Unit 4: Miners Unit 4: Miners

SPRING OF 1859SPRING OF 1859• No time to organize governments-miners

formed their own mining districts, laws and courts

• Mining camps led to many other businesses (storekeepers, Blacksmiths, saloonkeepers, bootmakers, carpenters, lawyers, doctors, teachers and ministers)

MINING TOWNSMINING TOWNS

• Sprung up overnight

• Colorful names-Whiskey Creek, Poker Flat

• Crammed into small narrow valleys

• Towns were made of wood and tents; few of brick

MINING TOWNSMINING TOWNS

• Needed volunteer fire dept

• Most burned at least once

• Many types of business

• Predominance of saloons-Leadville had 82 at one time

• Gambling was the vice

What kinds of people were needed What kinds of people were needed to support miners?to support miners?

• Blacksmiths• Bakers• Saloon keepers• Butchers• Bankers• Retailers

• Barbers• Gunsmiths• Lawyers• Hotel owners

MINERSMINERS

• Dreamers• Risk takers• Lived in hope• Most knew nothing

about mining• Most were not rich

(long hours for $1.85/day

• Former 49ers

• All types of people (lawyers, priests)

• Hopeless situations left many despondent

• Not glamorous• Few independent

miners• Suicide epidemic in

Denver

GOVERNMENTGOVERNMENT

• Pioneers had created their own mining districts and now decided to create their own territory instead of belonging to Kansas and Nebraska. Congress refused to accept this territory called the Jefferson Territory

• Slavery kept this from becoming a territory because the South did not want Colorado to become a free state.

• When the South seceded, Colorado was made a territory on February 28,1861. President Lincoln selected William Gilpen as the first governor

LeadvilleLeadville

DENVERDENVER

WHAT WERE THE REASONS WHAT WERE THE REASONS FOR DENVER’S GROWTH? FOR DENVER’S GROWTH?

LOCATIONLOCATION

– Last outpost before the Rockies

– Supply and service trade center for the gold rush

– Junction of Cherry Creek and the Platte River as well as being close to Clear Creek County

QUALITY LEADERSQUALITY LEADERS

• Experienced city founders selected the best location

• Organized formal town companies and had a civil engineer stake out their settlement

• They were interested in founding a city, not in searching for gold

OTHER FACTORSOTHER FACTORS

• Transcontinental railroad to go through Wyoming; Denver leaders, led by John Evans, built the Denver Pacific Railroad to connect Denver with Cheyenne

• Silver Boom (1864-1894) brought silver kings to Denver and brought Denver a new social class-Molly Brown, Baby Doe Tabor

OTHER FACTORSOTHER FACTORS

• Sheep and cattle ranching and farming-packing houses and stockyards

• Marketing, distribution and coinage center (Denver Mint-1860)

• Stages came to Denver and freight trains brought supplies here

EARLY SETTLEMENTSEARLY SETTLEMENTS

• Russell-Englewood

• Montana City-5 miles south of the capital

• St Charles-Cherry Creek and Platte

• Denver-Jumped St Charles claim

• Auraria-South side of Cherry Creek

St Charles

Denver (Larimer)

Auraria

SURVIVED DISASTERSSURVIVED DISASTERS

• 1863-Fire destroyed the center of Denver (70 buildings rebuilt in brick)

• 1864-Cherry Creek flooded-buildings, including Rocky Mountain News were washed away. 11 killed