There's STILL Gold in Them Thar Hills

by Heather Blanton

Most authors have an idea for a story FIRST then they go and research it. I did all the research for my best-selling novel A Lady in Defiance years before I ever imagined the saga of three good, Christian sisters taming a bawdy mining town. I still find the research haunting me.

In the summer of ’93, my husband and I packed up everything from tents to guns (yes, you used to actually be allowed to travel with them in your luggage), flew to Denver, rented a jeep and started exploring the mountains. Even though we drove all over the state, from Denver to the four corners area, what captured my heart were the ghost towns high up in the San Juan Mountains. Silverton, Durango, Ouray, and Telluride are the well-known, vibrant, little towns in the area. The ghost towns you’ve probably never heard of, though, are Mineral Point, Alta, Animas Forks, and St. Elmo, to name a few.

 Now, considering that 1993 was practically the Dark Ages, we planned our trip using a 1963 travel guide, Jeep Trails to Colorado Ghost Towns by Robert Brown. The dang thing was out of print at the time and I had to special order it. But it was RICH with the history of these forgotten settlements, abandoned dreams, and unfinished stories. I was captivated by the lonely, remote ruins that once-upon-a-time had fed the dreams of both the courageous and the cowardly, the greedy and the generous, the noble and the cheaters.

The story that fascinated me the most was the tale of George Jackson of Missouri. He came west to Colorado in 1859 and discovered gold near Idaho Springs. He left (with his gold) to fight in the Civil War and then start a farm. Gold Fever never left him, though, and he returned twelve years later with a group of prospectors. They discovered more gold, somewhere near Middle Park. Allegedly, he and his group squirreled away over $10,000 in gold dust, buried in buckskin bags beneath their cabin.

Late in the fall of ’71, the prospectors were attacked by Indians but managed to hide, and the survivors slithered their way out of the mountains, the gold still lying in its hidden grave. Overjoyed to have survived, the remaining men decided they’d had enough of the San Juans and headed east—except for Jackson. As soon as the snow melted—reportedly in June—he rounded up a friend and headed back to the camp, but never made it. On the way, he pulled a gun from his sled to shoot at a coyote and shot himself right between the eyes.

Fast forward to 1912. Ray Peck, a supervisor with Routt National Forest investigated with the help of an unnamed local mountain man. They found the aspen tree in which Jackson had carved his name. Evidence of habitation and mining activities were deteriorated but evident.

Eager as beavers, they started digging. And they dug till they were blue in the face but the pair never found the buckskin bags full of gold.

 The cache is still up there in those beautiful, dangerous mountains, waiting for someone to come along and find it –to finish the story.

Nevadaville, Colorado

Colorado was home to numerous bustling mining towns in the 1800’s. Cripple Creek and Central City are two such towns most Colorado residents are familiar with, mostly because many of the historic buildings now house casinos. Here in Colorado Springs, we have tour buses shuttling folks to and from Cripple Creek to gamble, shop, and dine. One of the busiest times to take the bus to Cripple Creek is New Year’s Eve. Several years ago, the hubby and I experienced a New Year’s Eve celebration in Cripple Creek courtesy of the shuttle bus. It was a fun time, and I imagine Central City booms on New Year’s Eve, too. (I can’t say for certain, as I’ve not been there… yet.) But ‘over the hill’ from Central City is Nevadaville, a Colorado ghost town and home to two residents.

Nevadaville was founded three weeks after John Gregory’s discovery of gold. The Burrows Lode quickly became Gilpin County’s largest site for concentration of mining activity. A.D. Gambell and Sam Link formed the town site and Joseph Stadley named the town. Nevadaville was also known as Nevada or Nevada City. To not be confused with Nevada, CA, the post office changed Nevadaville to Bald Mountain in 1869. Residents refused to call their town anything other than Nevadaville, creating an unusual situation where the town name was different from the post office name, until the post office closed in 1921.

During its peak, Nevadaville had a population of 4,000. Most of the citizens were of Irish descent. Businesses included saloons, barbershops, a shoe store and a grocery store. A dry goods store opened inside The Colorado Trading and Investment Company and later, Dr. Bourke set up his medical practice and opened a drug store. Nevadaville did not welcome establishments catering to the wild night life and incorporated this into law. Grogg shops, bawdy shops and gambling saloons were not allowed with the town limits. A $50 fine was put in place for violating the law. If an establishment racked up enough violations, they were banished from the district. A sheriff was appointed to enforce the law, and given an added bonus of keeping some of the profits from the fines.

Masonic Lodge

In 1859, a Masonic Lodge was organized from the Kansas Grand Lodge and was given the name, Nevada Number 36. The Lodge relinquished their charters after only one meeting and came under the jurisdiction of the new Grand Lodge of Colorado, with the new name of Nevada Lodge Number 4. To this day, the Lodge continues to hold their meetings in Nevadaville. 

A fire in 1861 destroyed over 50 buildings. Residents used TNT to save the rest of the town and rebuilt what was destroyed. The town lacked a good water supply and fell victim to four more fires. The last was in 1914 and Nevadaville was never fully rebuilt after that. Sadly, the veins in the mine were worked out too soon, and by 1900, the population dwindled. 

December 2004

As stated above, Nevadaville currently has two citizens, rumored to enjoy answering questions about the town’s history. Many of the historic buildings are still intact today. They are on private land and not open to the public, though folks can enjoy an afternoon in the Rocky Mountains strolling around the town.  

The photos in this blog are courtesy of:

http://gilpintram.com/nevadaville.html

http://www.uncovercolorado.com/ghost-towns/nevadaville/