Patrice LeBlanc, Central City. A prospector from Georgia, John Gregory, searched the Rocky Mountains 1859 for four months until he discovered a vein of gold in a gulch later to be named Gregory Gulch. He would have headed back to Denver immediately if a spring snowstorm hadn’t barged into the Rocky Mountains in 1859, where he had to bunker down for three days and wait it out.

By the time he made it to Golden, he was weak and starving. He was befriended by a businessman, David K. Wall, who agreed to finance (grubstake) the expedition to return to Gregory Gulch. Gregory traveled back up the mountain accompanied by Wilkes DeFrees, Dr. Casto and Colonel Bates.

The hypothesis turned out to be correct, and the men found plenty of gold veins, which came to be known as the Gregory Lode. Realizing they had reached the jackpot, they quickly set up rules and regulations for mining before other miners descended on the area.

The Gold Miner’s Association of Gregory District was created to ensure no miners could hold the right of discovery more than one creek, one gulch and one mountain claim. Once a stake was claimed, it had to be worked within 10 days of the established title.

Limited reports reached the Denver area and a few prominent men decided to travel to the encampment to check out the rumors. Among them were William N. Byers, founder and editor of the Rocky Mountain News.

Byers interviewed Gregory on the gold find and published an article on May 28, 1859. Shortly after the article came out, nearly 400 men showed up looking to cash in on the gold rush.

Another vein of gold was found further up from Gregory Gulch by Henry (nicknamed Harry) Gummell. He was so excited when he found the vein he yelled, “Eureka,” which attracted many prospectors to his area.

Eureka Gulch became a popular site, which later came to be known as Eureka Street. Soon after that, other veins were discovered in the area, including the Bobtail Vein. Gregory sold his first claim for $21,000 on May 28, 1859, to Amos Grindley and E.W. Henderson. In a matter of months, he had gone from rags to riches.

News soon reached the East, which brought out more reporters to investigate the legitimacy of the new mining claims. Horace Greeley of the New York Tribune (also the editor of the Western Mountaineer), and A.D. Richardson from the Boston Journal were accompanied by B.D. Williams of Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express Coach and Judge H.P.A. Smith, Commissioner to organize the new territory.

In June, a meeting was set up with the miners and included the distinguished guests where an estimated 2,000 men showed up. Officers were elected. Wilkes DeFrees was elected President and Dr. Casto was elected secretary.

They set forth ten resolutions (called the Gregory Rules) for all miners to follow. Green Russell from the Pikes Peak area had 170 followers. He staked a claim nearby in Russell Gulch and adopted the same resolutions for his men.

The reporters left camp with their articles for back East. William Byers also left for Denver but missed the deadline to add his article for the June 9 addition of the Rocky Mountain News. On June 11, an extra addition was added with stories about Gregory Diggings.

The news coverage spread across the country. The result brought 30,000 new people including men, women and children during the summer of 1859.

Three months after John Gregory discovered gold, the town of Central City was born. The town was originally called Gregory’s Diggings. Other towns were springing up around the area.

Mountain City was located south and Nevadaville was located to the east. William Byers suggested the name Central City as it was half way between the other two towns. A charter was granted in May 1964 and the area officially became Central City. It was nicknamed The Richest Square Mile on Earth.

For more information check out https://www.colorado.gov/centralcity.

(Originally published in the April 18, 2019, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)