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Arvada Gold
Although
Arvada, Colorado is not very well known outside the Denver area,
the city actually played a very important historical role in the
state. It was in what is now the city of Arvada that gold was
first discovered in the Rocky Mountains.
The
discovery of gold in Arvada happened in the year 1850. Lewis
Ralston, a gold prospector from the state of Georgia, was
traveling through what is now the city of Arvada on his way to
look for gold in California. A small stream that originates at
Clear Creek flows through present-day Arvada. While passing
through the area, Ralston happened to dip his sluice pan into
this stream. Much to his surprise, Ralston found about a quarter
of an ounce or six grams of gold, worth about five dollars at
the time, thus marking the first discovery of gold in Arvada,
Colorado, and the Rocky Mountains on June 22, 1850. The Arvada
stream was named Ralston’s Creek in honor of the discovery.
Indeed, many things in Arvada pay tribute to this man and his
discovery, including Ralston Road, one of Arvada’s main streets,
and Ralston Trail, a popular destination for outdoor
enthusiasts, runners and walkers.
In spite of
the finding in Arvada, Ralston and his team moved on the next
morning, hoping to make it rich in California, the center of the
gold rush at the time. However, this was not the last of Lewis
Ralston and his teams of prospectors in Arvada. In 1858, the
Pike’s Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush)
hit the area. At this time, Ralston organized another group of
prospectors and returned to the site of his initial discovery in
Arvada. Unfortunately, there was now little gold to be found
here. More luck was being had finding hard rock deposits of gold
in the mountains to the west of Arvada, and many prospectors
left to these areas. Arvada’s days as a mining town were quickly
over. However, many ex-miners returned to the Arvada area where
Ralston Creek and Clear Creek created good farmland. Thus, many
of the once prospectors of Arvada turned into farmers of Arvada.
These new farmers found it easy to sell there crops to the
thousands of people still hoping to become rich by finding gold
in the surrounding hills.
Although
not much gold was ever found in Arvada, the city is still proud
of its gold heritage. To commemorate the discovery of gold in
Ralston Creek, the city now puts on the Gold Strike Festival
every June, the same month as the initial discovery of Lewis
Ralston. The event lasts two days and is held on the streets of
historic Olde Town Arvada.
The Arvada
Gold Strike Festival offers a great deal of entertainment.
Events vary year to year, but may include story telling sessions
at the Arvada Library, Civil War re-enactors encampments in the
Park (complete with Buffalo Soldiers and Mountain Men), Texas
Hold ‘Em poker tournaments at local restaurants, pancake
breakfasts at the Arvada Elks Lodge, and motorcycle runs through
the nearby mountains.
There are
many other attractions associated with the Arvada Gold Strike
Festival. Many local artisans sell their goods at booths in Olde
Town. Arvada-area musicians take stage and play fun tunes to the
crowd. Arvada restaurants and other vendors sell great food,
beer, wine and soft drinks. An ice cream social takes place, as
well as sidewalk sales and demonstrations. A car show takes
place in a large Arvada parking lot. Bungee jumping is available
for the daring. Kids from the Arvada area and beyond are well
entertained with clowns, inflatable rides, face painters,
magicians, and a miniature train.
Arvada
played a large part in starting the great Colorado Gold Rush.
Although the gold rush has long since passed, and few made a
fortune in Arvada, the historical event of Lewis Ralston’s
discovery of gold in Ralston Creek is still remembered and
celebrated as one that shaped history. It was this discovery
that would later lead thousands into the hills of Colorado in
search of gold, and it was some of these thousands of people
that would later settle and help to make Arvada into the town
that it is today. |
