Celebrating History

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The Gold Hill School and its surrounding community have a rich and storied history. As the name suggests, the town of Gold Hill traces its origins to the early gold mining days of Colorado. In January 1859, gold was discovered in Gold Run Creek, near what is now the heart of Gold Hill. This discovery was one of several gold strikes in Colorado that year and marked the beginning of the state’s first gold rush. By the summer of 1859, Gold Hill’s population is estimated to have ranged from three to five thousand people.

The first settlement of Gold Hill consisted mostly of tents and hastily constructed cabins, located on Horsfal Hill (or Gold Hill, as it was known back then), just east of the present-day town. As often happens with gold rush mining communities, the original settlement was largely abandoned by the late 1860s, after a forest fire in 1860, the economic hardships of the Civil War, and the depletion of the mines. However, in 1872, the discovery of tellurium—a type of gold ore previously overlooked by prospectors—breathed new life into Gold Hill. The town began to take shape in a more sheltered area near Gold Run Creek, where the first gold strike had occurred over a decade earlier.

With the influx of new settlers, Gold Hill experienced a building boom in the summer of 1873. During this period, twenty dwellings, six boardinghouses, a hotel, two stores, a meat market, a blacksmith shop, two stables, two saloons, and the schoolhouse were constructed. The first school was a log cabin that served as both a school during the week and a church on Sundays. In its first year, the school enrolled thirty-one students and was taught by Miss Hannah C. Spalding, a native of Massachusetts. The October 17, 1873, issue of the Boulder County News called Gold Hill’s new school "one of the best schools in the county." Through the 1950s, the Gold Hill School served students ages 5-21, as educational institutions in Boulder were not accessible due to the rugged mountain traveling conditions.

In 1883, the original log schoolhouse was replaced with a larger one-room frame structure, which continues to serve as the classroom for grades K-2 today. By 1885, the school had sixty enrolled students, all taught by a single teacher. In 1890, a smaller room was added to the back of the school to accommodate the growing student population, and this space now serves as the school office. Around the turn of the 20th century, Gold Hill School employed two teachers, each responsible for about forty students. In 1985, another room was added to the east side of the building, almost doubling its size and creating the two-room schoolhouse we have today. This additional room now houses grades 3-5.

150

150th Anniversary Celebration, Labor Day Weekend 2023

 

150 Years of the Gold Hill School Presentation

 

Ode to the Gold Hill School:

150 Years & Still Going STRONG

the logs, the wood,
bell & paint, swing
through the years, noted
in minds before photographs,
in diaries & newspapers,
in autograph books & yearbooks
full of smiles, serious & silly faces
in 6, 8, 12 years of growth
bonds of friendships lifelong forged
in songs, reading, recitation, watching,
bell ringing, making, in adding, subtracting, multiplying the love in families
with teachers/staff/volunteers

the adult to child knowledge passed through chalk, voice, page-print, screen - - - on &
on & on swirling

centuries - - - a through-line
of learning, of seeing,
of trees, bees, a hedgehog, swims, skies, swings, camps, skills braided into each life,
imprinted on each heart
1 to 150 - - - a thread
from then to now to then---
all to come WOVEN STRONG

Written by Virginia Schultz, School Parent

1900

GHS ~1920

Gold Hill School's 150th Birthday Party!

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