68

CROFUTT’S NEW OVERLAND TOURIST

 

county seat of Boulder county, one of the
richest in the State. '

The chief business in which the citizens
are engaged, is mining and agriculture
—gold, coal and iron being the principal
minerals. There are three ore sampling
works, one smelting furnace, one iron fur-
nace, two flouring mills—the latter turning
out 850 sacks of flour daily—one large
foundry and machine shop, and numerous
small manufactories.

There are many good business blocks,
four church edifices, and several good
schools, besides the State University, which
is located here. Of newspapers there are
two, both weekly, the Vews and the Ban-
ner. The American is the principal hotel.
Population, about 2,000.

Boulder Canyon, at the mouth of which
the city is located, contains some magnifi-
cent scenery,—see illustration and ANNEX
No. 11,—and is the outlet to the valley for
some of the richest mines in the State. In
the western or mountainous portion of the
county are located the Gold Hill, Sugar
Loaf, Caribou, Pennsylvania, Snowy
Range, Gold Lake, Ward, Jamestown and
other rich mining districts, containing
numerous stamp mills and _ reduction
works, which yield a wealth of the precious
metals daily.

Near the station we cross the track of
the Boulder Valley railroad, of which
Boulder is the western terminus. This
road connects with the Denver Pacific at
Hughes’ station, 17 miles north of Denver.
It is operated by the Kansas Pacific Rail-
road Co. Itwas projected in the first place
for a coal road, but-afterwards improved,
and is now in good condition and doing a
good passenger and freight business

Looking down the valley, as we leave
the station, two high peaks, or buttes, can
be seen, rising some hundreds of feet above
the plains, which are near the site of the
town of Valmont, started in 1868 to rival
Boulder, but did not succeed.

Crossing Boulder Creek to the south
side we soon pass Pettis Lake, noted for
its numerous sunfish; and 5 5-10 miles

‘more brings us to

Davipson—on South Boulder—a small
side-track. Two miles further and we
reach

Coan CRrREEK—on the stream of that
name—after crossing which we commence
a heavy up grade, through deep cuts, and
on for ten miles to

CHurcHES—This is a small side-track,

named for a butcher and cattle dealer who
lived near by, in 1862-8. Itis in a region
where irrigation was first resorted to in
Colorado, ditches for which purpose take
the water from Ralston and Clear Creeks.

From Churches we proceed over another
dividing ridge of prairie-land seven miles to

Ratston—Situated on the creek of that
name, which comes down through a deep
cut in the “ Hog-back” Ridge, two miles
to the west.

From Ralston, our course is to the south-
west, up a heavy grade, two miles to the
summit, where we run between the Table
Mountain on the east, and the “ Rockies,”
on the west; then, as we descend, on the
west, can be seen the old Golden Gate
wagon road into the mountains, over
which—until the building of the “Central,”
through Clear Creek Canyon—passed up
and over the “Guy Hill,” all the travel for
the mining regions of Gilpin and Clear
Creek counties.

One mile further, down grade, making
three from Ralston, and we stop at

GoLtpEN—This city is often called the
“Lowell” of Colorado, on account of the
number of manufactories located in and
near the city.

Golden was first settled in 1859, then, it
was a lively place, owing to the gulch
mining on Clear Creek, both above and
below the town, but these “placers” having
been worked out, the place declined. In
1863 it took a step forward in the estab-
lishment of a pottery and paper mill, the
first within 800 miles; but since the com-
pletion of the Central, rapid progress
has been made. The town now contains
about 4,500 inhabitants, and besides the
manufactories above named, has three
flouring mills, a manufactory for making
fire brick, the Golden Smelting Works,
which turn out about $300,000 worth of
bullion and lead annually, and the Golden
Smelting and Dressing Works, another
very extensive establishment. Besides these,
there are several saw mills and manufac-
tories of small wares. The School of
Mines for the State is located here.

Golden is the county seat of Jefferson
county, is due west of Denver 14 miles by
wagon, and 16 miles by railroad, situated
on Clear Creek, or Vasquez Fork, just be-
low where it debouches from the moun-
tains, and close above the Table Moun-
tains, which rise 1,000 feet above the town,
in what must have been at onetime a great

 

a

Se ha ee eer mrp in rie pe eens ban ose aatnna ee eg Se

basin or lake, before the waters of the |