Coronavirus/COVID-19
Jefferson County Public Health’s website says that the state’s reporting system is down and Jeffco’s stats will not be updated until Monday.
Golden residents have access to two new free, local testing sites.
The School of Mines testing site requires advanced reservations and is open Monday-Friday 7-10AM and 3-5PM; Saturdays 7AM-noon.
The Jeffco Fairgrounds testing site accepts reservations and also welcomes walk-ins. Monday/Weds/Fri 7AM-noon; Tues/Thurs 2-8PM; Sat/Sun 8AM-2PM.
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
The following Golden churches have information about virtual services and/or sermons on their websites:
Calvary Episcopal Church | Faith Lutheran Church | First United Methodist Church | First Presbyterian Church | Flatirons Community Church | Golden Church of Christ | Golden Presbyterian Church | Hillside Community Church | Jefferson Unitarian Church | Rockland Community Church | St. Joseph Catholic Church
Real World Golden
9AM-2PM Brunch at the Rose
12-5PM Holiday Art Market at Foothills Art Center – reserve a time
Monday Preview
10AM Suicide Prevention Training
Golden History Moment
St. Joseph’s Catholic church is in its fourth home in Golden. The parish is as old as the town itself: in 1859, Father Machebeuf purchased a piece of land at 14th and Ford Streets. By 1867, the few Catholics in Golden at that time were able to build their first church.
As the town grew, the number of Catholics increased, and by they 1890s they needed a larger church. In 1899, they laid the cornerstone for the brick church that stood at the corner of 14th and East Streets.
After World War II, Golden’s population exploded, and the parish needed still more room. They built a “basement church” just across East Street from the red brick structure. This was a common construction technique at the time: they would dig a basement and build a foundation that could support future above-ground stories.
The parishioners used both the new and old churches for a few years, and also built a steel parish hall next to the brick building. By the 1980s, they were ready for a newer, bigger, more modern church with sufficient parking. As it happened, they already owned a large piece of land on the south end of town.
In 1873, when the City of Golden established the current cemetery on Ulysses Street, St. Joseph’s parish purchased land north of the City’s plot to serve as the Catholic cemetery. However, the Denver Archdiocese established Mt. Olivet Catholic Cemetery (map) in 1892, and thereafter most of Golden’s Catholics were interred there.
In 1964, fifty-three bodies were exhumed from the original Catholic cemetery and moved to Mt. Olivet. In the 1980s, the parish built their new church on the former cemetery land.
The 1899 red brick church on 14th St. was purchased by Coors and in 1973, they demolished the building to build their visitors parking lot. In later years, Coors bought the basement church and turned that into an employee parking lot.
Many 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!
