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GREGORY DIGGINS
To Nevada
And Central
Central city
TO
NEVADAVILLE
RMAG GOLD ON THE ROCKS FIELD TRIP
August 23, 2003
lED by
ELIZABETH SIMMONS
After rest stop and historical lesson at the Gregory Diggins, continue up the hill. Use care pulling out onto the highway.
Note the "channelization" of North Clear Creek here in a cement tube to go UNDER the buildings that will
become new casinos. Wonder if they found gold while digging out the channel?
WHO and WHERE WAS JOHN GREGORY?
PHOTO 1. Painting of John H. Gregory (Spring, 1959, p. 105)
Another Georgian from Gordon County, who had suffered the ill
effects of the California Rush, John Gregory had found his way back to Fort
Laramie. He was working as a deck hand on different steamboats up to
Fort Leavenworth, and then drove a government team to Fort Laramie to
earn money to go to the Alaskan Gold fields. It was then too late in the fall
of 1858 to continue on to the Fraser River in Alaska, so he wintered at the
fort. Meanwhile Gregory heard rumors of gold discoveries on the South
Platte, and started on a prospecting tour (Spring, 1959, p. 104). Bancroft
has him staying late in the winter of ’59 [sic] with Dr. Levi J. Russell in his
hospitable cabin at Auraria. Another time he apparently stayed with
Captain Richard Sopris in Arapahoe City late in April. From January to
May, some say guided by Jackson’s rough sketch map on the floor of a cabin
in Golden, Gregory had prospected in almost every valley, from Cache la
Poudre to Pikes Peak, tracing many streams to their sources.
Supposedly, Jackson had discussed his find with Gregory during the
winter. Gregory, decided to head into the mountains without Jackson’s
company, and with a light pack of food, started out. At the forks of the creek
made the “magnificent mistake” when unwittingly, he took the north fork
instead of continuing along the south fork. This would have been the second
week of April, because Gregory had left camp by the time Jackson returned to
Golden with the Chicago men (Smith, 1/18/52, p. 2).
Rickard states (p. 118) that in May, John Hamilton Gregory, with J.M. Cotton and his brother, William Cotton,
went up the northern branch of Clear Creek. At the head of the gulch, Gregory discovered the lode that was named after
him.
Agnes Wright Spring quotes Marshall Cook’s diary. About the first of May, 1859, Marshall Cook stated that he
and five others met Gregory in the mountains while they were on a prospecting tour in April. Said Cook: “We followed
up Clear Creek to the mountains and then journeyed along their base North four or five miles until we came to an old
Lodge Pole trail that entered the mountains at that point. We had followed this trail but a short distance when we
suddenly came upon the tracks of a mule and footprints of men, so we increased our speed in order to overtake the party
on the trail ahead of us. About noon of the second day out we caught up with Kendall and Gregory at the junction of
Missouri Gulch and North Clear Creek, who were busily engaged in prospecting the streams in the vicinity” (Spring,
1959, p. 104).
After the noonday lunch, Gregory proposed that himself, the writer (Marshall Cook) and “another member of the
party should start down the creek with picks, shovels and pans to see what we could find in the way of gold. We traveled
down two or three miles without finding more than a color, until we reached the mouth of the gulch now known as
Gregory Gulch, where we found a number of colors, as high as a hundred to the pan. Gregory remarked that the gold
‘had not traveled far in its transit’. The snow being too deep in Gregory Gulch to accomplish anything, we returned to
camp in good spirits but somewhat disappointed in not being able to prosecute researches farther up Gregory Gulch”
(Spring, 1959, p. 105).
“The adjacent mountains were covered, with huge drifts of snow, as was likewise the gulch, but reason of the large
quantify of timber and undergrowth. That evening while sitting around the campfire a consultation was held which
resulted in an agreement to divide the part. Next a.m. Gregory and Kendall and two other men that came up with us
during the afternoon, started down Clear Creek to prospect all its tributaries and report at a meeting to be held at
Arapahoe City” (Spring, 1959, p. 105).
GREGORY FINDS THE MOTHER LODE
A snowstorm soon drove the prospectors out of the mountains. The prearranged meeting was well attended.
Gregory, Jackson, Cook, and others reported finds. They exhibited some samples of float quartz, “ literally covered with
specks of grain gold”(Spring, 1959, p. 107).
Cook states that Gregory, who had shared the hospitality of Dr. Casto and William Kendall “for a month or more,
including the use of a pack animal which he had used on the discovery trip, deserted them at the very time when he was
on the eve of making the most important discovery that marks the greatest event of Colorado’s history”. At Arapahoe,
Gregory “threw in with” recent arrivals from South Bend, Indiana. One of them, David K. Wall, grubstaked him (Spring,
1959, p. 107).
Another version of the legend related by Joseph Emerson Smith says that Gregory made camp on the bank of
Gregory Gulch on the night that Jackson and the Chicago crew arrived in Idaho Springs. Gregory was lost and ill from
eating “green” venison without salt. He built his fire on the hillside and, as he related, saw “hundreds of eyes of little
animals winking at me beyond the flames.”
Believing he was delirious, Gregory returned back to Golden where he found David King Wall and his party from
South Bend, Indiana, putting in the first farm north of the Arkansas river. Wall, an experienced California miner, was
leading a party from Iowa and Missouri. Wall listened to Gregory’s story of the winking eyes, and was certain the
Georgian had seen gold in decomposed quartz on the surface. He prevailed upon him to return, with men from his party,
outfitting him with plenty of food from his own wagon and asking nothing in return(Smith, 1/18/52, p. 2). Stone wrote
that Wall and his party agreed to grubstake Gregory in return for claims at his fine.
On May 6, with Wilkes Defrees, one of the “Hoosiers”, Gregory ascended the hill between Bobtail and Gregory
Gulch and in the midst of a grove of young pines and aspen, found the blossom rock of a gold-bearing lead cropping out
of the hills he scraped away the leaves and filled his pan with dirt and fragments of quartz that had been rendered
friable by the action of the weather, carried it down the gulch, and upon panning it down his greatest expectations were
more than realized. There in the bottom of his pan was a quarter of an ounce, or something over four dollars [$85] worth
of bright yellow gold (Spring, 1959, p. 107).
1859, May 6 John Gregory finds the LODE in Gregory Gulch.
The date, May 6, 1859, is the birthday of Colorado’s mining industry. Caroline Bancroft places a man named
Wilkes Defrees with Gregory (Bancroft, p. 121). There were also William Kendall, Dr. Joseph Casto, and other names in
every version of the legend. According to Joseph Emerson Smith, Gregory discovered the lode on May 10, 800 feet of the
richest free gold lodes ever discovered in Colorado. It was the first lode mine to be operated in Colorado (Smith, 1/18/52,
p. 2).
Another version of the story says that early in May, Gregory arrived at Clear Creek, at the foot of the mountains.
There he fell in with the Defrees and Ziegler Companies and William Fouts of Missouri. They started up Clear Creek
and arrived in the Black Hawk vicinity May 6th. The ice and snow prevented them from prospecting far below the
surface, but the first pan of surface dirt on the original Gregory claim yielded $4. Encouraged by this success we all
staked out claims, found the “lead” consisting of burnt quartz, resembling the Georgian mines. Snow and ice prevented
the regular working of the lead until May 16th. From then until the 23rd, they worked five days, with a result of $972
[$20,588].
PHOTOS 1-4 – The GREGORY LODE (1859-1932) – Fred Huet, the artist who rendered the drawing, got the gold fever
and settled over in Empire where he had a small mine called ‘Le Parisenne’. He used to sell paintings to make ends
meet. The largest painting from his brush is in the Idaho Springs Library.
PHOTOS 5-8 – THE KRUSE HOUSE AND STORE (1870-1930) Frederick Kruse owned this grocery store in 1888 and
was manager of the New York mill. On March 11, 1887, he closed the grocery business at “Gregory Point” in order to
devote full time to mining and other interest. Later he was mayor of Central City, a school director, and president of
the Rocky Mountain National Bank. He and his daughter’s future father-in-law, W.O. McFarlane were on the board
of the Gilpin Tram. Later Kruse manage the tramway for many years. (Hollenbeck, 1958, p. 16)
Photo 6
Photo 5
Photo 8
Photo 7
Photos 5,6,8. Kruse Store and home
Photo 7. Gilpin County Tram Office
19.7 Central City Limits: Richest Square mile on Earth (at one time, long ago)
PHOTO 9. Central City before fire
PHOTO 10. Central City by Harry Rhodes, after fire
On the left, between the roads, in the middle of the creek was the Buell Mill, owned by Hon. Bela S. Buell.
The hoist in this mine was designed with withstand a strain of 40,000 lbs. The mine produced 100 tons of
ore every 12 hours. Two direct-acting pumps kept the mine free of water, one at the 200-foot level and the other at
the 500-foot level. The steam-pipes were two inches in diameter, wrapped with rope to reduce condensation. The
water column was four inches in diameter. The pumps removed 20-50,000 gallons of water per day.
In 1872, 22 tons of high-grade ore were shipped to Swansea, Wales for smelting. The return profit was
$300 per ton. By 1873, the Boston & Colorado Smelting Works had developed the final smelting process, and 250
tons were sold for $112 per ton.
PHOTO 11. Stereoscopic view of the Buell Mill by Joseph
Collier (DPL Western History Collection)
In Central City at the Emergency Traffic Signal, turn left onto Spring Street.
View of east end of Central City District. Parking lots to west are on mine tailings piles.
All of the buildings are empty casinos, restaurants, or souvenir shops.
PHOTO 12. Dance Hall girl in Central City, 1900.
Things haven’t changed a whole lot in 102 years!
DPL Western History Collection
20.0 Turn right on Bridge Street, toward City Hall and proceed to left up hill.
The Belvidere Theatre in Armory Hall is under reconstruction. Owned by H.M. Teller and S.B. Hahn, the
Belvidere opened in 1874 with plays performed on the second floor and various businesses that rented space on the
first. Hay and grain were sold during the 1880s. During the 1890s the building was a bottling works and the fire
department and local militia occupied the building about 1900. Drive past City Hall and note the new mural on the
cement wall near the City Hall!
THE CHAIN ‘O MINES
The large yellow tailings pile on the left serves as a parking lot base. The tailings are from the Chain O' Mines, the largest mill
in the district, treating ore from an open pit at the PATCH (or GLORY HOLE) in Illinois Gulch, during the mid-1930's- to early 1940's.
In 1928 the Chain O’ Mines Corporation of Evanston, Illinois, bought out the smaller underground mining companies that were
operation on Quartz Hill. The veins are Quartz Hill were rich enough to be open pit mined. Ore was dropped into a series of tunnels,
then transported by an aerial tramway over the top of Quartz Hill from Nevada Gulch to Illinois Gulch where, in the 1940’s, the
company constructed the mill we will see later. This huge tailings pile demonstrates how much rock had to be ground up and wasted
for every ounce of ore. Water for this operation was pumped from Black Hawk, via two pump stations.
PHOTOS 13. The Chain ‘O Mines tailing pile and
leach pond, circa 1910-1930
(DPL Western History Collection)
Follow signs to Nevadaville. Road 1S quickly changes from paved to gravel. It might be muddy. Drive carefully.
PHOTO 14. Rock walls in Central City area,
DPL Western History Collection, Muriel Wolle, 1940
21.3 Cornish laid stone house on left. J.H. Tierney, one of
Denver’s pioneers was a leading dry wall mason. (Hollenbeck,
1958, p. 28) This beautiful demonstration of Cornish stone masonry
was built about 1890. During times in its life, it supposedly served as a
house of ill repute.
Cross the Gilpin County Tram roadbed.
Prize mine above the road on the right. The Prize mine
is the old Kansas shaft that drops over 4,000 feet and connects
to the Argo Tunnel that runs underground to Idaho Springs.
21.7 STOP 3. Nevadaville.
Bald Mountain Trading Post.
Antique Shop, if open.
The description of Nevadaville and its history is a tremendous story of the development of a town dependent upon
mining and mills. We will go up beyond the town buildings, turn around, and get out and look at the remains of this
once booming gold stamping town.
When exploring old mine towns, DO NOT step off the beaten path. There are many old airshafts and mine adits
that have never been covered, or if they were, the boards have rotted and become grass covered. They will collapse under
pressure and carry you to your death. One gripping story of a cave-in occurred just down the road from Nevadaville
when an entire ore wagon dropped into a shaft, complete with horses. Only the lead gray named Jed survived.
Map 1. Nevadaville (Pearce
and Pfaff, 1987, p. 41)
Nevadaville was one of the first settlements in the area. The fabulous Burroughs, Kansas, and
California-Hidden Treasure lodes on Quartz Hill, discovered in 1859, brought miners in by the droves. The
town was incorporated as Nevada City in 1861, but the US Post Office decided to name the town Bald
Mountain.
By 1861, twenty stamp mills, thirteen saloons, and dozens of homes employed and housed and served 2,700
people, many of them Irish or Cornish. Nevadaville had one of the first schools of the area, an opera house, and
numerous fraternal organizations, a baseball club, and even a cricket club.
Fire swept through Nevadaville in November of 1861, and destroyed most of the buildings including a large
mill and fifty homes. The residents, experienced stone men, quickly rebuilt, using stones and bricks. At one time,
the population reached 6,000 people, 1/3 of which were miners working in Nevada Gulch. Following the silver
crash in 1893, the town was deserted. Only a handful of buildings remains in one of the sweetest ghost towns in
Colorado.
Five buildings now grace Main Street. The Masonic Temple houses the oldest chapter of the Masons west
of the Mississippi. The building was constructed in 1879. City Hall, the frame structure across the street from the
Masonic Hall was built about 1870. It also housed the post office. The Bon Ton Saloon is the little, one-story brick
structure built in the 1800’s on the south side of the street. Other remaining buildings are the dry goods store, a
saloon, and a number of frame houses. Most of these date from the 1800s or 1890s.
PHOTO 15. Nevadaville, 1870, DPL Western
History Collection
Gulch on the south side of the main street:
the Burroughs and the Kansas. They have both
been mined in the last fifty years. The remains of
two or three mills can be seen along the south side
of the valley.
The eastern section was the first part of the
Kansas to be mined. The mine was called the
Pease-Kansas. The ore was shipped to the Avon
Mill, located just northeast of the mine. At one
time this mill could crush 60 to 100 tons of ore per
day. Eventually, the Gilpin County Tramway
provided the Pease-Kansas with rail service.
Other mines working on the Kansas vein included
the Coin-Kansas, Mammoth-Kansas, First
National-Kansas, University-Kansas, English-
Kansas, and The Alger-Kansas. Today, the
workings of the Pease-Kansas are buried by the
LaCrosse Tunnel, located at the chimney and
large gear workings at the east end of the Gulch.
Miners drove the Lacrosse Tunnel into Quartz Hill, northwest of the Pease-Kansas Mine. Built in the
early 1860’s to tap the Burroughs Lode. The tunnel was most profitable during the 1930’s when it served the
Glory Hole operations. During the Glory Hole period, a crushing mill constructed at the tunnel entrance
treated much of the ore. After the Chain O-Mines moved its mill to Illinois Gulch because of a law suit brought
by the city of Golden regarding water pollution in Clear Creek, it built an aerial tramway from the LaCrosse
Tunnel over the top of Quartz Hill to the new mill. Look for an A-framed tower just above the remains of the
LaCrosse Tunnel. Most ruins at this end of the gulch are related to the tunnel and date from the 1930’s.
Ben Burroughs discovered the Burroughs Lode in May 1859. The Burroughs vein is located just above
the Kansas and runs parallel to it. A series of companies developed the Burroughs: Ophir-Burroughs, Conley-
Burroughs, Mackey-Burroughs, and Phoenix-Burroughs. Eventually the Gilpin County Tramway served these
mines.
Pat Casey struck it rich in the Ophir-Burroughs in 1862. He sold out in 1863 to New York interests.
The Ophir produced $5,000,000 in its first ten years. Some ore produced six ounces of gold and twelve ounces
of silver per ton. Eventually, the Ophir shaft reached a depth of 1,200 feet and connected with the Phoenix-
Burroughs on twelve different levels underground.
Obviously, the ground which looks solid under your feet is absolutely hollow!
PHOTO 15. LaCrosse Tunnel and Mill Site
PHOTOS 12-13. Joseph Collier, local photographer,
self-portrait, 1890 and his many advertisements (Courtesy
DPL Western Photo Collection
Return to cars. Proceed back down Rd 1 S
22.4 IF TIME PERMITS: Gravel turnout on the left. Drive into turnout and up the hill a little way.
STOP 3A. Nevadaville-Black Hawk Cemetery (Masonic). Examine weathering and different types of rock used for
gravestones. Note dates and names. Conjecture reasons for the deaths.
Also, using your magnetic screwdriver, look for magnetite crystals in the dumps around the old mine shaft in the center
of the parking loop.
Return to cars and slowly drive back down the hill into Central City.
PHOTO 13. The corner of Bridge, Spring, and Main Streets, 1930. Turn right at both stop signs.
REFERENCES
Bancroft, Caroline, 1943, “The Elusive figure of John H. Gregory,” Colorado Magazine, V. 20, #4, p. 121-135
Cushman, Samuel and Waterman, J.P., 1876, Central City, Black Hawk, and Nevadaville From the Earliest
Settlement Until Statehood: 1859-1876. Reprinted by John Osterberg, 1991.
Hollenbeck, Frank, 1958, The Gilpin Tram, Sage Books, Denver
Mosch, Pat, 1995, “Up the Famous `Oh My Gawd Road' into History,” Idaho Springs, CO, The Virginia Canyon
Prospector
Rickard, Thomas A., 1897, Oct. 24, “Development of Colorado Mining Industry,” Mining and Scientific Press p. 336,
337
Sims, Paul K., 1986, Geologic Road Log to Central City-Idaho Springs Area, DREGS Field Trip Guidebook, p.
20-53
Smith, Joseph Emerson, 1951-1954, “Lillian Hanson’s History column,” Clear Creek County Miner, 1/18/52, p. 2
Spring, Agnes Wright, 1959, April, “Rush to the Rockies, Centennial Edition,” Colorado Magazine, V. 36, #2, p.
82-160
Taylor, Bayard, 1866, Colorado: A Summer Trip: ed. by William W. Savage, Jr. and Lazalier, James H., 1989,
Boulder, CO, U. Colorado Press
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