The first settler of record in the valley that became Golden City staked out two acres, raised a handsome garden, and sold produce to prospectors who were passing through the valley on the way to the canyons of Chicago Creek. Some of the prospectors settled in the valley while others headed for the gold fields in the mountains. Golden City grew and became the leading town in the Jefferson Territory. Golden City had just about everything – even a gambling tent, the proprietors of which, incidentally, were the Ford Brothers…hence “Ford Street”. As the Colorado Territory was legally formed, Golden City became the county seat of Jefferson County and until 1867, the territorial capital of Colorado. ~ The “Colorado Transcript”, Colorado’s oldest weekly newspaper and now the “Golden Transcript”, was first published in Golden in 1866. In 1873, the Adolph Coors Company opened its doors. In 1874, the Colorado School of Mines was founded just two years before Colorado became the 38th state. ~ Golden is still home to the Colorado School of Mines and Coors Brewery. It’s also the permanent home of Buffalo Bill Cody, rumored to be buried under several feet of concrete to discourage grave robbing. ~ Golden is easily accessed from Denver’s 6th Avenue West, which is US Highway 6 to two of Colorado’s three legal gaming communities, Central City and Blackhawk.

The Castle Rock - South Table Mountain