There's Gold In Them-Thar Hills...

(Though that quote was supposedly said in Georgia, pertaining the hills in the northern part of the state, in hopes of keeping miners from racing to California in 1849—I’m using it in reference to Colorado.)

It’s said Colorado gold mining began in 1858 after a discovery that set off the Denver gold rush, even though explorer Zebulon Pike noted gold in the ground in 1807. Either way, St. Charles, later renamed Denver City, was established in the spring of 1858 and by the fall of that year towns had sprung up throughout the territory.  

Once originally part of the Nebraska, Kansas, Utah and New Mexico Territory, this gold bearing region became known as the Territory of Jefferson when a provisional territorial government was formed in 1859. In 1861 Territorial officials, approving the name the Spanish used for the red dirt area decided to rename it the Territory of Colorado, which was approved by the Government that year. Fifteen years later, in 1876 Ulysses S. Grant proclaimed Colorado the 38^th state to join the Union on August 1. 

The gold discoveries around Denver were small and miners began tracing the gold to its source higher in the Mountains westward. There, near the top of the mountain, towns such as Black Hawk and Central City cropped up after miners found over a thousand dollars worth of gold in five days work. (That would be over $20,000 in today’s money.)

This not only brought on more miners, it brought others who made their millions by providing the miners what they needed, merchants, railroads, saloons, banks, even playhouses and charity organizations. Soon the surface gold was all taken, and extracting the gold from the harder ore was impossible for most miners. In 1868 Colorado’s first ore smelter was built in Black Hawk, which extracted the gold and other metals and minerals from the ore, and once again, mining in the area was at its peak—which lasted until about 1959. During that hundred year time span, 1859-1959, it’s estimated that area of Colorado produced 6,3000,000 troy ounces of gold. 

Traveling to the area was precarious, though. The narrow gauge railroad had to have tight switchbacks to make the ever increasing grade, and vast bridges were built over gulches that some claimed had never ending bottoms. Once built, the Colorado Central Railroad had numerous trains traveling from Denver to Black Hawk, Central City, and Nevadaville on a daily basis. 

In my February 19th release, Inheriting a Bride, Kit Becker must travel to this area of Colorado to lay claim to a gold mine she inherited from her grandfather. 

Blurb: He’ll get beneath every delicious layer of her disguises...

Kit Becker travels to Nevadaville prepared to use any pretense necessary to discover why she must share her inheritance, and with whom.

Clay Hoffman knows a thing or two about moneygrabbing females, so when he finds one posing as his new ward he’s determined to get beneath every delicious layer of her disguises. Discovering she’s telling the truth, Clay is torn—he should be protecting her, not thinking about making her his bride! All he knows for sure is that he’s inherited a whole heap of trouble!

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