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Russell Gulch, is a former mining town, now largely a
ghost town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
, in
Gilpin County Gilpin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado, smallest in land area behind only the City and County of Broomfield. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,808. The county seat is Central City. The county was formed in 18 ...
,
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 t ...
, United States. Although the population was once much larger than today, and most of the larger commercial buildings stand empty, the town is not completely deserted.


History

William Greeneberry Russell William Greeneberry "Green" Russell (1818–1877) was an American prospector and miner. Early life Green Russell was born in South Carolina but moved with his family to Georgia as a small child. His father James Russell engaged in gold mining dur ...
, a miner from the gold fields of northern
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, had come to the vicinity of present-day
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 ...
, then part of western
Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...
, in 1858 and with his brothers, founded Auraria on the banks of the Cherry Creek river. His discoveries led to what became the
Pikes Peak 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 1858 a ...
. Another settlement on the opposite bank was founded by
William Larimer William Larimer Jr. (October 24, 1809 – May 16, 1875) was a Kansas state senator, American settler, and land developer who is best known as the founder of Denver, Colorado, in 1858. Larimer often went by "General Larimer", having acquired the ...
in early 1859. This settlement soon merged with Auraria and was named Denver after the territorial governor. Russell discovered placer gold deposits in June 1859 in the valley that was soon named Russell Gulch in his honor.Voynick, S.M., 1992, Colorado Gold, Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company, By the end of September, 891 men were mining gold in the gulch, and the eponymous town was built near the head of the gulch to serve the miners. The placer deposits were quickly worked out, and work shifted to the vein deposits that were the source of the placer gold.


Geography

Russell Gulch is located about two miles southwest of
Central City, Colorado The historic City of Central, commonly known as Central City, is a home rule municipality located in Gilpin and Clear Creek counties, Colorado, United States. Central City is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Gilpin County. ...
, at , at an altitude of 9150 feet (2789 m) above mean sea level.


Attractions

Russell Gulch is home to a
disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...
course, at an altitude of around 9200 feet.Ghost Town Disc Golf
accessed 11/11/2019


See also

*
List of ghost towns in Colorado This is a list of some ghost towns in the U.S. State of Colorado. Colorado has over 1,500 ghost towns, although visible remains of only about 640 still exist. Due to incomplete records and legends that are now accepted as fact, no exhaustive li ...
*
Gold mining in Colorado Gold mining in Colorado, a state of the United States, has been an industry since 1858. It also played a key role in the establishment of the state of Colorado. Explorer Zebulon Pike heard a report of gold in South Park, present-day Park County, ...
*
Pike's Peak 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 1858 a ...


References


External links


Rocky Mountain Profiles: ''Russell Gulch Colorado ghost town''




Ghost towns in Colorado Former populated places in Gilpin County, Colorado {{US-ghost-town-stub