The City of Idaho Springs is the Statutory City that is the most populous municipality in

Clear Creek County Clear Creek County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,397. The county seat is Georgetown. Clear Creek County is part of the Denver metropolitan area. History Clear Creek County ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. Idaho Springs is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,717. Idaho Springs is located in

Clear Creek Canyon Clear Creek is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 25, 2011 in north central Colorado in the United States. ...

, in the mountains upstream from Golden, some west of

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Founded in 1859 by prospectors during the early days of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, the town was at the center of the region's mining district throughout the late nineteenth century. The Argo Tunnel drained and provided access to many lodes of ore between Idaho Springs and

Central City In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central cit ...

. During the late twentieth century, the town evolved into a tourist center along U.S. Highway 6 and U.S. Highway 40, which ascend Clear Creek Canyon through the historic mining district. The town today is squeezed along the north side of

Interstate 70 Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...

, with a historical downtown in the central portion, a strip of tourist-related businesses on its eastern end, and mostly residences on its western end. It also serves as a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

for workers at the Loveland Ski Area farther up the canyon. The town today is the largest community in Clear Creek County, but, for historical reasons, the county seat has remained at Georgetown.

History

On January 5, 1859, during the

Colorado gold rush The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 185 ...

, prospector George A. Jackson discovered placer gold at the present site of Idaho Springs, where Chicago Creek empties into Clear Creek. It was the first substantial gold discovery in Colorado. Jackson, a

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

native with experience in the California gold fields, was drawn to the area by clouds of steam rising from some nearby

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...

s. Jackson kept his find secret for several months, but after he paid for some supplies with gold dust, others rushed to Jackson's diggings. The location was originally known as "Jackson's Diggings". Once the location became a permanent settlement, it was variously called "Sacramento City", "Idahoe", "Idaho", "Idaho City", and finally "Idaho Springs". The first placer discoveries were soon followed by discoveries of gold veins in the rocks of the canyon walls on both sides of Clear Creek.

Hard rock mining Underground hard-rock mining refers to various underground mining techniques used to excavate "hard" minerals, usually those containing metals, such as ore containing gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, nickel, tin, and lead. It also involves the ...

became the mainstay of the town long after the gold-bearing gravels were exhausted. The

Idaho Springs miners' strike of 1903 {{Campaignbox US Metal mining strikes The Idaho Springs miners strike of 1903 was a labor strike by members of the Western Federation of Miners (WFM) against gold mines in the vicinity of Idaho Springs, Colorado. It is one of the strikes of 1903-190 ...

demanding an eight-hour day erupted into violence in May 1903. This was a conflict was a part the much broader Colorado Labor Wars, where the Western Federation of Miners sought to pressure mining companies into improving conditions for miners. The

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

film '' Downhill Racer'' portrayed an alpine ski racer from Idaho Springs, played by

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Cec ...

; a brief scene was shot on location in Idaho Springs. Several scenes from the comedy film '' The Overbrook Brothers'' were filmed here in the spring of 2008.

Geography

Idaho in 1866 - DPLA - 59d687641ee6bed0f8d9221c6e6705fa

Idaho Springs is located in northeastern Clear Creek County along Clear Creek near the confluence of its tributary, Chicago Creek. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the city has a total area of , of which , or 1.53%, is water.

Climate

Idaho Springs has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(

Koppen Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman * Erwin Koppen (1929–1990), German literary scholar * Luise Koppen (1855–1922), German author * Wladimir Köppen (1846� ...

: Dfb) with moderately cold winters and warm summers with cool nights. Annual snowfall is heavy, averaging 72 inches (183 cm).

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 1,717 people and 934 housing units. As of the census of 2000, there were 485 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 904 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.71%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 0.74%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 1.06% Native American, 0.48% Asian, 1.54% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. 5.03% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 841 households, out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.8% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.3% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.87. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.1% under the age of 18, 9.1% from 18 to 24, 30.3% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 103.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $39,643, and the median income for a family was $48,790. Males had a median income of $35,446 versus $22,688 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,789. About 2.2% of families and 6.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 13.4% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Idaho Springs Public Schools are part of the Clear Creek School District RE-1. There are two elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, and one charter school. Students attend Clear Creek High School. Carlson Elementary School is located in Idaho Springs. Karen Quanbeck is the Interim Superintendent of Schools.

Transportation

Idaho Springs is incorporated into the Colorado Department of Transportation's

Bustang Bustang is an intercity bus service in the U.S. state of Colorado. Service began in 2015 and originally traveled between Denver and Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Glenwood Springs. Service has since been expanded to connect Grand Junction, ...

network. It is part of the West Line, which connects Denver to Grand Junction.

Gallery

File:Gold-37918.jpg, Specimen gold from the old Dixie Mine, Idaho Springs District File:Phoenix Gold Mine, Idaho Springs, Colorado (1).jpg, High grade gold ore from Phoenix Gold Mine, Idaho Springs, Colorado File:Miner Street Bridge.jpg, The Miner Street Bridge is one of nine sites in Idaho Springs listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

Image:Steve-Canyon-Statue.jpg,

Steve Canyon ''Steve Canyon'' is an American adventure comic strip by writer-artist Milton Caniff. Launched shortly after Caniff retired from his previous strip, '' Terry and the Pirates'', ''Steve Canyon'' ran from January 13, 1947, until June 4, 1988. It e ...

statue in Idaho Springs

Cultural References

In the movie '' Downhill Racer'', Idaho Springs was referenced as the hometown of fictional character Dave Chappellet (

). On-location shots of Idaho Springs were used in the film. Beaus of Holly, a made-for-TV Christmas movie produced in 2020 for the ION Channel, was filmed in Idaho Springs. The video game '' Life Is Strange: True Colors'' used Idaho Springs as the inspiration for the main setting of the game Haven Springs.

Notable people

Gus Alberts August Peterson Alberts (September 1860 – May 7, 1912) was an American infielder in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1891. He played for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys (1884), Cleveland Blues (1888), and the Milwaukee Brewers (1891) of the Americ ...

, Major League Baseball player * Joseph H. August,

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...

* Warren A. Haggott, U.S. Representative from Colorado * Paul M. Lewis, entrepreneur and car builder *

Pete Morrison George D. "Pete" Morrison (August 8, 1890 – February 5, 1973) was an American silent western film actor born in Westminster, Colorado. During his childhood he lived in Morrison, Colorado (named for his grandfather George Morrison) and Idaho S ...

, silent western

film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), ...

* Jennifer Whalen, professional

mountain bike A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which m ...

racer who has resided in Idaho Springs since 2002 *

Haleigh Washington Haleigh Meridian Washington (born September 22, 1995) is an American volleyball player of the United States women's national volleyball team. Washington was an All-American middle blocker for the Penn State women's volleyball team, where she hel ...

, Olympic Gold medalist in Women’s Volleyball at

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Points of interest

* Argo Gold Mine and Mill - The mill and museum are open for tours. * Statue of cartoon character

* The Charlie Taylor Water Wheel - a

water wheel A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...

built by miner Charlie Taylor in 1893 to power a

stamp mill A stamp mill (or stamp battery or stamping mill) is a type of mill machine that crushes material by pounding rather than grinding, either for further processing or for extraction of metallic ores. Breaking material down is a type of unit operati ...

. Moved to its present location south of US 6 and US 40 in 1948 and restored in 1988. Fed by Bridal Veil Falls, a small waterfall, visible to the south of eastbound I-70. * Mount Evans - The mountain is located about 28 miles south of Idaho Springs. * Indian Hot Springs

References

External links

*
City of Idaho Springs official website

CDOT map of the City of Idaho Springs

Idaho Springs Photos and Information at Western Mining History
{{Authority control Cities in Clear Creek County, Colorado Cities in Colorado Denver metropolitan area Populated places established in 1859 Hot springs of Colorado Bodies of water of Clear Creek County, Colorado 1859 establishments in Kansas Territory