Today’s Heart and Soul of Golden events are brought to you by the Library, Dinosaur Ridge, the Quilt Museum, and Miners Alley Playhouse.
10:15AM Family Time at the Golden Library
10:15AM Walk With a Geologist at Dinosaur Ridge
12PM Relief Printmaking on Fabric for Quilters with Jonathan Nicklow at the Quilt Museum
1PM Hansel & Gretel – Miners Alley Playhouse Children’s Theater
7:30PM Miners Alley Playhouse – Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune
Tickets for this play are buy one/get one 50% off this weekend!
More Saturday Events:
9AM-2PM Brunch at the Rose – Menu | Reservations
9AM CSU Jefferson County Pollinators & Bee Club at the Fairgrounds
12PM Golden Philosophy and Spirituality Meetup Group
Saturday Music:
6:30PM Ragged Union and 300 Days at Buffalo Rose
8PM Bunny Blake at Buffalo Rose
8PM Crossfire at Dirty Dogs Roadhouse
9PM Karaoke at Ace Hi- Tavern
CHURCH DITCH
The Magpie Gulch Trail (and the pedestrian/bike bridge over Highway 58) is temporarily closed. The City announced in their January 28th newsletter that the cause of the closure was the Church Ditch Water Authority‘s plan to replace their culvert under 8th Street. Who are they, and what gives them the right to close a street or a trail? The answer is: they were here first, and they have the first claim on that right of way.
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. Golden’s first settler was David Wall, a farmer. He dug a ditch in 1859 and used water from Tucker Gulch to water his field in the Goosetown area.
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. In about 1907, Standley Lake (map) was constructed. It was originally intended to serve as a reservoir for irrigation water, but these days it mostly provides drinking water for Westminster, Northglenn, and Thornton. Church Ditch is one of its primary water sources.
In short–Church Ditch staked out that right of way in 1865. If they need to close a road to replace a culvert, that’s their prerogative. The road is only there by the permission of the ditch owners.
Preview of Sunday Events:
9AM-2PM Brunch at the Rose – Menu | Reservations
1PM Sandra Dallas Book Signing at the Quilt Museum Westering Women
2PM Miners Alley Playhouse – Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune
2:30PM Golden Library Textile Society
3PM Jefferson Symphony Orchestra – Winter Concert
4PM Swing Night Supper Club at the Buffalo Rose
