Cast is working hard to bring musical to life
By David Josselyn
Amid the COVID restrictions, the Belvidere Players, under the direction of Patrice LeBlanc and Ed Schoenradt of L&M Productions, are carefully rehearsing their lines and songs to bring the musical ‘Prohibition’ to performance ready standards. ‘Prohibition,’ written and directed by Patrice and Ed, is a story about a small local town struggling with the seemingly (more…)
Gilpin Historical Society
by David Forsyth, PhD
For many years, Colorado’s license plates bore the slogan “Colorful Colorado” in reference to the state’s natural beauty. But, just as colorful is the history of the license plates themselves. Colorado first required owners to register their vehicles with county clerks in 1910, but provided no specifics for (more…)
Water and you: Final of a five-part series
By Don Ireland
“If your water system fails, life in paradise is over.” – Gilpin County Guide (2016)
At face value, water and gambling might not appear to have much in common – except in Colorado, where there is a growing connection between the two. (more…)
Water and you: Part 4 of 5
By Don Ireland
“Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” – W.H. Auden, poet (1957)
Most fifth graders know that about 71 percent of the Earth is covered by water and up to 60 percent of the human body also is water. What many people don’t realize if that only about 2.5 percent of the planet’s water is freshwater, suitable for drinking. The rest is ocean-based, mostly saltwater. (more…)
Water and you: Part 3
By Don Ireland
“Here is a land where life is written in water.” – inscribed in the Colorado state capital
It’d be a safe bet to presume thousands of Denver and the Front Range residents don’t realize that a Gilpin County engineering marvel is the reason they have water for their homes, schools and businesses. (more…)
Gilpin Historical Society
By David Forsyth, PhD
Getting to and from Black Hawk and Central City today is relatively easy with wide, oftentimes well-lit paved roads brining drivers in the heart of Gilpin County, but the earliest miners arriving in Gilpin County had to follow a route that Joseph Casto, one member of John Gregory’s group in 1859, called “almost impracticable.” Miners could (more…)
Death Claims Aged Resident
Pioneer Globeville Public Official Passes at Age of 91. Nels C. Johnson, 91, of Floyd Hill, Colo., early-day public official in Globeville before it became part of Denver and former postmaster at Floyd Hill, died at his home Thursday after a short illness. He was a resident of Colorado fifty-three years, justice of the peace, and town treasurer of Globeville in the early days of its incorporation, and postmaster at Floyd Hill twenty-eight years. He retired a year and a half ago. Born in Denmark in 1847, he came to Chicago in 1871 at the age of 24, accompanied by his wife, Kirsten. After a few months in (more…)
Water and you: Part 2 of 5
By Don Ireland
The old adage, “whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over,” is frequently attributed to Mark Twain. If the American author and humorist actually uttered those (more…)
Water and you: Part 1 of 5
By Don Ireland
“When the well is dry, we know the worth of water.” – Benjamin Franklin, 1746
Despite snowfall measuring several feet locally last month, Gilpin County and 62 other Colorado Counties were declared disaster areas by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in March because of the overall statewide (more…)
A trip down memory lane of fun vehicles and so many driving memories…
By Aaron Storms
As far back as I can remember, I was always fascinated with anything on wheels. Starting out with hand-me-down metal pedal cars, as a pint-sized driver I literally drove the wheels off them until the hard rubber tires started to peel off, then drove on the rims until those gave way too. Soon after came a long (more…)
Gilpin Historical Society
By David Forsyth, PhD
In late 1871, J.C. Fisher opened the new Black Hawk Roller Skating Rink on the corner of Gregory and Church Streets. The location was, perhaps conveniently, one door east of Dr. W.H. Rice’s office. Admission to the rink was initially twenty-five cents while the use of roller skates was an additional quarter, but this was eventually dropped in favor of a fifty-cent admission fee that included the use of skates. Tickets for (more…)
Former slaves from Missouri
By Mary Peery
Jennie Golden and Samuel Parker were two former slaves from Missouri who settled in Black Hawk. Their stories are told from their obituaries. The description of the Dory Hill Cemetery is by historian and artist Muriel Sibell Wolle, who photographed Jennie (more…)
Central City Council Meeting
By David Josselyn
Work Session
Council met with Staff for a work session prior to the regular meeting. The topics of discussion were the Historic Residential (more…)
The true story is, well, it’s complicated
By Nicol Natale
Valentine’s Day has gotten a bad rap over the years. Sure, lots of couples still go out to dinner, exchange gifts, or trade sentimental cards on February 14 (which falls on a Sunday in 2021). But to be honest, it’s much cooler to make fun of V-Day. It’s been called a “Hallmark holiday” and “Singles Awareness Day.” And since 2010, thanks to (more…)
History Matters: Showing our children that their past is prelude to their future
By John Grimaldi and David Bruce Smith
Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad
According to the United States Postal Service, the people of note who are under consideration for commemoration on new stamps, is the task of The Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee (CSAC). On February 1, 1978, sixty-five years after the death of abolitionist-activist, Harriet Tubman, she became the first African American woman bestowed with the honor. (more…)
Belvidere Theatre/ City Hall pocket park
By Barbara Thielemann
2021 Main Street Central City officers met and approved their Work Plan for 2021. MSCC is a Colorado Main Street Program under the Colorado Department of Local Affairs and the National Historic Trust. Its Mission is “To help create a unique and vibrant downtown that enriches the business community, embraces history, celebrates the (more…)