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Category: History

  • Stroehle House High Tea in Black Hawk

    Stroehle House High Tea in Black Hawk

    Learning about local history and the Stroehle family

    By Jaclyn Morrow

    Saturday, September 9th at 2:00 pm, the Stroehle House was open for the semi-annual High Tea. This historic home at 231 Chase Street in Black Hawk has been recently renovated to Victorian times when the home was occupied by the Stroehle family. The home was donated to the Gilpin Historical Society by a cousin of the home’s occupants as requested as a generous gift to be kept as a historical reminder of ways and days now gone. (more…)

  • A “tailing tale” of Jeanne Hostetler

    A “tailing tale” of Jeanne Hostetler

    Colorado History – Part I

    By Maggie Magoffin

    This next adventure in local Colorado history is from Jeanne Hostetler Ramstetter’s memoirs.

    My grandparents were Henry A. and Vina S. Ramstetter. My Grandfather Henry’s parents homesteaded the Guy Hill Ranch, and what follows are some of my most treasured memories. (more…)

  • Gilpin County’s 29th annual Cemetery Crawl

    Gilpin County’s 29th annual Cemetery Crawl

    At the historic Catholic Cemetery

    By Randy Beaudette

    History buffs got an opportunity to step into the past and hear tales of hardship, celebration and life in early Gilpin County at the 29th annual Cemetery Crawl. The much anticipated event was hosted by the Gilpin County Historical Society and for the first time, took place at the historic Catholic Cemetery above Central City. (more…)

  • A “tailing tale” of the Pike’s Peak bust

    A “tailing tale” of the Pike’s Peak bust

    Colorado Pioneers

    By Maggie Magoffin

    While financial depression still ruled the land and men were without money, credit, or opportunity for business of any kind, fanciful fabrications of the discovery of gold at Pike’s Peak caused a wild rush to the new Eldorado. Good, bad and indifferent; the educated and illiterate; the merchant, the speculator, the mechanic, the farmer, the gambler, some of every kind, a sort of human mosaic, marshaled under a banner which bore the forceful, if inelegant legend, “Pikes Peak or Bust.” (more…)

  • A “tailing tale” of a pioneer rescue

    A “tailing tale” of a pioneer rescue

    Colorado Pioneers

    By Maggie Magoffin

    This week’s “tailing tale” comes from Colorado Pioneers in Picture and Story written and published by Alice Polk Hill in 1915, Part III, Chapter VII, The Unwritten Law.

    Mr. Hugh Steele is a son of R. W. Steele, who was at the head of the Provisional government. He is now Secretary of the Colorado Pioneer Society and likes to talk about old times. (more…)

  • A “tailing tale” of Lorenzo Martin Freas

    A “tailing tale” of Lorenzo Martin Freas

    A Colorado Pioneer 1817-1902

    By Maggie Magoffin

    A letter from Mountain City, Colorado, August 14, 1859.

    Dear Sister:

      I left Saint Joseph Missouri on the twenty third Day of May with a team and load of goods and made the journey to Danver via the Platte route in thirty five Days. Your letter of the 28th May was received by me on my arrival at Danver. My Papers have not been received, in future Direct them, to Danver Kansas Territory by Express from Leavenworth and letters also. I am at present located in the Rocky Mountains forty miles west of Danver in what was formerly known as Gregory Diggins, it was here where Mr. Greeley made his Debut in the early part of June last. (more…)

  • Check out the Gilpin History Museum

    Check out the Gilpin History Museum

    Open for the Summer

    by Pam Deck

    Overlooking the City of Central and Black Hawk stands a large stone building. At 228 1st High Street (appropriately named) is the Gilpin History Museum. This 3-story building is only open in the summer because when the building was built, originally a school house, there was no indoor heating other than fireplaces. It is now open from Tuesday through Sunday from 10 am to 4 pm until Labor Day. (more…)

  • People flocking to the Visitors Center of Central City

    People flocking to the Visitors Center of Central City

    Now Open Every Day from 10-6

    by Pam Deck

    People from all over the world come to the Visitor Center to see what this area is all about. This year some new “old” photos were added and categorized on its walls. Local resident and historian, Eric Miller, of the Gilpin Historical Society, displays many of his “one of a kind” historical photos and memorabilia. He has created a new “old” look for the Center. (more…)

  • St. James Methodist Church celebrates 158th Anniversary

    St. James Methodist Church celebrates 158th Anniversary

    Sunday, July 9th

    By Jaclyn Morrow

    The 158th Anniversary and Homecoming Celebration was a joyous occasion for St. James United Methodist Church, 123 Eureka Street in Central City. The traditional yellow roses were in full bloom for the occasion and the festive cake, punch and tables perpetuated that same yellow tradition. The masses of blossoms on the old bushes outside the church are said to have come from Cornwall England. Many transplants and cuttings found throughout homes in the area kept that hopeful color obvious. Many of the attendees in the upstairs sanctuary dressed in Victorian attire in honor of the original members of the church. The St. James United Methodist Church is recognized as the longest continual Protestant Church to still hold regular services in Colorado. (more…)

  • A “tailing tale” of Hon. Matt (Frantz) France

    A “tailing tale” of Hon. Matt (Frantz) France

    A Colorado Pioneer

    By Maggie Magoffin

    Born September 2, 1830 in Roanoke Count, Virginia, Matt France was one of eight children born to John and Mary (McCullough) Frantz. Matt attended private schools and completed his education at Botetourt Springs Academy in Virginia. (more…)

  • Cruising Main in the 43rd annual Madam Lou Bunch Day celebration

    Cruising Main in the 43rd annual Madam Lou Bunch Day celebration

    Brass bed races draw hundreds of spectators

    by Patty Unruh

    The sweetest set of wheels in town last Saturday was a flashy little red job. No, not a Corvette or a T-Bird. This racy two-seater boasted a set of springs that really handled those cobblestones and a comfy mattress that absorbed every bounce. The vehicle was totally open to the fresh air and came fully equipped with sturdy handles for pushing. No gas required. (more…)

  • A “tailing tale” of Oliver & Sarah J. Feay

    A “tailing tale” of Oliver & Sarah J. Feay

    Colorado Pioneers

    By Maggie Magoffin

    Oliver Feay was born February 22, 1838 in Fayette, County, Pennsylvania. His family relocated to Iowa in 1850. In 1859, he set out for Colorado to seek his fortune in the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. After camping along Ralston Creek for a time, he headed for the gold fields of Central City and Black Hawk. For the next year he prospected and mined in California Gulch where he and his partner discovered a rich lode of silver. However, like many others thinking the ore was lead, they discarded their find accordingly. (more…)

  • Colorado’s oldest Opera House

    Colorado’s oldest Opera House

    Prepares for a Special Summer Season in Central City

    by Pam Deck

    Built in 1878, Central City’s Opera House is by far the oldest and most treasured Opera House in Colorado.  Almost 140 years ago, the citizens of Central City raised $12,000 to hire an architect from Denver, Robert Roeschlaub. With the finest natural stone available, he created this masterpiece which proudly stands at 124 Eureka Street. It is still the heart of Central City, Colorado. (more…)

  • A “tailing tale” of J. W. Fassett

    A “tailing tale” of J. W. Fassett

    A Colorado Pioneer

    By Maggie Magoffin

    Born, reared and educated in Bureau County, Illinois, at the early age of 23 years, in the spring of 1859, J.W. Fassett struck out for the gold fields of Colorado. Driving a covered wagon with three yoke of oxen he crossed the Mississippi at Rock Island, passed through Iowa City and Des Moines to reach Council Bluffs, Iowa. Following a brief visit there, he crossed the plains via the Platte route with a party of several other Argonauts. (more…)

  • Little notes in a great big song

    Little notes in a great big song

    The Peak to Peak Chorale Performs Woody Guthrie

    By David Josselyn

    Local talent in rural Gilpin County can be beautiful as our sunsets or sometimes like a diamond in the rough. This last weekend, May 5 through May 7, the Peak to Peak Chorale proved to be a fantastic sunset. The Chorale’s annual spring musical this year is called “Woody Guthrie Hard Travelin’: Life in America” and used Guthrie’s music and quotes to paint a picture of life in 1930s and 40s western America. (more…)

  • Balancing recreation with historic preservation

    Balancing recreation with historic preservation

    ATV Parking and Staging Area near Central City Cemeteries

    by Pam Deck

    For many years, use of OHV (Off-Highway Vehicles) has been growing. It’s fun to ride dirt-bikes and ATV’s and explore Central City’s beautiful landscape west of town. But what happens when things get out of control and misused? (more…)