WHAT’S HAPPENING IN GOLDEN TODAY?
9-10AM Keg Conditioning @ Golden Mill
9:30-11:30AM Full Walking Tour @ Dinosaur Ridge
10AM-3PM Brunch at the Rose @ Buffalo Rose
4PM Sunday at the Museum – Doris Degenova: My Life in Stitches @ Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum
3-6PM Brennan Kammerer @ Golden Mill
4-7:30PM Sunday Swing with the Flatirons Jazz Orchestra @ Buffalo Rose
SEE THE COMPLETE CALENDAR OF EVENTS.
LIVE MUSIC
11AM-2PM MicroGrass Band @ Buffalo Rose (Sky Bar Stage)
2-5PM Ignatius Reilly @ Goosetown Station
3-7PM Parkside @ Wrigley’s
4-7PM Will Whalen @ Buffalo Rose (Sky Bar Stage)
5-8PM Brennan Kammerer @ Golden Mill
6PM Flyin’ Hot Saucers @ Over Yonder
8PM Karaoke @ Ace Hi Tavern
GOLDEN HISTORY MOMENT
In the 19th Century, most Americans lived on farms or ranches. Farmers were a significant part of the customer base for Golden’s merchants. The children of nearby farms and ranches attended Golden schools, and rural families were very much a part of the Golden community.
One of the most successful and influential ranchers in the Golden area was John Churches. (Not “Church–” “Churches.”) He and his large family owned several tracts of land just north of North Table Mountain.
John Churches came to this area in 1859 in search of gold, but stayed to become a rancher. He and his wife Mary Ann claimed a homestead in 1862. Part of the “proving” process required them to build a house and grow crops on the land. The Churches were high achievers and built not only a 20×40′ stone house, but a stone barn with corral, a log barn with corral, cultivated 40 acres, and dug two wells, all within the first two years. They obtained their patent for the land by December of 1863.
Before long, Churches had also dug a long ditch from Ralston Creek and built a reservoir to water his crops and livestock. This early work gave him the #1 water rights on Ralston Creek. The ranch prospered and over time grew to more than 400 acres. They raised cattle and horses. For a time, John Churches ran a meat market in Golden, selling beef raised on his own ranch. He later helped organize a Market Day, where area farmers and ranchers would bring their produce and livestock to Golden all on the same day.
The Churches had eight children, though only 5 survived to adulthood. Mary Ann Churches died in 1889 and John Churches followed in 1910. Both are buried in the Golden Cemetery.
After John’s death in 1910, their daughter Georgiana and her husband operated the ranch. After her husband’s death in 1918, Georgiana sold the ranch and moved to Golden. The ranch came with valuable water rights, and in 1937, it was purchased by Denver Water. They continued to lease the land for agricultural purposes.
Jeffco Open Space acquired the ranch (sans water rights) in 1989. In 2002, they completed a master plan for Long Lake Park (map). The Plan included maintaining the ranch, which was on the National Register of Historic Places. Open Space deeded the parkland and ranch to the City of Arvada. The City used historic preservation grants to preserve the stone house and barn. The walls of each are more than 18 inches thick. The hayloft and supports in the barn are hand-hewn planks bound by pegs.
Arvada wanted the ranch to be used for some form of agriculture, and at that time the Horse Protection League was looking for a home, so they settled on the historic Churches Ranch and have leased it ever since.
Thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts, and to the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!
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JULY SPONSORS: Buffalo Rose, Buglet Solar, Foothills Art Center, Golden City Brewery, Golden Cultural Alliance, Golden History Museum, Golden Super Cruise, Miners Alley Playhouse, The Golden Mill, Golden Chamber of Commerce, Golden History Tours, Morris & Mae Market, Miners Saloon, Joy and Jack Brandt, Tom Reiley, and Peggy Brochtrup
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