Bird’s-eye view of Black Hawk

Bird’s-eye view of Black Hawk. . , Gilpin County, Colorado , Black Hawk History , Take an adventure in and around this venerable, most informative lithograph: , This bird’s-eye view of Black Hawk shows Gregory Gulch at the top of the map’s center – and Chase Gulch to the right of Gregory Gulch. Both gulches feed into North Clear Creek, which courses in a meandering, through primarily horizontal, route from the left to the right side of the map. The mills, the foundries, the homes and businesses occupy the small areas of somewhat level ground as well as the stone-buttressed terraces up the steep hillsides. The Colorado Central Railroad follows North Clear Creek and then on up to Central City, across hillsides and gulches, in a 4-mile spur with two switchbacks. The Gilpin Tram had not been built in 1882 – the year that this lithograph was drawn. Notice also that by 1882, the hillsides were bare –the trees had been used for fueling the mill furnaces and construction of buildings.

Surviving Buildings , . Commercial/dowtown buildings: the ca. 1860’s Rohling Block, the 1875 Jenkins-McKay Hardware Building, the mid-1880’s Gilpin Hotel, and many more; , . A portion of the Polar Star Mine in Chase Gulch (no. 4 on the lithograph) is a survivor and is evidence of the mills and their processing of ore in Black Hawk. Mill, foundries and related businesses, no’d 3,5-11, 13-15 on the lithograph, no longer exist. Much of the land along North Clear Creek, formerly occupied by the mills, is now the home of Black Hawk’s large and well-appointed casinos, together with their lodging and dining facilities. , . Residential homes built in the latter half of the 19th century may be found in abundance with one of the finest examples being the Carpenter Gothic-style ‘Lace House’ on Main Street. , . Public Buildings: the 1870 Schoolhouse, the 1863 Presbyterian Church, the 1877 City Hall; , . The Colorado Central Railroad ran its trains to Black Hawk for the last time in the year 1941. The Gilpin Tram had ended its near 40-year life span in 1917. , Both vital railways left the area as the US entered World Wars I and II. The tracks, depots, and trestles are now gone. , . The population of Black Hawk has declined from a high of 2,000 in the late 1880’s to the current 140. The church that sits above the commercial center alongside the public schoolhouse has been converted to city offices. The schoolhouse functions as the police station. The history of Black Hawk is presented at the Gilpin County Museum, housed in the original school in Central City.