Central City, Colorado
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City of Central, Colorado Central City |
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| Home Rule Municipality | |
The Teller House
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| Nickname(s): The Richest Square Mile on Earth | |
 Location in Gilpin County and the state of Colorado |
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| Coordinates: 39°47′45″N 105°30′53″W / 39.795790°N 105.514835°WCoordinates: 39°47′45″N 105°30′53″W / 39.795790°N 105.514835°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado |
| Counties | Gilpin, Clear Creek |
| Settled | 1859 |
| Incorporated | June 12, 1886 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Home Rule Municipality |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.4 sq mi (6.3 km2) |
| • Land | 2.4 sq mi (6.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) |
| Elevation | 8,510 ft (2,594 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 663 |
| • Density | 270/sq mi (110/km2) |
| Time zone | MST (UTC-7) |
| • Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
| ZIP Code | 80427 (PO Box) |
| Area code(s) | Both 303 and 720 |
| INCITS place code | 0812910 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0181484 |
| Website | www |
The City of Central, commonly known as Central City, is the Home Rule Municipality in Gilpin and Clear Creek counties that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Gilpin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 663 at the 2010 United States Census. The city is a historic mining settlement founded in 1859 during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush and came to be known as the "Richest Square Mile on Earth". Central City and the adjacent city of Black Hawk form the federally designated Central City/Black Hawk Historic District. The city is now a part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area.
On May 6, 1859, during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, John H. Gregory found a gold-bearing vein (the Gregory Lode) in Gregory Gulch between Black Hawk and Central City. Within two months many other veins were discovered, including the Bates, Gunnell, Kansas, and Burroughs. By 1860, as many as 10,000 prospectors had flocked to the town, then known as Mountain City, and surrounding prospects, but most soon left, many returning east. The 1900 census showed 3,114 people.
The year 1863 brought the first attempt by hard rock miners to form a hard rock miners' union. Of 125 miners signing a union resolution in Central City, about fifty broke windows and doors at the Bob Tail mine, forcing other workers out. After a night of shooting and fighting, the union effort among Central City miners failed.
Many Chinese lived in Central City during the early days working the placer deposits of Gregory Gulch. They were forbidden work in the underground mines. Most of them are believed to have returned to China after making their stake.
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Wikipedia