Editing Gold Hill, Colorado (section)

==History==
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The community is located above Gold Run, the first lode discovery of gold in Colorado (at that time the area was part of the [[Nebraska Territory]]) on January 15, 1859. The discovery occurred nearly simultaneous with prospecting in [[Gregory Gulch]] and [[Clear Creek (Colorado)|Clear Creek]], but these latter discoveries were not exploited until later that Spring. On March 7, 1859, the Gold Run discovery became the first mining district in region (named either the Mountain District No. 1, Mining District No. 1 of the Nebraska Territory, or the Nebraska Gold Hill Mining District, according to various historical sources). Word quickly spread among miners in the region, prompting a flood of new arrivals and the establishment of Gold Hill as the first permanent mining camp in present-day Colorado. By autumn, a [[quartz]] [[stamp mill]] was erected at the base of the hill, the first such piece of equipment in the region, one that had been transported by [[ox]] cart westward over the [[Great Plains]]. The first productive vein was the Scott, followed quickly the Horsfal, Alamakee, and Cold Spring. Nearby [[placer mining|placers]] were also worked for the gold in stream beds.

[[File:DSCN2849 goldhillwoodstructures e 600.jpg|thumb|left|Modern residences around ruins of historic mining structures in Gold Hill]]

By 1861, the year of the organization of the [[Colorado Territory]], the surface deposits of gold in the vicinity of the town were largely played out, resulting in a temporary exodus of prospectors and a population decrease. The town was somewhat revived later that year by the construction of the Hill [[smelter]] at nearby [[Black Hawk, Colorado|Black Hawk]], allowing the treatment of lower-grade ores.

The discovery of [[tellurium]] in the area in 1872 prompted a second boom, bringing the population to nearly 1000 once again. At its height, the town had a newspaper and number of hotels, including the Mines Hotel, built in 1872 and recently restored as summer tourist destination. The Mines was immortalized in verse by [[poet]] [[Eugene Field]], who stayed at the hotel while working as a newspaper man in [[Denver, Colorado|Denver]]. The town population dwindled in the early 20th century as the mining tapered off. The town has experienced two major fires in its history, but it nevertheless retains many of its historic wooden structures.

Despite a dwindling permanent population, Gold Hill continued to remain attractive to tourists. Around 1926 [[Florence Molloy and Mabel MacLeay]], previously the owners of the Molloy-MacLeay taxicab company in [[Boulder, Colorado|Boulder, CO]], opened the Double M Dude Ranch (or M&M ranch, then Trojan Ranch, and now the Colorado Mountain Ranch) in Gold Hill, CO.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://localhistory.boulderlibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora:76116?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=1cdba39b6e1bc0fc73de&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=0|title=Revealing Our Routes: women of Boulder County {{!}} Carnegie Library for Local History|website=localhistory.boulderlibrary.org|access-date=2019-11-24}}</ref> The [[Syracuse Herald-Journal|Syracuse Herald]], described the Double M as offering, “all the attractions of the open spaces of the West sufficiently tempered with luxuries to meet the requirement of Easterners.”<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://mcgrathsearch.com/Mattydale_Stuff/Settlers/Molloy/1927-02-06%20Molloy%20&%20MacLeay%20Open%20Dude%20Ranch.jpg|title=Ex-Syracuse Women Open Dude Ranch|last=Sloan|first=Mildred|date=6 February 1927|work=The Syracuse Herald|access-date=23 November 2019}}</ref> The Double MM operated until [[World War II]] when it was sold in 1941 and subsequently became the Trojan Ranch and then later the Colorado Mountain Ranch (currently in operation).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dailycamera.com/ci_22313289/bernie-egeland-longtime-boulder-resident-reflects-coors-events-center-gold-hill|title=Longtime resident reflects on Boulder living, wrangling|date=2013-01-04|website=Boulder Daily Camera|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-24}}</ref>

In 1921, The Holiday House Association of Chicago, started by [[Jean Sherwood]], purchased the hotel at Gold Hill, now the Gold Hill Inn, to create a summer camp destination for self-supporting single women from Chicago. These vacationing women were referred to as "Bluebirds." The Bluebird Lodge addition to the hotel was completed around 1926.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-07-26-vw-1177-story.html|title=Bluebird Cottage--Early Pastoral Haven for the Working Girl : History: A women's rights activist named Jean Wirt Sherwood came to a meadow in Boulder in 1904 and immediately saw it as a vacation retreat for the weary.|date=1990-07-26|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-24}}</ref>

In September 2010, the [[Fourmile Canyon#Four Mile Canyon Fire|Four Mile Canyon wildfire]] destroyed approximately 170 homes in and around Gold Hill.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 September 2010 |title=Evacuation order lifted for some, others express frustration |url=http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-fourmile-fire-community-meeting-txt,0,7516523.story |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717000816/http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-fourmile-fire-community-meeting-txt,0,7516523.story |archive-date=17 July 2011 |website=FOX31 Denver}}</ref>