Gold Hill, Colorado
Encyclopedia
Gold Hill is a census-designated place
(CDP) in Boulder County
, Colorado
, United States
. The population was 230 at the 2010 census
.
This settlement is located to the northwest of Boulder
, perched on a mountainside above Left Hand Canyon at an elevation of 8,300 feet. Originally a mining camp, it was the site of the first major discovery of gold during the 1859 Colorado Gold Rush
and remained an important mining camp throughout the late 19th century, with a population approaching 1500 at its height, before falling into decline. It has been revived somewhat in recent years as a quiet isolated haven, with no paved streets, but easily accessed by dirt roads. The town contains numerous historic wooden structures, some restored in recent years, as well decaying ruins from its mining heyday. It has a small museum and two-room schoolhouse, the Gold Hill School, which since 1873 has been the oldest continuously operating public school in Colorado. Other businesses include a General Store and a restored inn listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The town is laid out on a small grid of dirt streets.
Gold Hill is accessible from nearby Left Hand Canyon Road via Lick Skillet Road, the steepest county road in the United States
. Easier approaches to Gold Hill include Sunshine Canyon Road from 4th and Mapleton in Boulder
, Gold Run Road from Salina (on Four Mile Canyon Road), and Gold Hill Road from the Peak-to-Peak Highway (State Highway 72) south of Ward
. All of these roads are susceptible to heavy snows during the winter, which at times render Gold Hill inaccessible to vehicles not equipped with chains or four wheel drive.
Gold Hill is sometimes labeled a ghost town
, which is an inaccurate designation. Gold Hill is part of unincorporated Boulder County, and while it does not have a municipal government, it does have an active town meeting
with elected officials.
) on January 15, 1859. The discovery occurred nearly simultaneous with prospecting in Gregory Gulch and Clear Creek
, but these latter discoveries were not exploited until later that Spring. On March 7, 1859, the Gold Run discovery became the first mining district in region (named either the Mountain District No. 1, Mining District No. 1 of the Nebraska Territory, or the Nebraska Gold Hill Mining District, according to various historical sources). Word quickly spread among miners in the region, prompting a flood of new arrivals and the establishment of Gold Hill as the first permanent mining camp in present-day Colorado. By autumn, a quartz
stamp mill
was erected at the base of the hill, the first such piece of equipment in the region, one that had been transported by ox
cart westward over the Great Plains
. The first productive vein was the Scott, followed quickly the Horsfal, Alamakee, and Cold Spring. Nearby placers
were also worked for the gold in stream beds.
By 1861, the year of the organization of the Colorado Territory
, the surface deposits of gold in the vicinity of the town were largely played out, resulting in a temporary exodus of prospectors and a population decrease. The town was somewhat revived later that year by the construction of the Hill smelter at nearby Black Hawk
, allowing the treatment of lower-grade ores.
The discovery of tellurium in the area in 1872 prompted a second boom, bringing the population to nearly 1000 once again. At its height, the town had a newspaper and number of hotels, including the Mines Hotel, built in 1872 and recently restored as summer tourist destination. The Mines was immortalized in verse by poet
Eugene Field
, who stayed at the hotel while working as a newspaper man in Denver
. The town population dwindled in the early 20th century as the mining tapered off. The town has experienced two major fires in its history, but it nevertheless retains many of its historic wooden structures.
In September 2010, the Four Mile Canyon wildfire destroyed approximately 170 homes in and around Gold Hill.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the CDP has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²), all of it land.
of 2000, there were 210 people, 90 households, and 47 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 104.7 people per square mile (40.3/km²). There were 114 housing units at an average density of 56.8 per square mile (21.9/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 89.05% White, 0.48% African American, 3.33% Native American, 1.90% Asian, 4.29% from other races
, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.62% of the population.
There were 90 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples
living together, 2.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.7% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 32.4% from 45 to 64, and 2.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 114.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $48,750, and the median income for a family was $76,850. Males had a median income of $48,929 versus $12,105 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $24,675. None of the population or families were below the poverty line.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) in Boulder County
Boulder County, Colorado
Boulder County is the sixth most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county seat is Boulder. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is the City of Boulder...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 230 at the 2010 census
United States Census, 2010
The Twenty-third United States Census, known as Census 2010 or the 2010 Census, is the current national census of the United States. National Census Day was April 1, 2010 and is the reference date used in enumerating individuals...
.
This settlement is located to the northwest of Boulder
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, perched on a mountainside above Left Hand Canyon at an elevation of 8,300 feet. Originally a mining camp, it was the site of the first major discovery of gold during the 1859 Colorado Gold Rush
Colorado Gold Rush
The Pike's Peak Gold Rush was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 and lasted until roughly the creation of the Colorado Territory on February 28, 1861...
and remained an important mining camp throughout the late 19th century, with a population approaching 1500 at its height, before falling into decline. It has been revived somewhat in recent years as a quiet isolated haven, with no paved streets, but easily accessed by dirt roads. The town contains numerous historic wooden structures, some restored in recent years, as well decaying ruins from its mining heyday. It has a small museum and two-room schoolhouse, the Gold Hill School, which since 1873 has been the oldest continuously operating public school in Colorado. Other businesses include a General Store and a restored inn listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The town is laid out on a small grid of dirt streets.
Gold Hill is accessible from nearby Left Hand Canyon Road via Lick Skillet Road, the steepest county road in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Easier approaches to Gold Hill include Sunshine Canyon Road from 4th and Mapleton in Boulder
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
, Gold Run Road from Salina (on Four Mile Canyon Road), and Gold Hill Road from the Peak-to-Peak Highway (State Highway 72) south of Ward
Ward, Colorado
Ward is a Home Rule Municipality in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The population was 150 at the 2010 census. The town is a former mining settlement founded in 1860 in the wake of the discovery of gold at nearby Gold Hill...
. All of these roads are susceptible to heavy snows during the winter, which at times render Gold Hill inaccessible to vehicles not equipped with chains or four wheel drive.
Gold Hill is sometimes labeled a ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
, which is an inaccurate designation. Gold Hill is part of unincorporated Boulder County, and while it does not have a municipal government, it does have an active town meeting
Town meeting
A town meeting is a form of direct democratic rule, used primarily in portions of the United States since the 17th century, in which most or all the members of a community come together to legislate policy and budgets for local government....
with elected officials.
History
The community is located above Gold Run, the first lode discovery of gold in Colorado (at that time the area was part of the Nebraska TerritoryNebraska Territory
The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska Territory was created by the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854...
) on January 15, 1859. The discovery occurred nearly simultaneous with prospecting in Gregory Gulch and Clear Creek
Clear Creek (Colorado)
Clear Creek is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately long, in north central Colorado in the United States. The creek flows through Clear Creek Canyon in the Rocky Mountains directly west of Denver, descending through a long gorge to emerge on the Colorado Eastern Plains where it...
, but these latter discoveries were not exploited until later that Spring. On March 7, 1859, the Gold Run discovery became the first mining district in region (named either the Mountain District No. 1, Mining District No. 1 of the Nebraska Territory, or the Nebraska Gold Hill Mining District, according to various historical sources). Word quickly spread among miners in the region, prompting a flood of new arrivals and the establishment of Gold Hill as the first permanent mining camp in present-day Colorado. By autumn, a quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
stamp mill
Stamp mill
A stamp mill is a type of mill machine that crushes material by pounding rather than grinding, either for further processing or for extraction of metallic ores. Breaking material down is a type of unit operation....
was erected at the base of the hill, the first such piece of equipment in the region, one that had been transported by ox
Ox
An ox , also known as a bullock in Australia, New Zealand and India, is a bovine trained as a draft animal. Oxen are commonly castrated adult male cattle; castration makes the animals more tractable...
cart westward over the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
. The first productive vein was the Scott, followed quickly the Horsfal, Alamakee, and Cold Spring. Nearby placers
Placer mining
Placer mining is the mining of alluvial deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment....
were also worked for the gold in stream beds.
By 1861, the year of the organization of the Colorado Territory
Colorado Territory
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado....
, the surface deposits of gold in the vicinity of the town were largely played out, resulting in a temporary exodus of prospectors and a population decrease. The town was somewhat revived later that year by the construction of the Hill smelter at nearby Black Hawk
Black Hawk, Colorado
The historic City of Black Hawk is a Home Rule Municipality located in Gilpin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 118 at U.S. Census 2000, making Black Hawk the least populous city in Colorado...
, allowing the treatment of lower-grade ores.
The discovery of tellurium in the area in 1872 prompted a second boom, bringing the population to nearly 1000 once again. At its height, the town had a newspaper and number of hotels, including the Mines Hotel, built in 1872 and recently restored as summer tourist destination. The Mines was immortalized in verse by poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
Eugene Field
Eugene Field
Eugene Field, Sr. was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays.-Biography:...
, who stayed at the hotel while working as a newspaper man in Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. The town population dwindled in the early 20th century as the mining tapered off. The town has experienced two major fires in its history, but it nevertheless retains many of its historic wooden structures.
In September 2010, the Four Mile Canyon wildfire destroyed approximately 170 homes in and around Gold Hill.
Geography
Gold Hill is located at 40°3′50"N 105°24′43"W (40.063785, -105.411911).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP has a total area of 2 square miles (5.2 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 210 people, 90 households, and 47 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 104.7 people per square mile (40.3/km²). There were 114 housing units at an average density of 56.8 per square mile (21.9/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 89.05% White, 0.48% African American, 3.33% Native American, 1.90% Asian, 4.29% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 0.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.62% of the population.
There were 90 households out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 2.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.7% were non-families. 35.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 1.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 3.00.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 32.4% from 45 to 64, and 2.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 114.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 116.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $48,750, and the median income for a family was $76,850. Males had a median income of $48,929 versus $12,105 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the CDP was $24,675. None of the population or families were below the poverty line.
Further reading
- Brown, Robert L. Jeep Trails to Colorado Ghost TownsJeep Trails to Colorado Ghost TownsJeep Trails to Colorado Ghost Towns is a 1963 non-fiction travel guide by Robert L. Brown and published by Caxton Press. The book is a descriptive guide to ghost towns and mining camps throughout the Rocky Mountains of Colorado in the United States...
. CaldwellCaldwell, IdahoCaldwell is a city in and the county seat of Canyon County, Idaho, United States. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated the population to be 43,281, as of July 2009.Caldwell is the home of the College of Idaho. It is considered part of the Boise metropolitan area....
: Caxton, 1963.