Safety and Irrigation

Golden Eye Candy – Frank Hanou – Waning Moon – enlarge

Virtual Events

6-6:55AM Cardio Lift Interval
8-8:55AM Tai Chi
8:30-9:30AM Virtual Power Training
10-10:55AM All Levels Yoga
3-5PM Hard Times Writing Workshop

Real World Events

9AM Golden Walks – Wednesday Morning Celebrating Life @ Golden Library
3-4:30PM Wild West Walking Tour
4-5PM Wild West Short Tour
5:30PM Golden High School PTA Meeting @ Golden High School
6-7:30PM Golden Safety Academy @ Golden Fire Department Station 1
7PM Trivia Night @ Trailhead Taphouse

Live Music

5-9PM Open Mic @ Cannonball Creek

5-8PM Sycamore Porch Pickers @ Golden Mill

6-9PM Radio Ranch @ Buffalo Rose (Sky Bar Stage)
6:30PM Open Jam/Mic at Over Yonder Brewing

Golden History Moment

111 Years Ago
The September 14, 1911 Colorado Transcript announced that the Standley dam and irrigation system was completed. The Governors of both Wyoming and Colorado were present for the celebration, as well as the Secretary of Agriculture. Why was this such a big deal, and what’s the tie-in to Golden?

*Golden’s “Great American Desert” era–no trees! (no nuthin’!) – Denver Public Library’s Western History Collection X-19381 – Click to enlarge*

Why it was a big deal:
When white settlers first came to Colorado, this land was considered part of The Great American Desert. The pioneers hoped to farm the land, but before they could do that, they had to discover whether the land was arable. As it turned out, it was–Colorado is a great place to grow food, as long as we can get water to the fields. For this reason, people began to dig ditches almost as soon as they arrived in this region. Those ditches changed Colorado from a semi-arid “desert” into a thriving agriculture state.

Tie-in to Golden:
The Church Ditch was started in 1865. It was dug by hand, by crews of men with shovels. The builders diverted water from Clear Creek at a point about a half mile west of 6th Avenue/Highway 6. The ditch then skirted the south shoulder of North Table Mountain and headed north and east. It eventually extended 26 miles, and its water was used to cultivate dozens of farms along the way. Standley Lake (map) was built to store water from Church Ditch and other sources. That water was originally intended for irrigation, but today it provides drinking water for Westminster, Northglenn, and Thornton.

*Church Ditch running through Golden, circa 1900 From the Denver Public Library Western History Collection, X-9801 Click to enlarge*

Another local connection–Standley was an early resident of Golden, and was the first owner of this house at 12th and Arapahoe:

*Standley house in Golden – Google Street View – enlarge*

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!