Coronavirus/COVID-19
As of 5PM this evening, Jefferson County will be at Level Orange – High Risk. This means that more stringent public health rules will be effect. See the City’s webpage for more information.
Wear a mask. Wash your hands. Keep your distance.
Get tested & stay home if you’re sick.
The sooner we control the spread of the virus,
the sooner we can get back to normal.
Public Health References
CDC * Colorado * Jefferson County * City of Golden
JCPHD updates their case counts Monday through Friday at about 3 PM. New numbers will appear on their Case Summary Page this afternoon.
Growth in cases last week, October 30th – November 6th:
Cases in Jeffco: +1,930
Deaths in Jeffco: +28
Ever Hospitalized in Jeffco: +105
Recovered in Jeffco: +1,047
Known Cases in Golden: +49
School of Mines COVID-19 case page. | Masks are required. | City and County fire restrictions are in place. | Sign up for exposure notifications.
Virtual Golden
6-6:55AM Virtual Dynamic Circuit
8:30-9:30AM Virtual Power Training
10:15-11:15AM Spanish Story Time with the Library
6:30PM GURA Board Meeting
The Golden Urban Renewal Authority will discuss next year’s budget this evening. They will then move on to discussion of the Legacy Fund contribution to the Astor House revitalization. Tonight’s meeting packet contains some new information about the redevelopment plans.
The staff report will cover the progress on the Jefferson County Housing Authority project at 24th and Jackson and the planned walkway between that development and DeLong Park. They will also describe a planned stairway down the hill east of the community center between 8th and 9th Streets. A firm has been selected to design the West Colfax Complete Street project. The self-storage project in Gateway Village may be complete by the end of the year. The boarding house at Gateway Village has broken ground and may be finished at the end of 2021. The Hotel Eddy (on the former Briarwood property) is likely to open in early 2021.
Real World Golden
Fall Yard Waste Pick-up Week Begins
If you’re on the City’s Pay-As-You-Throw program, this is the week to put out your yard waste. Bag it in compostable bags–available at Meyer Hardware.
11AM-10PM Make It Count Monday (MICM) – 99 Hearts – at the Buffalo Rose
The Buffalo Rose restaurant takes pride in Golden and Jefferson County by supporting non-profit organizations through fundraising, offering 15% of all day net sales generated by the group back to the group.
Join 99 Hearts (we heal hearts through horses) for Make It Count Magic Monday at the Buffalo Rose! We heal hearts through horses! (family awareness, workforce development, leadership training, suicide awareness) www.99hearts.org
Golden History Moment
Golden’s Black Diamonds
By Donna Anderson
From the late 1860s to early 1890s, Golden had about 12 working coal mines. They were all lined up along a north-south line on the west side of today’s city limits, reflecting the geology of the Laramie Formation in which coal seams were located. Coal mining in Golden declined after 1900 due to the high expense of underground mining, competition from other coal fields, such as in the Boulder and Pueblo areas, and decrease in local demand for smelting use after the Financial Panic of 1893. The Denney coal mine, north of today’s US 40 (Colfax) and Zeta Street, was opened in 1933, as a big hope for local employment during the Depression, but only lasted a year. By 1940, no coal mines operated in Golden.
Mines were named after the owner/operator, properties of good-quality coal, and/or famous coal mining districts in other parts of the world. One of Golden’s early coal mines near todays’ West Campus Drive at Colorado School of Mines was the “Little Pittsburgh,” recalling the dominance of Pittsburgh, PA coal fields and industries. “Black Diamond” was another popular name, reminding how good-quality Golden coal had a shiny luster that twinkled like a diamond in the light. “White Ash” was a common name promoting how good-quality coal burned to a clean, white ash.
Who started and ran these mines? A combination of local business men, landowners, and coal miners from other mining districts leased mining rights and operated the mines. John Nicholls emigrated from Wales as a metals miner to the Pennsylvania coal fields and then to Golden where he established the Little Pittsburgh mine. C. C. Welch, who owned a large amount of land in the area around today’s Fossil Trace Golf Course, was heavily involved in promoting and financing, as was W.A.H. Loveland, Welch’s business partner. The early coal miners themselves hailed from England and the Appalachian coal fields of the eastern U.S., and in some cases, local boys.
A legacy of coal mining was the collapse of the ground surface above the abandoned mine shafts and side tunnels. Today, two Golden city-parks commemorate coal mining: New Loveland and New White Ash Mine parks, both north of Highway 58. The parks form buffer zones around the old mine workings. Also, a strip of ground in north Golden, paralleling New Star Way to Brickyard Rd., has restrictions on building types due to coal-mine subsidence.
Black diamonds formed a major part of the late 1800s history of Golden: perhaps a surprising story!
Sources:
Amuedo and Ivey, 1978, Coal and clay mine hazard study and estimated unmined coal resources, Jefferson County, Colorado, prepared for the County of Jefferson and the cities of Arvada, Golden and Lakewood, Colorado.
Carroll & Bauer, 2002, Historic coal mines of Colorado, Colo. Geological Survey Information Series 64.
Golden History Museum online collection, and digital editions of the Colorado Transcript.
Guest Columnist Donna Anderson and Paul Haseman are writing a book called “Golden Rocks!” about the geology and mining history of Golden, to be completed in early 2021 (delayed due to COVID!).
