Fourth grades take a tour: Fourth grade students from Gilpin County Schools went on the Third Annual Historic Tour of Central City. Above, Gilpin County School’s fourth grade class with teachers Susan Sepanik and Sunshine Vincent. PHOTO BY JOHN SCARFFE[/caption]

Fourth grade students from Gilpin County Schools went on the Third Annual Historic Tour of Central City on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, beginning at about 9:30 a.m. Barbara Thielemann, president of Main Street Central City, planned the event, which was attended by 29 fourth graders and teachers Susan Sepanik and Sunshine Vincent.

Dave Forsyth, director of the Gilpin History Museum, led the event. The yellow school bus unloaded the students in the Big T lot, across the street from Central City offices, at about 9:40 a.m.

Forsyth asked the students why Central City is located where it is, and then told them it was because of gold. He pointed out the two piles of mining tailings at the south end of the lot, and said the piles were covered with gravel because they are dangerous as a result of the chemicals that had been used to refine the gold.

The tailings came from the Glory Mine. Some people think the railway station is buried under the tailings. Across the street is the old freight depot.

At one time, Central City was called the richest square mile on earth. There is virtually no more mining, because the gold is hard to get to, and it costs too much to search it out.

The students crossed the street, and Forsyth pointed out the mural beside City Hall, and said the City was started in 1859. In 1874, the city had a big fire.

The students went upstairs into the Central City Council chambers. Barbara Thielemann welcomed the students on behalf of Central City Main Street. Mayor Jeremy Fey asked the students what a mayor does, and one student said it was like the president.

Fey said he sits on a council which has five members, and he only gets one vote. He is an elected official. To be elected, first you must get on the ballot and have to be older than 18 years and live in Central City. Each council member serves a four-year term. This year, the Council will have two seats available. He asked if any of the kids live in Central City. Three students came forward, and two of them sat in Council member’s chairs.

Fey said the Council is working on updating Russell Park, and asked the students if they wanted a hard-core repair. The students indicated what they would like for the park.

The Council also gives direction to the staff. The City Manager oversees the staff. The Public Works department is the City’s biggest department.

Actress Robbie Zmuda introduced herself as playing the role of Mary York, and said she was the first woman to set forth in what is now Central City. She was born on March 17, 1830, in England, and her family emigrated to Canada.

The family then moved to New York and Baltimore before heading west to Denver. Those she was with started arguing, and she had dreams of her own, so she ran away and then got lost. She was sitting by the side of a river when William Green Russell found her and took her to a mining camp with 170 men.

She began providing laundry services for the men in the camp on June 1, 1859. Russell built her a two-room cabin, and she began to provide meal services for the camp residents. In December 1860, she was the first in the area to marry.

She was happy because she had a home, a husband, and then children followed. They moved to Fraser Valley, where they spent the rest of their lives. The guest ranch there is now a museum. Mary York passed away in 1909.

The students went down the stairs from the Council Chambers to go next door to the Belvidere Theater. Betty Mahaffey, treasurer of the Belvidere Foundation, told the students the theater building was built after the fire in Central City in 1874. The theater was initially used for the opera house, but they needed more space, so the opera house was built on Eureka Street.

The Belvidere building has been used as a museum, school, and storage facility. The Belvidere Committee will be starting construction in the building next door, known as the Shoofly building, creating a bar.

Construction on the theater is waiting because asbestos has been found in the building.

The plan is to work on the front of the theater first.

The students then walked to the Gilpin County Art Gallery, where they met Director Michele Roussel. Then they visited St. James United Methodist Church and the Gilpin History Museum before lunch on the lawn.

After lunch, the students went to the Visitor Center, the Teller House, and the Opera House. They also went to the Gilpin County Courthouse to visit with Sahari McCormick, County Clerk and Recorder, and Ray Rears, County Manager.

The students were picked up in the Teller Parking Lot about 2:45 p.m..

Main Street Central City is a City commission and part of the Colorado Main Street® Program, which is dedicated to revitalizing traditional downtown districts within the context of historic preservation. The program uses an approach that advocates a return to community self-reliance, local empowerment, and the rebuilding of central business districts based on their traditional assets of unique architecture, personal service, local ownership, and a sense of community. The City of Central was accepted into the program as a “Main Street Candidate Community” in November 2015.

For more information go to https:// centralcity.colorado.gov/main-streetcommission.