History corner: Searching for elusive Grand County gold
Grand County historian
Grand County Historical Association/Courtesy photo
The first Grand County gold strike was discovered in Bowen Gulch near Grand Lake in 1879. Mining towns sprung up over night and often disappeared just as quickly. Compared to other Colorado locations, gold production was minimal.
In this fall circa 1898 photograph, Samuel Marcus is searching for gold at his Willow Creek Gold Run Placer mine using the first hydraulic mining equipment in the county. Water under pressure separates the heavier gold nuggets from the loose gravel in a process called sluicing. Placer mining is done where the material is too loose to safely mine by tunneling.
Some gold was found in the early Colorado gold rush years, but not much in Grand County. The money was made by the merchants selling equipment and supplies to the prospectors. Some local merchants even loaned “grub-stake money” to prospectors to share in the gold or silver strike, if that prospector got really lucky. (photograph Grand County Historical Association #7080, donor Lillie Curtis)
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