For nearly 90 years, a millrace ran through the 9th street neighborhood, cross Washington Avenue, and terminated near the Golden Mill. Apparently, the ditch was covered with wooden planks where it crossed Washington Avenue.
107 Years Ago
The September 27, 1917 Colorado Transcript reported that a “mammoth” gravel truck had crashed through the wooden bridge and stuck in the bottom of the ditch. The piece said that the truck weighed about five tons and the cargo of crushed rock weighed another five tons. It took several hours and many men to pull the truck out of the ditch.
The article said that another truck had fallen through the same bridge a few months earlier. It concluded that the planks should be replaced with concrete.
In October, City Council voted to rebuild the bridge in concrete, and the November 8 Transcript reported that the job was done.
Many thanks to the Golden Rotary Club for sponsoring Golden History Moments for the month of September.
