What’s Happening in Golden Today?
10AM-3PM Brunch at the Rose @ Buffalo Rose
12:30-3PM Golden Community Garden Coffee Talk: Starting Seeds @ Golden Library
Coffee Talks are meant to spark conversation and share gardening experiences. We hope you can join us. More information
2PM Sunday at the Museum @ Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum
There are lots of good reasons to visit the Quilt Museum this afternoon. Reason #1: today’s program will feature Art Quilters with Altitude Panelists and should be interesting! Reason #2: This is the final week to see the current exhibit. Reason #3: A SALE! They’re offering 30% Off ALL fabric, fabric pre-cuts, kits & patterns, totes and notions, plus all Christmas items (excludes consignment items)! This sale has been extended until January 14th due to the weather conditions experienced the past couple of weeks.
4PM Sunday Swing with the Flatirons Jazz Orchestra @ Buffalo Rose
Live Music
11AM-2PM Scott Slay @ Buffalo Rose (Sky Bar Stage)
2PM Coral Rosanbalm @ Dirty Dogs Roadhouse
3-6PM Shaun Nicklin Trio @ Over Yonder
4-7PM Kevin Austin @ Buffalo Rose (Sky Bar Stage)
4-7PM Keith Hicks @ Golden Mill
8PM Karaoke @ Ace Hi Tavern
Golden History Moment
154 Years Ago
The January 8, 1868 Colorado Transcript described Golden’s unique New Year’s Day celebration. The City was nine years old at that time, having been organized in 1859, when Colorado’s gold rush began. It was a very small town: the population had been only 1,014 for the 1860 census, and that number had been declining ever since.
Golden City’s continued existence hung on William Loveland’s ability to build a railroad that would put the town on the map. Mr. Loveland had been busy looking for suitable routes and trying to round up investors.
In the waning days of December, Loveland returned from his latest trip and was able to announce that the Colorado Central & Pacific Railroad Company was “a go,” and that they would begin breaking ground for the new route on New Year’s Day. There was much rejoicing, and on the afternoon of New Year’s Day…
An impromptu procession was formed consisting of about a hundred men, all armed with picks, shovels, and axes, who proceeded to the initial point. Ere long the crowd increased to about two hundred and fifty as earnest people as ever engaged upon any undertaking. The…spot where the work was to begin is about half a mile from the center of town, upon the northern limit of Golden City.
Upon reaching the spot, the crowd paused to hear several flowery speeches and toasts. The speeches were greeted with much cheering, and finally the crowd set to work.
Stakes for the commencement of grading having been driven by the engineers, Col. Carter, President of the Company broke ground, by lustily shoveling upon the road…and the crowd present commenced, and labored for an hour as if the whole fate of the great enterprise depended upon their exertions; about two hundred feet of road-bed was handsomely completed.
And so the town celebrated New Year’s Day, 1868, with a great sense of optimism about the community’s future.
It took until September of 1870, but the Colorado Central Railroad was completed between Golden and Denver. Since Denver had a rail line to Cheyenne, which was on the Transcontinental Railroad, this meant that Golden was then connected to the world!
The Colorado Central’s chief reason for existence was to connect to the rich mining towns west of Golden. The railroad reached Black Hawk in 1872, Idaho Springs and Georgetown in 1877, and Central City in 1878. As an industrial hub, a trading center, and the home of the Colorado Central Railroad, Golden thrived.
Thanks to the Golden History Museum for providing the online cache of historic Transcripts, and to the Golden Transcript for documenting our history since 1866!
