Gilpin County, Colorado
Black Hawk History
Take an adventure in & 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 . . . — — Map (db m51885) HM
Gilpin County, Colorado
Black Hawk History
Discover the City’s Raucous and Civilized Past in Our Lively History Tour.
Amaze your friends—with fun facts to know and tell—as you discover the City’s raucous and civilized past via our . . . — — Map (db m287400) HM
Gilpin County, Colorado
Black Hawk History
Business
Businesses flourish in the late 1800s as the population of Black Hawk peaks with a population of 2,000.
Latest by Telegraph! Black Hawk Taken, John Armor Evacuates! Martin & Robb in . . . — — Map (db m287397) HM
Gilpin County, Colorado
Black Hawk History
Fire Department
Miraculously, the town of Black Hawk was spared the devastating fires that destroyed many early mining camps.
“As we go to press (2 a.m.) a terrible fire is raging on the . . . — — Map (db m287338) HM
Gilpin County, Colorado
Black Hawk History
Floods
Mining activities, the construction of mills, homes and access roads, together with the tremendous use of wood for fuel deforested the surrounding hillsides and caused frequent flooding in . . . — — Map (db m287402) HM
Gilpin County, Colorado
Black Hawk History
Main Street
“A sudden turn in the road discloses a view of Black Hawk, with its charming church perched above the town, on the extremity of the headland which separates Gregory Gulch from that of . . . — — Map (db m287341) HM
Historically, miners worked six hours at a time in four core shifts: forenoon core, 6 am to noon; afternoon core, noon to 6 pm; night core, 6 pm to midnight, last core, midnight to 6 am.
Mining Scars
“Two miles of rapid descent, and we . . . — — Map (db m289480) HM
Gilpin County, Colorado
Black Hawk History
Public School
Prominently situated on the hillside overlooking the commercial downtown, the classically-detailed wood frame and clapboard schoolhouse proclaimed education to be highly valued in . . . — — Map (db m287336) HM
Gilpin County, Colorado
Black Hawk History
Railroad Trestles
To reach Black Hawk, the railroad constructed the open framework of diagonal braces or trestles to span the region’s gulches. The steep slopes required the train to reverse . . . — — Map (db m287337) HM
Gilpin County, Colorado
Black Hawk History
Transportation
Early miners reached Black Hawk by any means possible–on horseback or on foot tugging pack mules, later via supply-laden wagons and eventually by time-saving train.
“…the . . . — — Map (db m287340) HM
On this site stood the Colorado Central Railroad’s “Quartz Mill Depot”. The structure was constructed by William Loveland from the remnants of the New York Mill. To accomplish this, large doors were built into the building. The tracks, . . . — — Map (db m93084) HM
Long operated by William Fick and his family, this blacksmith shop turned out a superior brand of rugged, durable quartz wagons that hauled ore from the mines to the mills along Clear Creek. The Bull Durham sign was painted by traveling artists for . . . — — Map (db m51883) HM
Standing the Test of Time
Founder’s Clock
Black Hawk History Gold Mining Co. Mylo Lee, Dr. Frederick H. Judd, & William L. Lee
Principals of the Black Hawk Gold Mining Company and Founders of the City of Black . . . — — Map (db m287428) HM
One of Black Hawk’s newer buildings, the 1896 structure was built by Julius Kline (or Klein), replacing an earlier wood building that was the site of Black Hawk’s first school. It operated sporadically throughout the 20th century under a variety of . . . — — Map (db m51882) HM
Gilpin County, Colorado
Black Hawk History
Gregory Street Crossing
The Colorado Southern Narrow Gauge Railroad (originally the Colorado Central Railroad) was vital to Black Hawk. During the late 1800’s aside from rugged wagon roads, it . . . — — Map (db m51886) HM
Gregory Street
Gregory Street was home to two of Black Hawk’s early breweries, the Chicago and the Excelsior. These two breweries were both located at the intersection of Gregory and Church Streets. The breweries flanked Church Street, with . . . — — Map (db m287426) HM
Gilpin County, Colorado
Black Hawk History
Gold & Silver
First by ore wagon, and later by train, tons of precious rock were sent to Black Hawk for various processes designed to extract the maximum amount of gold from the quartz ores. . . . — — Map (db m287407) HM
John H. Gregory first discovered gold in Colorado in 1859. The narrow ravine in which he panned the free or surface gold, was hailed as “the richest square mile on earth.” Within months, as the word Gold! spread, Gregory Gulch filled with . . . — — Map (db m287421) HM
Gregory Street’s
Floods and Flumes
Although Black Hawk was spared the devastating fires that afflicted some of Colorado’s early mining communities, the City was unfortunately plagued by yearly floods, some quite destructive. . . . — — Map (db m287430) HM
Rogers Tramway
In the 1880s, the Bobtail Mining Company had the largest and most complete ore processing mill in Colorado. Known as a quartz stamp mill, it had 125 stamps that pulverized gold-bearing quartz rock, known as ore, from the . . . — — Map (db m287424) HM
[Three panels on this marker describe the history of Central City, Colorado]
[Panel 1]
Heritage Tourism
Central City is a hidden gem set high in the mountains above the thriving front range hustle and bustle. A trip to Central . . . — — Map (db m51828) HM
Central City has been designated a Registered National Historic Landmark
upnder the provisions of the Historic Act of August 21, 1935
This site possesses exceptional value in commemorating and illustrating the history of the United States
U. . . . — — Map (db m306205) HM
The Central City Opera House was built in 1878 by Welsh and Cornish miners. This National Historic Landmark, centerpiece of the historic gold mining town of Central City, has hosted performances of the nation’s fifth-oldest opera company since 1932. . . . — — Map (db m51831) HM
Built in 1875 to replace a number of
smaller storefronts, the brick commercial
block operated as a hardware store for
nearly 100 years, so little changed that in
1973 it was featured in a National
Geographic Society book, American
Mountain . . . — — Map (db m306544) HM
This Church one of the earliest in Colorado was organized July 10-11, 1859, by two missionaries, Rev. William H. Goode and Rev. Jacob Adriance. Rev. George W. Fisher, a wagonmaker and lay preacher, was the first first resident pastor. For a while . . . — — Map (db m306207) HM
This church stands on one of the oldest Catholic gathering places in Colorado. In 1860, Bishop Machereuf celebrated mass in the mining region and in 1862, the parish provided an "A" frame church on this site. The cornerstone for a permanent . . . — — Map (db m306208) HM
One of the brick “fire proof” buildings which was destroyed in the fire of 1874 was Abraham Jacobs’ old store, located on this site. By August, a new one story building had been completed here and the old store was back in business for . . . — — Map (db m51833) HM
First telephone in Central City installed September 24, 1879 in rear of this building, then the Rocky Mountain National Bank. It connected with the phones in Blackhawk, Golden and Denver. — — Map (db m306199) HM
The major fire in Central City on May 21, 1874 nearly wiped out the commercial district of the city. The new building was completed by November 1st of the same year and B.F. Pease operated a dry goods store at the location for nearly 10 years. For a . . . — — Map (db m51834) HM
The first lady of the early Colorado state was Rose (Brown) Wakely, better known by her stage name, Rose “Haydee”. The dark-eyed beauty came to Colorado in September, 1859 – and the miners fell in love with her at once. She became . . . — — Map (db m51835) HM
This historic Opera House erected by the citizens of Central City in 1878, has been restored by the university of Denver as a permanent memorial to the pioneers of Colorado.
This tablet is dedicated to Peter McFarlane one of its builders and . . . — — Map (db m306202) HM
