Melissa Greiner, Black Hawk.  The City of Black Hawk recently announced it has purchased the most historically significant and celebrated gold mining properties in the State of Colorado. The properties acquired include the famed Gregory Diggings, the Bobtail Lode, and the Bobtail Tunnel. These historic sites will be incorporated into City leaders’ plans to redevelop Gregory Street along with new amenities to enhance the Black Hawk resort experience.

Through the acquisition, the City will preserve and promote the contributions these landmarks made to the history of Black Hawk and Colorado. “In Colorado, history does not get any richer or any more significant than these mining properties,” declared Black Hawk Mayor and fifth generation Black Hawkite, David D. Spellman.

It was John H. Gregory of Georgia who revivified the Pikes Peak Gold Rush when, on May 6, 1859, he discovered the first lode gold in the area that would later come to be known as the “Gregory Diggings.” The gold vein is ensconced in the area that, five years later, on May 11, 1864, was incorporated into the boundaries of the second oldest incorporated city in Colorado, the City of Black Hawk.

It was Gregory’s discovery that inaugurated the expansion and permanent development of Colorado. Gregory’s rich gold strike led to the formation, on June 8, 1859, of the first mining district in the new gold rush region of the Rocky Mountains, aptly dubbed the “Gregory Mining District.” The Gregory Lode stands preeminent in Colorado mining history as the first discovered, as well as the mineral wealth it yielded. A monument erected in 1932 by the State Historical Society of Colorado on Black Hawk’s Gregory Street recognizes John H. Gregory and the Gregory Diggings.

“The Bobtail Lode was discovered in July of 1859 by the three Cotton brothers,” explained Mayor Spellman. “These brothers hauled their decomposed quartz, usually termed ‘pay dirt,’ down to the creek for sluicing on a rough sled pulled by a bobtail ox. The miners with their penchant for unusual and amusing names began to refer to the mineral vein as the Bobtail Lode and the name stuck.”

Historical records indicate the Bobtail Lode ranks among the most productive of Colorado mineral veins and has been referred to as the “King of Lodes,” against which other Colorado lodes were measured. During the years of mining operations, one peculiarity held about the Bobtail ore – it always paid.

City leaders agree that the Bobtail Tunnel adjacent to Gregory Street is perhaps the most treasured property acquired. Work commenced in March of 1863 on the Bobtail Tunnel, which has a more recent colorful history of being a gold mine tour; starting in the 1950s and closing in the early 1980s. “Many Colorado families will recall going 1,000 feet into the Bobtail Tunnel on a donkey-pulled cart, which made the experience the most unique gold mine tour in Colorado,” recalled Mayor Spellman.

The details of the Gregory Street redevelopment will be announced later this fall along with an official groundbreaking ceremony. Mayor Spellman affirmed: “The intriguing and enterprising concepts we have for Gregory Street are being finalized.  Suffice to say that these venerable mining properties will have as much of a predominant role in Black Hawk’s dynamic future as they do in its storied past.”