%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en William A.H. Loveland http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-ah-loveland <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">William A.H. Loveland</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2020-01-15T15:14:31-07:00" title="Wednesday, January 15, 2020 - 15:14" class="datetime">Wed, 01/15/2020 - 15:14</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/william-ah-loveland" data-a2a-title="William A.H. Loveland"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fwilliam-ah-loveland&amp;title=William%20A.H.%20Loveland"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>William Austin Hamilton Loveland (1826–94) was a leading businessman, railroad executive, and politician in early Colorado. A well-traveled man by early adulthood, Loveland arrived in Colorado during the <a href="/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>Colorado Gold Rush</strong></a>. He played a critical role in the development of <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/golden"><strong>Golden</strong></a>, putting up the city’s first buildings and the area’s first wagon road. He is also said to have established the state’s first coal mine and its first pottery works.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland went on to establish the <strong>Colorado Central Railroad</strong>, run for governor of Colorado, and even a nomination for the presidency of the United States. The city of <strong>Loveland</strong>, founded along his railroad in southern <a href="/article/larimer-county"><strong>Larimer County</strong></a><strong>,</strong> is named after him, as is <strong>Loveland Pass</strong>, which he explored on one of his many surveying trips. Today, Loveland is remembered as a seasoned, energetic leader who was responsible for some of the most important developments in Colorado history.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>William A.H. Loveland was born in 1826 in Chatham, Massachusetts. Little is known about his mother, but his father, Rev. Leonard Loveland, was a Methodist minister and veteran of the War of 1812. A year after he was born, William’s family moved to Rhode Island, where at the age of eight he began work in a cotton factory. In 1837 his father again moved the family to the fledgling town of Alton, Illinois, where they started a farm. William, known to his friends as “Bill,” worked the family farm until his late teens, when he enrolled in McKendree College, a nearby Methodist school. He spent a year there before moving on to Shurtleff College in Alton in 1846.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>That year, Loveland developed pleurisy, a painful lung affliction. His doctor recommended he relocate to a warmer climate, but Loveland did not have money to move. However, the Mexican-American War, which had begun that year, offered Loveland three things he desperately needed: pay, relocation, and—in the footsteps of his seafaring father—adventure. He answered an ad for government teamsters in a St. Louis newspaper, moved to the city, and began working for the army. He worked in St. Louis for a short time, was sent to New Orleans, and from there embarked for Veracruz, Mexico, in 1847.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Teamster, Prospector, Traveler</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Although he was a teamster, not a soldier, Loveland saw plenty of action in the Mexican-American War. Defending critical supplies in hostile territory repeatedly put him in harm’s way, and outnumbered American commanders occasionally called teamsters into battle. At the Battle of Chapultepec in September 1847, Loveland was wounded by artillery, and he spent months recovering in Mexico City before he was cleared to go home. </p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland returned to Illinois in 1848 intending to finish college. One year later, however, the lure of gold drew him to California. He prospected in Grass Valley, north of Sacramento, and built the first house there. Loveland had only minimal luck prospecting. He eventually gave his tools, cabin, and claim to three other prospectors from Boston and moved to San Francisco. His health was again in decline, to the point where he later told a New York newspaper, “I had given up all hope of living any longer.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>But then Loveland’s kindness caught up with him; by chance, he ran into those same Boston men in a San Francisco saloon, and to repay Loveland’s earlier gifts, they gave him some medicine and paid for his transport to Central America, where he hoped to regain his health. In 1851 Loveland arrived at Lake Nicaragua, where he made a full recovery. He worked with the local government on a canal project there, but it was never completed.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In July 1851, Loveland returned to Brighton, Illinois, where he began a merchandising business. In 1852 he married his first wife, Phelena Shaw. The couple had no children, and Phelena died in 1854. Loveland remarried in 1856, wedding Miranda Ann Montgomery of Alton. The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Francis William, in 1857, and another son, William Leonard, in 1859.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>New Life in Colorado</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Having regained his health and started a family, Loveland again became restless. In May 1859, he joined the Colorado Gold Rush and made his way to present-day Golden, where he saw an immense business opportunity. He opened the fledgling town’s first general store, built the first house, and began surveying new transportation routes that would ease commerce in the area. In 1863–64, Loveland built the first wagon road up <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/clear-creek-canyon"><strong>Clear Creek Canyon</strong></a>. By that time, coal-fired stamp mills had begun to replace stream-panning prospectors, and Loveland capitalized on the fuel needs of the newly industrialized mining industry by opening the state’s first coal mine.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland’s experience with roads and coal undoubtedly contributed to his awareness of Golden’s other great need—a railroad connection. In 1865 Loveland formed the Colorado &amp; Clear Creek Railroad company, which was eventually renamed the Colorado Central. Construction could not begin until financial stability was achieved in 1868, but by the end of that year the Colorado Central had completed eleven miles of grade from Golden up to the mines along Clear Creek.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thanks in large part to Loveland’s enterprise and leadership, Golden became the economic hub of Colorado in the early 1860s. In 1862 Golden was named capital of the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-territory"><strong>Colorado Territory</strong></a>, and the territorial legislature met in a building erected by Loveland. As a hub for the state’s first major railway, Golden remained the territorial capitol until 1867, when wealthy Denverites secured funds to build a railroad (the <strong>Denver Pacific</strong>) that would link to the transcontinental line at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The capital may have shifted to <a href="/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>, but Loveland remained loyal to Golden. He and his wife donated six blocks of land for the establishment of a Presbyterian church. In 1874, after pressuring the legislature to pass a bill establishing a mining college in Golden, Loveland was named first president of <strong>Colorado School of Mines</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The following year, the Colorado Central was absorbed by the Kansas Pacific Railroad, which had already taken over the Denver Pacific. By 1876, however, Loveland was back in charge, and as the railroad branched out along the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a>, the new town of <strong>Loveland</strong> was named after him. By 1879 the Colorado Central had again fallen into bankruptcy, and the railroad was leased to the Union Pacific for fifty years.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Politics</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1878, two years after Colorado achieved statehood, Loveland ran for governor on the Democratic ticket. Upon receiving the party’s nomination, Loveland promised to represent “all interests, mineral, agricultural, and pastoral.” A newspaper article covering the election described Loveland as “emphatically a man of the people and in sympathy with the working classes.” “His splendid executive ability,” it went on, “is acknowledged by even his worst enemies and should he be elected to the office of governor, there is no danger but all the interests of the state will be safe in his hands.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite his popularity and reputation, Loveland lost the contest to <strong>Frederick W. Pitkin</strong>. One year later, the Democrats nominated Loveland for the office of US senator, but the seat instead went to Republican <a href="/article/nathaniel-p-hill"><strong>Nathaniel P. Hill</strong></a>. Still, in 1880 Colorado Democrats evidently had enough faith in Loveland to name him as their choice for presidential candidate at the national convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 5–1 vote among the state’s delegates was the first time Coloradans of either party had put forward one of their own as a presidential candidate. However, Loveland was brushed aside at the national level, as the Democrats chose Winfield Scott Hancock of Pennsylvania as their nominee.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Death and Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland spent his later years in Lakewood, Colorado. After enduring the loss of a young grandson, he died on December 17, 1894. An obituary in the <em>Denver Times</em> gushed that “a no more glorious wreath can be laid upon the tomb of any man than that which symbolizes his leadership among Colorado pioneers.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Today, most Coloradans know William Loveland via the city and mountain pass that bear his name. Yet his contributions to the state went far beyond railroads and surveys—he was a superstar personality whose gentlemanly reputation and active leadership not only steered the physical development of Colorado, but also helped its meteoric rise in the national consciousness of late nineteenth-century America.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/william-loveland" hreflang="en">william loveland</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/loveland" hreflang="en">loveland</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-central-railroad" hreflang="en">Colorado Central Railroad</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/loveland-pass" hreflang="en">Loveland Pass</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/gold-rush" hreflang="en">gold rush</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p><em>Denver Times</em>, December 18, 1894.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kenneth Jessen, “<a href="https://www.reporterherald.com/2018/11/10/wah-loveland-was-a-pioneer-railroad-builder/">W.A.H. Loveland Was a Pioneer Railroad Builder</a>,” <em>Loveland Reporter-Herald</em>, November 10, 2018.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“Mexican War: An Interview,” <em>New York Daily Graphic</em>, March 8, 1879.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Mid-Continent Railway Museum, “<a href="https://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/CandS/cc-passenger/ColoradoCentralChron.htm">Chronology of the Colorado Central Railroad</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, December 18, 1894.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Sarah Nichole Russell, “<a href="http://digital.auraria.edu/content/AA/00/00/14/18/00001/AA00001418_00001.pdf">William Austin Hamilton Loveland: Lifelong Pioneer</a>,” MA thesis, University of Colorado, 2014.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>UtahRails.net, “<a href="https://utahrails.net/up/colorado-central.php">Colorado Central Railroad</a>,” updated June 1, 2015.</p>&#13; &#13; <p> “<a href="https://archives.denverlibrary.org/repositories/3/archival_objects/789302">W.A.H. Loveland Biography, circa 1952</a>,” Denver Public Library Western History Collection, Harold Marion Dunning Papers, MSS WH911, Box 4, FF 24–25.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Loveland Chamber of Commerce, “<a href="http://www.ci.loveland.co.us/departments/library/discover/local-history-genealogy">History</a> of Loveland.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://www.goldenhistory.org/">Golden History Museum and Park</a></p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>William Austin Hamilton Loveland (1826–94) was a businessman and railroad executive in early Colorado. Loveland arrived in Colorado during the Colorado Gold Rush. He played a role in the development of Golden. Loveland put up the city’s first buildings and the area’s first wagon road. He established the state’s first coal mine.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland went on to build the Colorado Central Railroad. He also ran for governor of Colorado. The city of Loveland is named after him. So is Loveland Pass, which he explored on one of his many surveying trips. Loveland was responsible for some of the most important developments in Colorado's history.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>William A.H. Loveland was born in 1826 in Chatham, Massachusetts. Little is known about his mother. His father, Rev. Leonard Loveland, was a Methodist minister and veteran of the War of 1812. A year after he was born, William’s family moved to Rhode Island. At the age of eight he began work in a cotton factory. In 1837 his father moved the family to the town of Alton, Illinois. They started a farm. Loveland worked the family farm until his late teens when he enrolled in McKendree College. He spent a year there before moving on to Shurtleff College in Alton in 1846.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>That year, Loveland developed a painful lung affliction. His doctor recommended he move to a warmer climate. Loveland did not have money. However, the Mexican-American War had begun that year. The war offered Loveland pay, relocation, and adventure. He answered an ad for government teamsters in a St. Louis newspaper. Loveland moved to the city and began working for the army. He was sent to New Orleans. From there he went to Veracruz, Mexico, in 1847.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Teamster, Prospector, Traveler</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Although he was not a soldier, Loveland saw plenty of action in the Mexican-American War. Defending supplies in hostile territory put him in harm’s way. Outnumbered American commanders sometimes called teamsters into battle. In September 1847, Loveland was wounded by artillery. He spent months recovering in Mexico City before he was cleared to go home.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland returned to Illinois in 1848 to finish college. One year later, the lure of gold drew him to California. He prospected in Grass Valley, north of Sacramento. Loveland built the first house there. He didn't have much luck prospecting. Loveland gave his tools, cabin, and claim to three other prospectors from Boston. He moved to San Francisco. His health was again in decline. He later told a New York newspaper, “I had given up all hope of living any longer.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland’s kindness caught up with him. By chance, he ran into those same Boston men in a San Francisco saloon. To repay Loveland’s earlier gifts, the men gave him medicine. They also paid for him to go to Central America. There, Loveland hoped to regain his health. In 1851 Loveland arrived at Lake Nicaragua. He made a full recovery. Loveland worked with the local government on a canal project. However, it was never completed.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In July 1851, Loveland returned to Brighton, Illinois. He began a merchandising business. In 1852, he married his first wife, Phelena Shaw. The couple had no children. Phelena died in 1854. Loveland remarried in 1856. The couple welcomed their first child in 1857. Another son was born in 1859.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>New Life in Colorado</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland again became restless. In May 1859, he joined the Colorado Gold Rush. Loveland made his way to present-day Golden where he saw a business opportunity. He opened the town’s first general store. Loveland built the first house. He began surveying new transportation routes. In 1863–64, Loveland built the first wagon road up Clear Creek Canyon. By that time, coal-fired stamp mills had begun to replace stream-panning prospectors. Loveland capitalized on the fuel needs of the newly industrialized mining industry. He opened the state’s first coal mine.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland’s experience with roads and coal made him aware of Golden’s need for a railroad connection. In 1865 Loveland formed the Colorado &amp; Clear Creek Railroad company. The company was renamed the Colorado Central. By the end of 1868, the Colorado Central had completed eleven miles of grade from Golden up to the mines along Clear Creek.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thanks in part to Loveland’s leadership, Golden became the economic hub of Colorado in the early 1860s. In 1862 Golden was named capital of the Colorado Territory. The territorial legislature met in a building erected by Loveland. Golden remained the territorial capitol until 1867. That's when wealthy Denverites secured funds to build a railroad that would link to the transcontinental line at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland remained loyal to Golden. He and his wife donated six blocks of land for the creation of a church. Loveland pressured the legislature to pass a bill establishing a mining college in Golden. In 1874, Loveland was named first president of Colorado School of Mines.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The following year, the Colorado Central was absorbed by the Kansas Pacific Railroad. By 1876, Loveland was back in charge. As the railroad branched out, the new town of Loveland was named after him. By 1879 the Colorado Central had fallen into bankruptcy. The railroad was leased to the Union Pacific for fifty years.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Politics</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1878, two years after Colorado achieved statehood, Loveland ran for governor on the Democratic ticket. He promised to represent all interests. A newspaper article covering the election described Loveland as “a man of the people and in sympathy with the working classes.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite his reputation, Loveland lost to Frederick W. Pitkin. One year later, the Democrats nominated Loveland for the office of US senator. The seat went to Republican Nathaniel P. Hill. In 1880 Colorado Democrats named Loveland as their choice for presidential candidate at the national convention. It was the first time Coloradans of either party had put forward one of their own as a presidential candidate. Loveland was brushed aside. The Democrats chose Winfield Scott Hancock as their nominee.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Death and Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland spent his later years in Lakewood, Colorado. He died on December 17, 1894. An obituary in the Denver Times gushed that “a no more glorious wreath can be laid upon the tomb of any man than that which symbolizes his leadership among Colorado pioneers.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Today, most Coloradans know William Loveland for the city and mountain pass that bear his name. His contributions to the state went far beyond railroads and surveys. He helped shape Colorado's rise in the national awareness.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>William Austin Hamilton Loveland (1826–94) was a businessman and railroad executive in early Colorado. Loveland arrived in Colorado during the Colorado Gold Rush. He played a role in the development of Golden. Loveland put up the city’s first buildings and the area’s first wagon road. He established the state’s first coal mine.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland went on to build the Colorado Central Railroad. He also ran for governor of Colorado. The city of Loveland is named after him. So is Loveland Pass, which he explored on one of his many surveying trips. Loveland is remembered as an energetic leader who was responsible for some of the most important developments in Colorado's history.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>William A.H. Loveland was born in 1826 in Chatham, Massachusetts. Little is known about his mother. His father, Rev. Leonard Loveland, was a Methodist minister and veteran of the War of 1812. A year after he was born, William’s family moved to Rhode Island. At the age of eight he began work in a cotton factory. In 1837 his father moved the family to the town of Alton, Illinois. They started a farm. He worked the family farm until his late teens when he enrolled in McKendree College. He spent a year there before moving on to Shurtleff College in Alton in 1846.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>That year, Loveland developed pleurisy, a painful lung affliction. Loveland's doctor recommended he move to a warmer climate. Loveland did not have money. However, the Mexican-American War had begun that year. The war offered Loveland three things he needed: pay, relocation, and adventure. He answered an ad for government teamsters in a St. Louis newspaper. Loveland moved to the city and began working for the army. He was sent to New Orleans. From there he went to Veracruz, Mexico, in 1847.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Teamster, Prospector, Traveler</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Although he was a teamster, not a soldier, Loveland saw plenty of action in the Mexican-American War. Defending supplies in hostile territory put him in harm’s way. Outnumbered American commanders sometimes called teamsters into battle. In September 1847, Loveland was wounded by artillery. He spent months recovering in Mexico City before he was cleared to go home.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland returned to Illinois in 1848 to finish college. One year later, the lure of gold drew him to California. He prospected in Grass Valley, north of Sacramento. Loveland built the first house there. He didn't have much luck prospecting. Loveland gave his tools, cabin, and claim to three other prospectors from Boston. He moved to San Francisco. His health was again in decline. He later told a New York newspaper, “I had given up all hope of living any longer.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland’s kindness caught up with him. By chance, he ran into those same Boston men in a San Francisco saloon. To repay Loveland’s earlier gifts, the men gave him medicine. They also paid for him to go to Central America. There Loveland hoped to regain his health. In 1851 Loveland arrived at Lake Nicaragua. He made a full recovery. Loveland worked with the local government on a canal project there. However, it was never completed.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In July 1851, Loveland returned to Brighton, Illinois. He began a merchandising business. In 1852, he married his first wife, Phelena Shaw. The couple had no children. Phelena died in 1854. Loveland remarried in 1856, wedding Miranda Ann Montgomery of Alton. The couple welcomed their first child in 1857. Another son was born in 1859.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>New Life in Colorado</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland again became restless. In May 1859, he joined the Colorado Gold Rush. Loveland made his way to present-day Golden where he saw a business opportunity. He opened the town’s first general store. Loveland built the first house. He began surveying new transportation routes. In 1863–64, Loveland built the first wagon road up Clear Creek Canyon. By that time, coal-fired stamp mills had begun to replace stream-panning prospectors. Loveland capitalized on the fuel needs of the newly industrialized mining industry. He opened the state’s first coal mine.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland’s experience with roads and coal made him aware of Golden’s need for a railroad connection. In 1865 Loveland formed the Colorado &amp; Clear Creek Railroad company. The company was renamed the Colorado Central. By the end of 1868, the Colorado Central had completed eleven miles of grade from Golden up to the mines along Clear Creek.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thanks in large part to Loveland’s leadership, Golden became the economic hub of Colorado in the early 1860s. In 1862 Golden was named capital of the Colorado Territory. The territorial legislature met in a building erected by Loveland. Golden remained the territorial capitol until 1867. That's when wealthy Denverites secured funds to build a railroad that would link to the transcontinental line at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland remained loyal to Golden. He and his wife donated six blocks of land for the creation of a church. In 1874, after pressuring the legislature to pass a bill establishing a mining college in Golden, Loveland was named first president of Colorado School of Mines.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The following year, the Colorado Central was absorbed by the Kansas Pacific Railroad. By 1876, Loveland was back in charge. As the railroad branched out along the Front Range, the new town of Loveland was named after him. By 1879 the Colorado Central had fallen into bankruptcy. The railroad was leased to the Union Pacific for fifty years.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Politics</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1878, two years after Colorado achieved statehood, Loveland ran for governor on the Democratic ticket. He promised to represent all interests. A newspaper article covering the election described Loveland as “a man of the people and in sympathy with the working classes.” “His splendid executive ability,” it went on, “is acknowledged by even his worst enemies and should he be elected to the office of governor, there is no danger but all the interests of the state will be safe in his hands.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite his reputation, Loveland lost to Frederick W. Pitkin. One year later, the Democrats nominated Loveland for the office of US senator. The seat went to Republican Nathaniel P. Hill. Still, in 1880 Colorado Democrats had enough faith in Loveland to name him as their choice for presidential candidate at the national convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 5–1 vote among the state’s delegates was the first time Coloradans of either party had put forward one of their own as a presidential candidate. However, Loveland was brushed aside at the national level. The Democrats chose Winfield Scott Hancock of Pennsylvania as their nominee.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Death and Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland spent his later years in Lakewood, Colorado. He died on December 17, 1894. An obituary in the Denver Times gushed that “a no more glorious wreath can be laid upon the tomb of any man than that which symbolizes his leadership among Colorado pioneers.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Today, most Coloradans know William Loveland via the city and mountain pass that bear his name. His contributions to the state went far beyond railroads and surveys. He helped shape Colorado's meteoric rise in the national consciousness.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>William Austin Hamilton Loveland (1826–94) was a businessman, railroad executive, and politician in early Colorado. Loveland arrived in Colorado during the Colorado Gold Rush. He played a role in the development of Golden. Loveland put up the city’s first buildings and the area’s first wagon road. He is also said to have established the state’s first coal mine.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland went on to establish the Colorado Central Railroad. He also ran for governor of Colorado. Loveland was even nominated for the presidency of the United States. The city of Loveland, founded along his railroad in southern Larimer County, is named after him. So is Loveland Pass, which he explored on one of his many surveying trips. Loveland is remembered as an energetic leader who was responsible for some of the most important developments in Colorado history.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>William A.H. Loveland was born in 1826 in Chatham, Massachusetts. Little is known about his mother. His father, Rev. Leonard Loveland, was a Methodist minister and veteran of the War of 1812. A year after he was born, William’s family moved to Rhode Island. At the age of eight he began work in a cotton factory. In 1837 his father moved the family to the fledgling town of Alton, Illinois. They started a farm. William was known to his friends as “Bill.”  He worked the family farm until his late teens when he enrolled in McKendree College. He spent a year there before moving on to Shurtleff College in Alton in 1846.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>That year, Loveland developed pleurisy, a painful lung affliction. His doctor recommended he relocate to a warmer climate. Loveland did not have money to move. However, the Mexican-American War had begun that year. The war offered Loveland three things he needed: pay, relocation, and adventure. He answered an ad for government teamsters in a St. Louis newspaper, moved to the city, and began working for the army. He was sent to New Orleans. From there he went to Veracruz, Mexico, in 1847.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Teamster, Prospector, Traveler</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Although he was a teamster, not a soldier, Loveland saw plenty of action in the Mexican-American War. Defending supplies in hostile territory put him in harm’s way. Outnumbered American commanders sometimes called teamsters into battle. At the Battle of Chapultepec in September 1847, Loveland was wounded by artillery. He spent months recovering in Mexico City before he was cleared to go home.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland returned to Illinois in 1848 intending to finish college. One year later, however, the lure of gold drew him to California. He prospected in Grass Valley, north of Sacramento, and built the first house there. Loveland had only minimal luck. He gave his tools, cabin, and claim to three other prospectors from Boston and moved to San Francisco. His health was again in decline. He later told a New York newspaper, “I had given up all hope of living any longer.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>But then Loveland’s kindness caught up with him; by chance, he ran into those same Boston men in a San Francisco saloon, and to repay Loveland’s earlier gifts, they gave him some medicine and paid for his transport to Central America, where he hoped to regain his health. In 1851 Loveland arrived at Lake Nicaragua, where he made a full recovery. He worked with the local government on a canal project there, but it was never completed.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In July 1851, Loveland returned to Brighton, Illinois, where he began a merchandising business. In 1852 he married his first wife, Phelena Shaw. The couple had no children, and Phelena died in 1854. Loveland remarried in 1856, wedding Miranda Ann Montgomery of Alton. The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Francis William, in 1857, and another son, William Leonard, in 1859.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>New Life in Colorado</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Having regained his health and started a family, Loveland again became restless. In May 1859, he joined the Colorado Gold Rush and made his way to present-day Golden, where he saw an immense business opportunity. He opened the fledgling town’s first general store, built the first house, and began surveying new transportation routes that would ease commerce in the area. In 1863–64, Loveland built the first wagon road up Clear Creek Canyon. By that time, coal-fired stamp mills had begun to replace stream-panning prospectors, and Loveland capitalized on the fuel needs of the newly industrialized mining industry by opening the state’s first coal mine.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland’s experience with roads and coal undoubtedly contributed to his awareness of Golden’s other great need—a railroad connection. In 1865 Loveland formed the Colorado &amp; Clear Creek Railroad company, which was eventually renamed the Colorado Central. Construction could not begin until financial stability was achieved in 1868, but by the end of that year the Colorado Central had completed eleven miles of grade from Golden up to the mines along Clear Creek.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Thanks in large part to Loveland’s enterprise and leadership, Golden became the economic hub of Colorado in the early 1860s. In 1862 Golden was named capital of the Colorado Territory, and the territorial legislature met in a building erected by Loveland. As a hub for the state’s first major railway, Golden remained the territorial capitol until 1867, when wealthy Denverites secured funds to build a railroad (the Denver Pacific) that would link to the transcontinental line at Cheyenne, Wyoming.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The capital may have shifted to Denver, but Loveland remained loyal to Golden. He and his wife donated six blocks of land for the establishment of a Presbyterian church. In 1874, after pressuring the legislature to pass a bill establishing a mining college in Golden, Loveland was named first president of Colorado School of Mines.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The following year, the Colorado Central was absorbed by the Kansas Pacific Railroad, which had already taken over the Denver Pacific. By 1876, however, Loveland was back in charge, and as the railroad branched out along the Front Range, the new town of Loveland was named after him. By 1879 the Colorado Central had again fallen into bankruptcy, and the railroad was leased to the Union Pacific for fifty years.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Politics</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1878, two years after Colorado achieved statehood, Loveland ran for governor on the Democratic ticket. Upon receiving the party’s nomination, Loveland promised to represent “all interests, mineral, agricultural, and pastoral.” A newspaper article covering the election described Loveland as “emphatically a man of the people and in sympathy with the working classes.” “His splendid executive ability,” it went on, “is acknowledged by even his worst enemies and should he be elected to the office of governor, there is no danger but all the interests of the state will be safe in his hands.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Despite his popularity and reputation, Loveland lost the contest to Frederick W. Pitkin. One year later, the Democrats nominated Loveland for the office of US senator, but the seat instead went to Republican Nathaniel P. Hill. Still, in 1880 Colorado Democrats evidently had enough faith in Loveland to name him as their choice for presidential candidate at the national convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. The 5–1 vote among the state’s delegates was the first time Coloradans of either party had put forward one of their own as a presidential candidate. However, Loveland was brushed aside at the national level, as the Democrats chose Winfield Scott Hancock of Pennsylvania as their nominee.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Death and Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Loveland spent his later years in Lakewood, Colorado. After enduring the loss of a young grandson, he died on December 17, 1894. An obituary in the Denver Times gushed that “a no more glorious wreath can be laid upon the tomb of any man than that which symbolizes his leadership among Colorado pioneers.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Today, most Coloradans know William Loveland via the city and mountain pass that bear his name. Yet his contributions to the state went far beyond railroads and surveys—he was a superstar personality whose gentlemanly reputation and active leadership not only steered the physical development of Colorado, but also helped its meteoric rise in the national consciousness of late nineteenth-century America.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Wed, 15 Jan 2020 22:14:31 +0000 yongli 3116 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Teller House http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/teller-house <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Teller House</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2018-05-21T13:54:38-06:00" title="Monday, May 21, 2018 - 13:54" class="datetime">Mon, 05/21/2018 - 13:54</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/teller-house" data-a2a-title="Teller House"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fteller-house&amp;title=Teller%20House"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Built in 1871–72 by brothers <a href="/article/henry-teller"><strong>Henry M. Teller</strong></a> and Willard&nbsp;Teller, the Teller House is one of the oldest and most important buildings in <a href="/article/central-city%E2%80%93black-hawk-historic-district"><strong>Central City</strong></a>. It has served as the town’s main hotel for more than sixty years. The four-story brick hotel played host to Central City’s most important visitors, including President Ulysses S. Grant during his tour of Colorado in 1873. Today the Teller House is home to several businesses and serves the community as a museum showcasing Central City’s history as one of the most profitable mining towns in the Centennial State.</p> <h2>Staying in Splendor</h2> <p>Henry M. Teller was one of Central City’s most prominent early residents. A lawyer by trade, Teller came to Colorado to take part in the <a href="/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>Colorado Gold Rush</strong></a>, arriving in 1861. Teller was not a miner, but rather used his knowledge of the law and his innate business acumen to accumulate wealth and make connections. Teller’s investments ranged from telegraph companies to fruit farms, but his most notable business accomplishment was to help organize the <strong>Colorado Central Railroad</strong>, bringing Central City its first rail connection. Teller would go on to become Colorado’s senior US senator from 1876 to 1909 and serve as secretary of the interior under Presidents James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur between 1881 and 1885.</p> <p>As a resident of Central City during its peak boom years, Teller recognized that the mining town desperately needed a hotel. In 1871 Henry Teller and his brother Willard&nbsp;offered $60,000 of their own money for the hotel if Central City residents would buy $25,000 worth of stock. A deal was struck, with construction beginning in the summer of 1871.</p> <p>The hotel was completed in just one year, opening its 150 rooms to guests in July 1872. At the time, the Teller House was one of the most opulent buildings in <a href="/article/colorado-territory"><strong>Colorado Territory</strong></a> and ranked as the territory’s largest hotel outside of <a href="/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>. The four-story brick building featured a flat, concrete-covered roof, a beautiful flagstone terrace, and a wooden balcony overlooking the street on the hotel’s west side, while the historic Romanesque construction and arched windows on the first floor showed off the grandeur and wealth of Colorado’s mining frontier.</p> <p>The Teller House served Central City when the town was at the height of its fame and wealth between 1870 and 1890, and its finely furnished sitting rooms served as gathering places for Colorado’s high society and visiting elite. When Ulysses S. Grant visited Central City in April 1873, the president was invited to walk into the hotel along a sidewalk covered in silver ingots, and he was served a luxurious eight-course meal in the hotel dining room.</p> <p>The Teller House nearly burned to the ground in 1874, just two years after its completion. Fortunately, the hotel’s brick construction helped spare it from the destruction that claimed most of Central City’s business district, and may have even helped stop the fire from spreading through a town built mostly from wood. Central City was wealthy enough to rebuild almost immediately, and a new town made from brick and stone sprang up from the fire’s ashes. The Teller House and the Tellers themselves helped facilitate this rejuvenation, and many of the buildings still standing near the hotel were constructed during the postfire building boom.</p> <p>In addition to the hotel, the Teller House was home to several other businesses, including a jewelry store, an eyeglass emporium, a barbershop, and the Rocky Mountain Bank. After the 1874 fire, the bank moved around the corner to a new building, but other businesses continued operating from the Teller House throughout the twentieth century.</p> <h2>The Face on the Barroom Floor</h2> <p>Though the Teller House was famous for its opulence, the hotel entered a period of decline along with the rest of Central City in the early twentieth century. While Colorado’s admission to the union in 1876 initially spurred investment in Central City’s mining operations, many of the town’s wealthy and influential residents moved to Denver after it was selected as the state capital. As Central City lost its elite residents, more lucrative and productive mineral lodes in <a href="/article/aspen"><strong>Aspen</strong></a>, <strong>Leadville</strong>, and the <a href="/article/cripple-creek"><strong>Cripple Creek</strong></a> District outshined the former Front Range boomtown. By the turn of the century, Central City had been almost totally eclipsed by these other towns in terms of its cultural and economic relevance.</p> <p>But Central City’s cultural and historic roots ran deeper than the veins of ore that had propelled its rise to prominence in the 1860s. The revival of the <a href="/article/central-city-opera-house"><strong>Central City Opera</strong></a>’s summer opera festival during the 1930s brought new hopes of economic prosperity to the former mining town, spurring a period of citywide restoration during which much of the Teller House was renovated. Restoration crews even uncovered original frescoes painted by English illustrator Charles St. George Stanley in the hotel’s bar, the Elevator. The frescoes were restored to their original glory by artist Paschal Quackenbush in 1932.</p> <p>As stunning as the frescoes were, the hotel bar’s main attraction is the face painted on the barroom floor. In 1936, after one too many drinks, <strong><em>Denver Post </em>s</strong>taff artist Herndon Davis painted a woman’s face on the floor as an homage to French poet Hugh d’Arcy’s poem “The Face in the Barroom Floor.” What began as a joke has become one of Central City’s biggest tourist attractions, and visitors to the bar must now peer through a protective enclosure to see Davis’s work.</p> <h2>Today</h2> <p>Since its restoration in the 1930s, the Teller House has continued to serve Central City as a cultural hub. The old building still benefits from its proximity to the Central City Opera House, which has maintained offices in the Teller House since the 1990s. While Central City and nearby Black Hawk are both National <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/central-city–black-hawk-historic-district"><strong>Historic Landmarks</strong></a>, the towns’ main attractions today are their many casinos. Indeed, gambling is <a href="/article/gilpin-county"><strong>Gilpin County</strong></a>’s major economic engine. Taxes on gambling revenues help support the historic preservation of Central City, and the hotel’s $10 million renovation in the early 1990s was funded by a private casino operator who installed twenty slot machines in the old hotel (the machines were removed in the early 2000s due to declining revenue). While no gambling takes place in the Teller House today, games of chance would have been familiar to hotel guests during its heyday in the nineteenth century.</p> <p>The Teller House building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It is now maintained as a museum, where visitors can learn what life was like when Central City was a rough-and-tumble frontier mining town. The Teller House is dwarfed today by the shiny new hotels and casinos that dominate Central City’s skyline. But the grand old hotel stands as an ancestor of those modern casinos, a reminder of Gilpin County’s living heritage.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/bock-samuel" hreflang="und">Bock, Samuel</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/teller-house" hreflang="en">teller house</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/central-city" hreflang="en">Central City</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/henry-teller" hreflang="en">Henry Teller</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-gold-rush" hreflang="en">Colorado Gold Rush</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/gilpin-county" hreflang="en">Gilpin County</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-central-railroad" hreflang="en">Colorado Central Railroad</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Alan Granruth, ed.,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=ti%3A%22The%20Little%20Kingdom%20of%20Gilpin:%20Gilpin%20County,%20Colorado%22" title="Find in a library with WorldCat"><em>The Little Kingdom of Gilpin: Gilpin County, Colorado</em></a>&nbsp;(Central City, CO: Gilpin Historical Society, 2000).</p> <p>Liston E. Leyendecker and Perry Eberhart, “Teller House,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (1971).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Carl Abbott, Stephen J. Leonard, and Thomas J. Noel,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=ti%3A%22Colorado:%20A%20History%20of%20the%20Centennial%20State%22" title="Find in a library with WorldCat"><em>Colorado: A History of the Centennial State</em></a>, 5th ed. (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2013).</p> <p>Patricia A. Stokowski,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=ti%3A%22Riches%20and%20Regrets:%20Betting%20on%20Gambling%20in%20Two%20Colorado%20Mountain%20Towns%22" title="Find in a library with WorldCat"><em>Riches and Regrets: Betting on Gambling in Two Colorado Mountain Towns</em></a>&nbsp;(Niwot: University Press of Colorado, 1996).</p> <p>William Wyckoff,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.worldcat.org/search?q=ti%3A%22Creating%20Colorado:%20The%20Making%20of%20a%20Western%20American%20Landscape,%201860-1940%22" title="Find in a library with WorldCat"><em>Creating Colorado: The Making of a Western American Landscape, 1860–1940</em></a><a><em>{}</em></a><a href="file://acnsfile.acns.colostate.edu/libraryusers/yongli/Desktop/Bock_TellerHouse_WW_NJ_UPC_3-2-18.docx#_msocom_1" id="_anchor_1" name="_msoanchor_1" uage="JavaScript">[S1]</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999).</p> <div> <hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /> <div> <div id="_com_1" uage="JavaScript"><a id="_msocom_1" name="_msocom_1"></a> <p>&nbsp;<a href="file://acnsfile.acns.colostate.edu/libraryusers/yongli/Desktop/Bock_TellerHouse_WW_NJ_UPC_3-2-18.docx#_msoanchor_1">[S1]</a>PM: Link returned search item not found error.</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 21 May 2018 19:54:38 +0000 yongli 2883 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Georgetown–Silver Plume Historic District http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/georgetown-silver-plume-historic-district <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Georgetown–Silver Plume Historic District</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--2077--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--2077.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/georgetown-and-silver-plume"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Georgetown-Silver-Plume-Media-1_0.jpg?itok=g3OygM8U" width="1000" height="598" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/georgetown-and-silver-plume" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Georgetown and Silver Plume</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>First developed as silver mining towns in the 1860s and 1870s, Georgetown and Silver Plume prospered until 1893. After World War II, they began to be recognized for their rich mining history, and in 1966 they were declared a National Historic Landmark.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--2078--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--2078.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/early-georgetown"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Georgetown%20Silver%20Media%202_0.jpg?itok=wOsfqlq-" width="760" height="396" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/early-georgetown" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Early Georgetown</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Georgetown was named after George Griffith, who discovered gold in the area on June 17, 1859. The town grew quickly, but it did not really boom until silver was found nearby in September 1864.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--2080--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--2080.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/hamill-house"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Georgetown%20Silver%20Media%203_0.jpg?itok=X_G23Pzv" width="1024" height="680" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/hamill-house" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Hamill House</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>During Georgetown's decades of prosperity in the 1870s and 1880s, the town's wealthy merchants and professionals built blocks full of elegant Victorian houses. None was more elaborate than William Hamill's mansion, which he gradually expanded over the 1870s with the help of architect Robert Roeschlaub.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--2081--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--2081.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/silver-plume"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Georgetown-Silver-Plume-Media-4_0.jpg?itok=E89AwEx_" width="1000" height="757" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/silver-plume" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Silver Plume</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Located about two miles up Clear Creek from Georgetown, Silver Plume developed as a more working-class town with a diverse population of miners that included many European immigrants.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--2082--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--2082.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/georgetown-loop"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Georgetown%20Silver%20Media%205_0.jpg?itok=8MAhSPWw" width="541" height="640" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/georgetown-loop" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Georgetown Loop</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Despite the short distance between Georgetown and Silver Plume, connecting the towns by rail proved difficult because of the steep climb. To solve the problem, the track was extended via a series of large curves and a full loop to reduce the average grade. Completed in 1884, it was abandoned in the late 1930s but rebuilt in the 1970s–80s by the Colorado Historical Society.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> <button class="carousel-control-prev" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="prev"> <span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Previous</span> </button> <button class="carousel-control-next" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="next"> <span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Next</span> </button> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-11-18T16:27:26-07:00" title="Friday, November 18, 2016 - 16:27" class="datetime">Fri, 11/18/2016 - 16:27</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/georgetown-silver-plume-historic-district" data-a2a-title="Georgetown–Silver Plume Historic District"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fgeorgetown-silver-plume-historic-district&amp;title=Georgetown%E2%80%93Silver%20Plume%20Historic%20District"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Located in the upper Clear Creek valley about forty-five miles west of <a href="/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>, the Georgetown–Silver Plume Historic District is one of the best preserved historic <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/precious-metal-mining-colorado"><strong>mining</strong></a> districts in Colorado. In the late nineteenth century, Georgetown thrived as the area’s commercial and professional center, while Silver Plume developed as a diverse town of working-class miners. The area declined after the <a href="/article/panic-1893"><strong>Panic of 1893</strong></a> but revived somewhat after World War II thanks to the rise of ski traffic, automobile tourism, and historic preservation. Today the area remains a popular destination for <a href="/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a> residents who want to see Georgetown’s well-preserved Victorian buildings and ride the restored <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/georgetown-loop"><strong>Georgetown Loop Railroad</strong></a> to Silver Plume.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>George’s Town</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Georgetown was named after George F. Griffith, who discovered gold in the area on June 17, 1859. Originally from Kentucky, George and his brother David T. Griffith had come to Colorado in October 1858, during the initial excitement about gold discoveries near what is now Denver. At first they stayed in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/auraria-west-denver"><strong>Auraria</strong></a>, but they headed into the mountains after <strong>John Gregory</strong>’s major gold strike in May 1859 at what became <a href="/article/central-city%E2%80%93black-hawk-historic-district"><strong>Central City–Black Hawk</strong></a>. Arriving too late to stake a good claim, they moved in June to the South Fork of <a href="/article/clear-creek-canyon"><strong>Clear Creek</strong></a>. On June 15, they set up camp in a three-sided valley along the creek, and on June 17, George Griffith found gold. The Griffiths soon built a cabin at their campsite, which eventually became the corner of Seventeenth and Main Streets in Georgetown.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As news of Griffith’s discovery spread, prospectors streamed into the valley and formed an unofficial mining district, which was formally organized as the Griffith Mining District in June 1860. The Griffiths spent $1,500 building a twenty-mile toll road from their district to Central City. By that September, a town had taken shape in the valley and was named Georgetown after George Griffith. In spring 1861, David Griffith surveyed and platted the town, which had about forty residents and at least two mills.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The initial optimism in Georgetown soon waned as the <strong><a href="/article/civil-war-colorado">Civil War</a></strong> stalled migration and new mining areas such as <a href="/article/park-county"><strong>South Park</strong></a> took off. One problem, it turned out, was that miners were trying to extract gold out of rocks that, unbeknownst to them, were actually rich in silver. Silver was discovered on nearby Mt. McClellan on September 14, 1864, and news of the find spread over the fall and winter. In spring 1865, Georgetown was flooded with a new wave of prospectors. By that fall, Georgetown and its immediate neighbor to the south, Elizabethtown (named after a Griffith sister or wife), were full of tents and other temporary shelters.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Silver Queen</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>It took several years of development, but by the late 1860s the Georgetown area was booming. As Georgetown matured into the commercial hub of the most important mining district in the state, it was able to combine with nearby Elizabethtown and wrest the <a href="/article/clear-creek-county"><strong>Clear Creek County</strong></a> seat away from <strong>Idaho Springs</strong>. By 1870, the population surged to 3,000. A school was built in 1874; early churches included Grace Episcopal (1869), First United Presbyterian (1874), and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic (1877). In 1875 William Cushman completed a two-story building to house his Bank of Georgetown, and he later added a third story and put an opera house on the top floor. The same year, an enigmatic Frenchman named <strong>Louis Dupuy</strong> opened a stylish hotel and restaurant called the <a href="/article/hotel-de-paris"><strong>Hotel de Paris</strong></a>, which featured luxuries such as indoor plumbing and French cooking.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Georgetown became home to a growing number of merchants, lawyers, doctors, and other professionals who attempted to replicate the society and culture of the East. As the area’s wealth increased, the town gave rise to increasingly elaborate houses. In 1876–77, for example, the noted Denver architect <a href="/article/robert-s-roeschlaub"><strong>Robert Roeschlaub</strong></a> designed a Gothic Revival residence on Rose Street for John Adams Church. Meanwhile, William Hamill acquired his brother-in-law’s older Country Gothic house and hired Roeschlaub to turn it into an elegant Gothic Revival mansion with several new wings, a glass solarium, and oriel and bay windows.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>While Georgetown achieved prominence and prosperity as the area’s commercial and professional center, the town of Silver Plume grew up about two miles to the southwest as the home of many of the area’s working-class miners. In the 1860s, mines had been developed in Brown Gulch, just west of present-day Silver Plume, and the town of Brownville formed at the base of the gulch. By the 1870s, activity had moved east to what is now Silver Plume. Incorporated in 1880, the town housed a melting pot of more than 1,000 miners from Cornish, Irish, English, German, Italian, and Scandinavian backgrounds. They were served by a bustling commercial district with groceries, dry goods stores, saloons, and boarding houses.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Stability</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1877 Georgetown hit its peak of prosperity. That year, 5,000 people lived in and around the city, which had two newspapers, a telegraph office, a bank, five churches, and several hotels. In August the <strong>Colorado Central Railroad</strong> arrived, providing a cheaper and faster way to ship ores and promising growth in the years to come.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>But Georgetown soon lost its boomtown glow when silver was discovered at <a href="/article/leadville"><strong>Leadville</strong></a>. Once Leadville’s silver boom started in 1878–79, its production easily dwarfed that of Georgetown, attracting prospectors and investors from across the country in a frenzy of mining and speculation. Meanwhile, Georgetown maintained steady production over the next fifteen years. Because it existed in the shadow of Leadville, it was able to develop a measure of stability outside the rapid booms and busts that usually defined mining-town economies. In the 1880s and early 1890s, stately houses and prominent commercial buildings went up throughout the town. Electric streetlights were installed in 1891, and City Park was completed in 1892.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>When the Leadville boom began, the Colorado Central planned to extend its line west from Georgetown over the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/great-divide"><strong>Continental Divide</strong></a> and ultimately to Leadville. The project soon ran into problems. The climb straight from Georgetown to Silver Plume was too steep for a railroad, so engineer Robert Blickensderfer had to design a series of sweeping curves and one large loop to extend the track’s distance and thereby lower the average grade. All this took years to plan and build, and it was not until March 1884 that the first trains rolled into Silver Plume. The line was extended up the valley to Graymont (near Bakerville) but never went any farther. Built to haul silver ore, the scenic line soon became popular among sightseers. Georgetown became a tourist destination and boasted more than a dozen hotels.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Decline</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Georgetown’s relatively long run of stability and prosperity came to an end in 1893 with the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which caused a swift decline in silver mining across the country. Mines failed, businesses closed, and people moved away. Without much freight to haul, the Georgetown Loop connecting Georgetown and Silver Plume limped along on tourist traffic for several decades before being abandoned in 1939. By that time Georgetown’s population had dwindled to the 300s. Some limited mining took place in the early twentieth century, but during World War II most of the area’s old mining machinery was removed for scrap metal drives.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Revival and Preservation</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After World War II, automobile <strong>tourism</strong> revived and transformed Georgetown’s economy, leading to a new focus on historic preservation. This change began even before the war, when US 6 went through Clear Creek Valley, but took several decades to develop. Early skiers passing through on their way to and from the slopes often stopped at Georgetown’s hotels and bars. Meanwhile, Denverites started to buy old Victorian houses in town and spruce them up as summer homes. By the late 1940s, the town claimed several hundred second-home owners.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The people who came to Georgetown were attracted by its picturesque Victorian blocks, which had never been razed by fires, and started working to preserve them. In 1954 the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in Colorado bought the Hotel de Paris and turned it into a museum. One second-home owner from Denver, <strong>James Grafton Rogers</strong>, became mayor in the 1950s and pushed preservation initiatives designed to make the town a kind of museum to the state’s mining past. In 1966 Georgetown and Silver Plume were named a National Historic Landmark District.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By the 1960s, however, Georgetown was starting to face what some locals perceived as threats to its well-preserved Victorian charm. As <a href="/article/interstate-70"><strong>Interstate 70</strong></a> marched up the Clear Creek Valley, initial plans called for it to cut Georgetown in two and destroy what was left of the old Georgetown Loop route. The Colorado Department of Highways saved Georgetown and the Georgetown Loop route by shifting the interstate onto a bench blasted high into the side of Republican Mountain. At Silver Plume there were no good options for a different route, and the interstate ended up dividing the town’s business district from its residential area and railroad depot (which had to be moved).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Spurred by the interstate threat and the prospect of hosting events for the <a href="/article/1976-winter-olympics"><strong>1976 Winter Olympics</strong></a>, in 1970 local residents formed <strong>Historic Georgetown Inc.</strong> to promote historic preservation and restoration in town. Soon the organization helped the town pass the state’s first town-wide historic preservation ordinance. It also acquired and restored the Hamill House, which was opened for public tours.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Meanwhile, in 1959 the Colorado Historical Society (now <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/history-colorado-colorado-historical-society"><strong>History Colorado</strong></a>), spurred by board chair James Grafton Rogers, had started to acquire land with the goal of reconstructing the Georgetown Loop. After the rerouting of Interstate 70 saved the old railroad grade, reconstruction of the line began in the early 1970s. By the middle of the decade, tourist trains could run part of the way from Georgetown to Silver Plume. Completion was delayed for several years because of funding shortfalls, but in 1982 the Boettcher Foundation donated $1 million toward the project. The grand opening of the revived Georgetown Loop was held in August 1984. Two years later the Silver Plume Depot was restored to its original appearance.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Today</h2>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="/image/downtown-georgetown-today"><img alt="Downtown Georgetown Today" src="/sites/default/files/Georgetown%20Silver%20Media%206.jpg" style="float:right; height:370px; margin:15px; width:480px" /></a>Today Georgetown continues to be a popular destination for tourists driving up Interstate 70 from Denver. Visitors can see parts of the town’s history at the Hotel de Paris Museum, the Hamill House Museum, the Georgetown Heritage Center at the 1874 School, and a wide variety of other historic churches, commercial buildings, and residences that were preserved and restored in the late twentieth century. In addition, Georgetown serves as a base for people looking to ride the Georgetown Loop, drive the <strong>Guanella Pass Scenic Byway</strong>, or hike nearby <a href="/article/fourteeners"><strong>Fourteeners</strong></a> such as <strong>Mt. Bierstadt </strong>or <strong>Grays and Torreys Peaks</strong>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Originally home to working-class miners rather than wealthy merchants and professionals, Silver Plume has seen significantly less restoration and tourist development than Georgetown and receives far fewer visitors. One of the town’s most prominent historic buildings, the Silver Plume Schoolhouse, is now home to a community center and the George Rowe Museum, which focuses on the town’s history.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/georgetown" hreflang="en">georgetown</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/georgetown-loop" hreflang="en">Georgetown Loop</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/mining" hreflang="en">mining</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/clear-creek-county" hreflang="en">clear creek county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/silver-mining" hreflang="en">silver mining</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/silver-plume" hreflang="en">Silver Plume</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/louis-dupuy" hreflang="en">Louis Dupuy</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/hotel-de-paris" hreflang="en">hotel de paris</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-central-railroad" hreflang="en">Colorado Central Railroad</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/james-grafton-rogers" hreflang="en">James Grafton Rogers</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p><em>Guide to the Georgetown-Silver Plume Historic District</em>, 3rd ed. (Boulder, CO: Johnson Books, 1995).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kenneth Jessen, <em>Georgetown: A Quick History Including the Georgetown Loop</em> (First Light, 1996).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Joseph S. Mendinghall, “Georgetown-Silver Plume Historic District,” National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form (May 1975).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Liston E. Leyendecker, <em>Georgetown: Colorado’s Silver Queen, 1859–1876</em> (Ft. Collins, CO: Centennial, 1977).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Liston E. Leyendecker, Christine A. Bradley, and Duane A. Smith, <em>The Rise of the Silver Queen: Georgetown, Colorado, 1859–1896</em> (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2005).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Carl Abbott, Stephen J. Leonard, and Thomas J. Noel, <em>Colorado: A History of the Centennial State</em>, 5th ed. (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2013).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Liston E. Leyendecker, <em>The Griffith Family and the Founding of Georgetown</em> (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2000).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>William Philpott, <em>Vacationland: Tourism and Environment in the Colorado High Country</em> (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2013).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Rocky Mountain PBS, <a href="https://video.rmpbs.org/video/2365862894/">"Hotel de Paris,"</a> <em>Colorado Experience</em>, October 13, 2016.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>William Wyckoff, <em>Creating Colorado: The Making of a Western American Landscape, 1860–1940</em> (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-teacher-resources--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-teacher-resources.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-teacher-resources.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-teacher-resources field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-teacher-resources"><p><a href="/sites/default/files/TRS_Georgetown_Silver_Plume.docx">Georgetown–Silver Plume Historic District Teacher Resource Set (Word)</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="/sites/default/files/TRS_Georgetown_Silver_Plume.pdf">Georgetown–Silver Plume Historic District Teacher Resource Set (PDF)</a></p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Georgetown and Silver Plume are two mountain towns about forty-five miles west of Denver. They are about two miles from each other. This area is one of Colorado’s best maintained historic mining districts.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>George’s Town</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>George Griffith and his brother, David, came to Colorado from Kentucky in October 1858. They heard that gold had been discovered near present-day Denver. <strong>Auraria</strong> was the name of this area before Denver was settled. Shortly after they arrived in Auraria, George and David heard about a major gold strike in the mountains west of Auraria. The brothers were excited to go. They wanted to find gold. They headed into the mountains, but they arrived too late. All the good claims had been taken.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In June 1859, the two brothers moved to a different spot. They set up camp along <strong>Clear Creek</strong> on June 15. George Griffith found gold on June 17. Soon, the brothers built a cabin at their campsite. Their campsite became the corner of Seventeenth and Main Streets in Georgetown. The Griffith brothers started their own mining company in June 1860. George and David built a twenty-mile toll road from their area to <strong>Central City</strong>. The news about gold strikes spread fast. More miners came to the area. A town formed. Georgetown was named after George Griffith. “George’s Town” had about forty people and at least two mills. In 1861 David Griffith drew up some plans on paper which divided the land of the town. This let people know where to build their cabins.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Civil War was taking place while Georgetown was growing. Not as many miners came to the west. Soon Georgetown’s miners moved to other gold mining areas. The miners felt they were not finding as much gold in Georgetown as before. That’s because the rocks they were mining were rich in silver instead of gold. A large silver discovery was made not far from Georgetown in September 1864. The news of this discovery spread quickly. Soon Georgetown was mining for silver. By Spring 1865, there was a new group of miners in Georgetown. Once again, the area was filled with miners’ tents and other temporary shelters.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Silver Queen</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The Georgetown area was booming by the late 1860s. The town had stores, a school, three churches, a bank, an opera house, and a fancy hotel. There were now lawyers, merchants, doctors, and other professionals. Since these people were wealthier than the miners, their houses were fancier. The county courthouse and other important buildings were now in Georgetown. By 1870 Georgetown’s population rose to 3,000 people.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>About two miles away from Georgetown, the town of Silver Plume grew. Many of the miners lived in Silver Plume. They were from countries in Europe such as England, Ireland, Germany, Italy, and others. Silver Plume had grocery stores, dry goods stores, saloons, and boarding houses. The miners didn’t make as much money as the professionals in Georgetown.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Georgetown was most successful in 1877. It had 5,000 people living in the area. The town had two newspapers. There were also two more churches and more hotels. The <strong>Colorado Central Railroad</strong> arrived in Georgetown in August 1877. The very next year (1878–79) silver was discovered in <strong>Leadville</strong>. Georgetown quickly lost its boomtown glow. For the next fifteen years Georgetown still had some mining activity, and it improved its buildings and homes. Electric streetlights and a city park were added.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>When Leadville’s silver boom started, the Colorado Central Railroad wanted to build tracks from Georgetown to Leadville. That would mean the train would go over the <strong>Continental Divide</strong>. It took a few years to figure out. The train tracks never did reach Leadville because the mountains were too steep. The Georgetown Loop shows how the train went from Georgetown to <strong>Silver Plume</strong>. The train was meant to haul silver. Tourists started riding it to enjoy the beautiful mountains. Georgetown had built more hotels by then so tourists had a place to stay.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Decline</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1893 the <strong>Sherman Silver Purchase Act</strong> was repealed. Silver was not worth as much as it had been before. There was a drop-off in silver mining. Mines and businesses closed, and people moved away. The <strong>Georgetown Loop Railroad</strong> didn’t haul as much silver as it had before. It depended on tourists for several decades. It finally stopped in 1939. Georgetown’s population dropped to around 300. Most of the mining equipment was removed from the area. It was used for scrap metal drives during World War II.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Revival and Preservation</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After World War II, many tourists started to visit Clear Creek Canyon in cars. Georgetown became more popular as a tourist town. The town restored many of its old historic buildings. Skiers found it a very pleasant place to stop on their way to or from skiing. People who lived in Denver bought the old Victorian houses in town. They used them for summer homes.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1966 Georgetown and Silver Plume were named a National Historic Landmark District. During this time, <strong>Interstate 70</strong> (I-70) was built. Engineers used a different route to avoid building the highway through Georgetown. However, they could not avoid building the highway through Silver Plume. The town’s business district and residential district were separated by the new highway.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Today</h2>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="/image/downtown-georgetown-today"><img alt="Downtown Georgetown Today" src="/sites/default/files/Georgetown%20Silver%20Media%206.jpg" style="float:right; height:370px; margin:15px; width:480px" /></a>Georgetown has survived more than one “boom and bust” cycle. Visitors to Georgetown can tour several museums. The <strong>Hotel de Paris</strong> and the Hamill House both have museums. There are well-kept Victorian “gingerbread” houses and other historical buildings to visit. Tourists enjoy the small gift shops.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Silver Plume has far fewer visitors than Georgetown. This is mostly because it was home to working-class miners. Its remaining buildings aren’t as fancy or grand. The town’s historic schoolhouse is now home to a community center and includes a museum showing Silver Plume’s history. </p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p> </p>&#13; &#13; <p>Georgetown and Silver Plume are two historic mining towns about forty-five miles west of Denver. The area, nestled along Clear Creek in the mountains of the Front Range, is one of Colorado’s best preserved historic mining districts. In the late nineteenth century, Georgetown thrived as the area’s commercial and professional center. Silver Plume developed as a working-class town with a diverse population of miners. Today the area remains a popular destination for tourists who come to see Georgetown’s well-preserved Victorian buildings and ride the restored <strong>Georgetown Loop Railroad</strong> to Silver Plume.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>George’s Town</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Georgetown was named after George F. Griffith, who discovered gold in the area on June 17, 1859. George and his brother David came to Colorado in October 1858 during the Colorado Gold Rush. They headed into the mountains after hearing about <strong>John Gregory</strong>’s major gold strike at what became <strong>Central City </strong>and<strong> Black Hawk</strong>. Arriving too late to stake a good claim, in June they moved to the South Fork of <strong>Clear Creek</strong>, where George Griffith found gold. The Griffiths soon built a cabin at their campsite, which eventually became the corner of Seventeenth and Main Streets in Georgetown.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As news of Griffith’s discovery spread, prospectors streamed into the valley. In June 1860, they formed the Griffith Mining District. The Griffiths built a twenty-mile toll road from their district to Central City. By that September, a town named Georgetown had taken shape. In spring 1861, David Griffith surveyed and platted the town. It had about forty residents and at least two mills—places where workers extracted precious metals from ore.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The initial optimism in Georgetown soon faded. One problem was that miners were trying to extract gold out of rocks that were richer in silver. A major silver find occurred on nearby Mt. McClellan on September 14, 1864. By the spring of 1865, Georgetown was flooded with a new wave of prospectors.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Silver Queen</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The Georgetown area was booming by the late 1860s. It became home to merchants, lawyers, doctors, and other professionals who attempted to replicate the society and culture of the East. As the area’s wealth increased, the town gave rise to increasingly elaborate houses.  Since these people were wealthier than the miners, their houses were fancier. The county courthouse and other important buildings were located in Georgetown. By 1870 the population was 3,000 people.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Meanwhile, Silver Plume developed about two miles to the southwest as the home of many of the area’s working-class miners. Incorporated in 1880, the town housed a melting pot of more than 1,000 miners of Cornish, Irish, English, German, Italian and Scandinavian backgrounds.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Stability</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1877 the Georgetown area had a population of about 5,000. The <strong>Colorado Central Railroad</strong> arrived in August. However, major silver discoveries in <strong>Leadville</strong> the next year meant that Georgetown quickly lost its boomtown glow. In 1879 the Union Pacific Railroad took over the Colorado Central and tried to build a line to the mines in Leadville. However, the project was plagued by the difficulties of building a railroad on steep slopes. Even the two miles between Georgetown and Silver Plume proved challenging. Union Pacific engineer Robert Blickensderfer designed a series of sweeping curves and one large loop to extend the track’s distance and lower the average grade so the railroad could reach Silver Plume. But the remaining route to Leadville proved too steep, so the rest of the line was never built. Instead, the railroad soon became popular among sightseers wanting to enjoy the mountains.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Decline</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1893 the <strong>Sherman Silver Purchase Act</strong> was repealed and silver lost a lot of value. Mines and businesses closed, and people moved away. The Georgetown Loop didn’t haul as much silver as it had before. It finally stopped in 1939. Georgetown’s population dropped to about 300 people.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Revival and Preservation</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After World War II many tourists started to travel to Clear Creek Canyon in cars. Georgetown became more popular as a tourist town. The town restored many of its old historic buildings. Skiers found it a very pleasant place to stop on their way to or from skiing. People who lived in Denver bought the old Victorian houses in town for summer homes.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1966 Georgetown and Silver Plume were named a National Historic Landmark District. During this time <strong>Interstate 70</strong> was built, passing north of Georgetown and dividing Silver Plume in two.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Today</h2>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="/image/downtown-georgetown-today"><img alt="Downtown Georgetown Today" src="/sites/default/files/Georgetown%20Silver%20Media%206.jpg" style="float:right; height:370px; margin:15px; width:480px" /></a>Today Georgetown continues to be a popular destination for tourists driving up Interstate 70 from Denver. Visitors can tour several museums. The <strong>Hotel de Paris</strong> and the Hamill House both have museums. Georgetown also serves as a base for people wanting to ride the Georgetown Loop, which was restored in the 1970s and re-opened in 1984.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Silver Plume has fewer visitors than Georgetown. The town’s historic schoolhouse is now home to a community center and includes a museum of local history. </p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>The Georgetown–Silver Plume Historic District is one of the best-preserved historic mining districts in Colorado. It is located in the Upper Clear Creek valley about forty-five miles west of <strong>Denver</strong>. In the late nineteenth century, Georgetown was the area’s commercial and professional center. Silver Plume developed as a diverse town of working-class miners. Today the area remains a popular destination for Front Range residents who want to see Georgetown’s well-preserved Victorian buildings and ride the restored <strong>Georgetown Loop Railroad</strong> to Silver Plume.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>George’s Town</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Georgetown was named after George F. Griffith, who discovered gold in the area on June 17, 1859. George and his brother David T. Griffith had come to Colorado in October 1858, during the initial excitement about gold discoveries near what is now Denver. They headed into the mountains after <strong>John Gregory</strong>’s major gold strike in May 1859 at what became <strong>Central City–Black Hawk</strong>. Arriving too late to stake a good claim, they moved in June to the South Fork of <strong>Clear Creek</strong>. On June 15, they set up camp along the creek, and on June 17, George Griffith found gold. The Griffiths soon built a cabin at their campsite. This location eventually became the corner of Seventeenth and Main Streets in Georgetown.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As news of Griffith’s discovery spread, prospectors streamed into the valley. They formed a mining district, organized as the Griffith Mining District in June 1860. The Griffiths built a twenty-mile toll road from their district to Central City. By that September, a town had taken shape and was named Georgetown after George Griffith. In spring 1861, David Griffith surveyed and platted the town. It had about forty residents and at least two mills.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The initial optimism in Georgetown soon faded. One problem was that miners were trying to extract gold out of rocks that were actually rich in silver. Silver was discovered on nearby Mt. McClellan on September 14, 1864. In spring 1865, Georgetown was flooded with a new wave of prospectors. By that fall, Georgetown and its immediate neighbor to the south, Elizabethtown (named after a Griffith sister or wife), were full of tents and other temporary shelters.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>The Silver Queen</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>By the late 1860s, the Georgetown area was booming. Georgetown matured into the commercial hub of the most important mining district in the state. It was able to combine with Elizabethtown and snatch the <strong>Clear Creek County</strong> seat away from <strong>Idaho Springs</strong>. In 1875 William Cushman completed a two-story building to house his Bank of Georgetown, and he later added a third story and put an opera house on the top floor. The same year, a Frenchman named <strong>Louis Dupuy</strong> opened a stylish hotel and restaurant called the<strong> Hotel de Paris</strong>. It featured luxuries such as indoor plumbing and French cooking.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Georgetown became home to merchants, lawyers, doctors, and other professionals who attempted to replicate the society and culture of the East. As the area’s wealth increased, the town gave rise to increasingly elaborate houses. In 1876–77 the noted Denver architect <strong>Robert Roeschlaub </strong>designed a Gothic Revival residence on Rose Street for John Adams Church. William Hamill acquired his brother-in-law’s older Country Gothic house and hired Roeschlaub to turn it into an elegant Gothic Revival mansion. It had several new wings, a glass solarium, and oriel and bay windows.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Georgetown achieved importance and prosperity as the area’s commercial and professional center. Silver Plume, meanwhile, grew up about two miles to the southwest as the home of many of the area’s working-class miners. In the 1860s, mines had been developed in Brown Gulch, just west of present-day Silver Plume. By the 1870s, activity had moved east to what is now Silver Plume. Incorporated in 1880, the town housed a melting pot of more than 1,000 miners. They were Cornish, Irish, English, German, Italian, and Scandinavian in background. They were served by a bustling commercial district with groceries, dry goods stores, saloons, and boarding houses.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Stability</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1877 Georgetown hit its peak of prosperity. That year, 5,000 people lived in and around the city. In August the <strong>Colorado Central Railroad</strong> arrived, providing a cheaper and faster way to ship ores. It promised growth in the years to come.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>But Georgetown soon lost its boomtown glow when silver was discovered at <strong>Leadville</strong> in 1878–79. Leadville’s production easily dwarfed that of Georgetown. Meanwhile, Georgetown maintained steady production over the next fifteen years. Because it existed in the shadow of Leadville, Georgetown developed a measure of stability outside the rapid booms and busts that usually defined mining-town economies. In the 1880s and early 1890s, stately houses and prominent commercial buildings went up throughout the town. Electric streetlights were installed in 1891. City Park was completed in 1892.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>When the Leadville boom began, the Colorado Central planned to extend its line west from Georgetown over the <strong>Continental Divide</strong> and ultimately to Leadville. The project soon ran into problems. The climb straight from Georgetown to Silver Plume was too steep for a railroad. Engineer Robert Blickensderfer designed a series of sweeping curves and one large loop to extend the track’s distance, which lowered the average grade. In March 1884, the first trains rolled into Silver Plume. The line was extended up the valley to Graymont (near Bakerville) but never went any farther. Built to haul silver ore, the scenic line soon became popular among sightseers. Georgetown became a tourist destination.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Decline</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Georgetown’s run of stability and prosperity came to an end in 1893 with the <strong>repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act</strong>. This caused a decline in silver mining across the country. Mines failed, businesses closed, and people moved away. Without much freight to haul, the Georgetown Loop connecting Georgetown and Silver Plume was abandoned in 1939. By that time Georgetown’s population had dwindled to around 300.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Revival and Preservation</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After World War II, automobile <strong>tourism</strong> revived and transformed Georgetown’s economy. This led to a new focus on historic preservation. Early skiers passing through on their way to and from the slopes often stopped at Georgetown’s hotels and bars. Meanwhile, Denverites started to buy old Victorian houses in town and spruce them up as summer homes. By the late 1940s, the town claimed several hundred second-home owners.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The people who came to Georgetown were attracted by its picturesque Victorian blocks, which had never been razed by fires. They started working to preserve them. In 1954 the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in Colorado bought the Hotel de Paris and turned it into a museum. <strong>James Grafton Rogers</strong> became mayor in the 1950s and pushed preservation initiatives designed to make the town a kind of museum to the state’s mining past. In 1966 Georgetown and Silver Plume were named a National Historic Landmark District.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By the 1960s, initial plans for <strong>Interstate 70 </strong>called for it to cut Georgetown in two. That plan would destroy what was left of the old Georgetown Loop route. The Colorado Department of Highways saved Georgetown and the Georgetown Loop route by shifting the interstate onto a bench blasted high into the side of Republican Mountain. At Silver Plume, however, there were no good options for a different route. The interstate ended up dividing the town’s business district from its residential area and railroad depot (which had to be moved).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1970 local residents formed <strong>Historic Georgetown, Inc.</strong> to promote historic preservation and restoration in town. Soon the organization helped the town pass the state’s first town-wide historic preservation ordinance. It also acquired and restored the Hamill House, which was opened for public tours.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1959 the Colorado Historical Society (now <strong>History Colorado</strong>) started to acquire land with the goal of reconstructing the Georgetown Loop. After the rerouting of Interstate 70 saved the old railroad grade, reconstruction of the line began in the early 1970s. The grand opening of the revived Georgetown Loop was held in August 1984. Two years later the Silver Plume Depot was restored to its original appearance.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Today</h2>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="/image/downtown-georgetown-today"><img alt="Downtown Georgetown Today" src="/sites/default/files/Georgetown%20Silver%20Media%206.jpg" style="float:right; height:370px; margin:15px; width:480px" /></a>Today Georgetown continues to be a popular destination for tourists driving up Interstate 70 from Denver. Visitors can see parts of the town’s history at the Hotel de Paris Museum, the Hamill House Museum, and the Georgetown Heritage Center at the 1874 School. A wide variety of other historic structures were preserved and restored in the late twentieth century. In addition, Georgetown serves as a base for people wanting to ride the Georgetown Loop.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Silver Plume has seen significantly less restoration and tourist development than Georgetown and receives far fewer visitors. One of the town’s most prominent historic buildings, the Silver Plume Schoolhouse, is now home to a community center and the George Rowe Museum, which focuses on the town’s history.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 18 Nov 2016 23:27:26 +0000 yongli 2075 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org