Boulder County Gold Discovery
Gold strike date: January 16, 1859
FUN FACT: Gold Hillers created Colorado's first mining district in the spring of 1859.
Miners were fooled by golden traces found in 1858 that had washed down from the mountain mother-lodes. As glaciers and streams eroded the mountains, surface gold was washed downstream.
Seasoned miners followed Boulder Creek, up into the hills to prospect its tributaries. The first discovery of gold in Boulder County was on Gold Hill.
Gold Hill, the first mining camp, remains the best-preserved relic in Boulder County. A stampede of prospectors swelled Gold Hill's population to 1,500 in the summer of 1860, according to the Rocky Mountain News. After the discovery of gold in 1859, miners continued to follow creek beds along the mountain canyons and discovered more gold in nearby areas.
Boulder became the supply town for mountain mines, the county seat, an agriculture center, and a railroad hub. Travelers can experience its history in six historic neighborhoods, a National Historic Landmark, a history museum and historic downtown. Today, Boulder is a thriving college town at the base of the Front Range mountains, well-known for its healthy, culturally-enriched lifestyle.