courthouse burro, 

but his went way back and was the true one.

There were a pair of burros named Jack and Jennie

who hauled ore on Chain O Mines properties

in and around Central City.

One day, when Jack was working

in one of the company's mines,

a miner accidentally placed 

a stick of dynamite with a blasting cap

in the little burro's ore wagon.

As Jack was pulling the ore wagon,

it hit a bump and the cap detonated.

Part of me wishes I hadn't learned that.

A Burro Named Jack

Gilpin County Courthouse

Wild, wacky, wonderful Central City

never fails to deliver an interesting time!