-
Gold Discovered in Colorado
William "Green" Russell discovered gold flakes while panning where Cherry Creek and the South Platte River meet. Today, this area is Confluence Park in Denver. Within one year of Green's discovery, 100,000 people "rushed" to Colorado to find gold for themselves. -
Stout Sandstone Quarries Open
People began to carve red standstone from the foothills west of Fort Collins in 1862. The beautiful stone was used to construct buildings in Fort Collins and Denver. It was also shipped to Chicago and St. Louis for construction there. -
Cripple Creek Gold Boom
Prospector Bob Womack discovered gold near Cripple Creek, leading to another gold rush to Colorado. The Cripple Creek Mining District was one of the world's greatest gold mining areas until the 1940s. -
Yule Marble Quarry Opens
Colorado's beautiful Yule Marble is carved from the mountain in which it is found in southwestern Colorado. Many famous landmarks and monuments are made of Colorado's Yule Marble, such as the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. -
Climax Molybdenum Mine Opens
Climax Molybdenum Mine operated from 1914 - 1994. The metal, molybdenum is used in many products in the car industry, such as lubricant. -
Cripple Creek Gold Mines close
During WWII (1941-1945), the U.S. government ordered all gold mines closed. After the war, most of those gold mines - including those in Cripple Creek - never reopened. -
Stout Sandstone Quarries Close
When construction began on Horsetooth Reservoir west of Fort Collins, the sandstone quarries of Stout had to close. -
Gold Mining Resumes in Cripple Creek
New technology made gold mining easier and more profitable, so a mining compnay reopened a mine in Cripple Creek. -
Climax Molybdenum Mine Reopens
The Climax Molybdenum Mine closed in 1995, but by 2012, improved technology made mining molybdenum easier and more profitable and Climax reopened. Today, the Climax Molybdenum Mine is the world's leading producer of molybdenum.
