Coronavirus Update
Public Health References
CDC * Colorado * Jefferson County * City of Golden
The State-Wide Stay-at-Home Order is in effect through April 11, 2020. City and County fire restrictions are also in place.
Jefferson County’s case count page says that as of 3PM yesterday, there were 375 (up from 339) “confirmed, probable, suspected, or under investigation” cases in Jefferson County. There have been 7 deaths (up from 6) and 85 (up from 74) are hospitalized. There are 34 known cases in Golden (up from 33).
In last night’s coronavirus update by the Mayor and the City Manager, they pointed out that on the County’s report, “Golden” includes all households with Golden mailing addresses, not just those within the City limits of Golden. This means that the 34 cases “in Golden” is out of a population of 60K, rather than just the within-City-limits population of 20K.
Virtual Golden
Recordings of Yesterday’s Video Events:
* Watch History Museum Director Nathan Rickie make pretzels
* Coronavirus Community Briefing with Mayor Weinberg and City Manager Jason Slowinski
Today’s Events:
8AM Zumba – online with the community center
9AM Virtual Step Class – online with the community center
12PM Paul Haseman will talk to us about the history of the WELCH DITCH
3PM Foothills at Home: Painting Trees with Janet Nunn
A Golden History Moment
Did you know that Golden had a paper mill for 30 years? The April 10, 1867 edition of the Colorado Transcript announced that “A large paper mill will be erected here at once, and will afford employment to a large number of males and females.
The Golden Paper Mill was erected on 9th Street at the same time two other mills were being built–the Rock Flour Mill and a saw mill. All three were powered by a flume of water diverted from Clear Creek. All were in operation by late 1867 or early 1868.
The editor of the Transcript was delighted to have a paper mill in town. He occasionally chided his fellow newspaper owners when they ran short of paper, rejoicing in the fact that Golden had a paper mill, so he was able to get paper when they could not. On the other hand, the Golden Paper Mill seldom produced suitable stock for newspapers. It generally produced wrapping paper. When necessary, early Transcripts were printed on wrapping paper.
In 1869, the Paper Mill was sold to Mr. E. C. Wells, who upgraded the machinery and increased the capacity of the mill. He upgraded again in 1874, but ran into financial difficulties later that year, and the Mill was put up for auction. The country was in a depression at that time. Apparently he retained or recovered it, because he was the owner again and running for the State Senate in 1878. He must have won the election, because later Transcript articles referred to him as Senator Wells.
In 1878, the Mill was severely damaged in a flood, but rebuilt and expanded and was back in operation by the end of the year. It employed 15 men at that time. The machinery was powered by the diverted Clear Creek water, but they also had a large, coal-powered steam boiler to heat their bleaching vat and dry the paper. The boiler consumed about 2 tons of coal per day. The paper was made chiefly of rags and straw, occasionally of rope, with not a lot of wood content.
The 1893 Golden Globe Industrial Edition stated that Senator Wells and his business partner were both in poor health and would be glad to find a purchaser. Apparently, none appeared. The country was again in a depression, which may have complicated the prospects for a sale.
In 1896, the Mill was again severely damaged by a flood, but again rebuilt. Later that year, the water in the flume froze, again forcing a shutdown. In the spring of 1898 the Mill was shut down due to low water in Clear Creek (and therefore, in the flume that powered the Mill).
Mr. Wells upgraded his machinery again in the spring of 1900 and afterwards was running two shifts of workers. In November of that year, the mill caught fire and was entirely destroyed. It was valued at $45,000 and only insured for $12,000. It was never rebuilt. The Transcript placed some blame on the superintendent of our water works. The fireplugs were so rusty that the firemen had trouble opening them, and the rust in the lines was so thick they had very low water pressure.
In 1901, an eastern company bought the property, intending to build a “concentrator” (smelter) there. Apparently (fortunately) the plan didn’t go through and the property was for sale again not long after. Mr. Wells died in Golden in 1914. In addition to his 30 years ownership of the Golden Paper Mill, he served two terms in the state legislature, several terms on Golden City Council, and one term on the Board of Trustees for the School of Mines. He is buried in the Golden Cemetery.
Many thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts, and many thanks to the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!
