Gold Hill, Colorado

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General store in Gold Hill, Colorado

Gold Hill is a census-designated place (CDP) in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The population was 210 at the 2000 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 and 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 a small two-room schoolhouse. 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 gravel streets.

Gold Hill is accessible from nearby Lefthand 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 (Colorado State Highway 72) south of Ward. All of these roads are susceptible to heavy snows during the winter which at times render the town inaccessible to vehicles not equipped with chains or four wheel drive.

Gold Hill is sometimes labeled a ghost town, which is an inaccurate designation. This settlement is by no means deserted, although it no longer has a municipal government.

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links
5 References

[edit] History

Modern residences around ruins of historic mining structures in Gold Hill

The town is located above Gold Run, the first lode discovery of gold in Colorado (at that time the area was part of the Nebraska Territory) 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 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 Horsfel, 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.

[edit] Geography

Gold Hill is located at 40°3′50″N, 105°24′43″W (40.063785, -105.411911)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 5.2 km² (2.0 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 210 people, 90 households, and 47 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 40.3/km² (104.7/mi²). There were 114 housing units at an average density of 21.9/km² (56.8/mi²). 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.