Idaho Springs, Colorado | |
|---|---|
| City of Idaho Springs[1] | |
 Aerial view from the east in 2006 | |
| Motto: "Where The Gold Rush Began" | |
 Location inClear Creek County, Colorado | |
  Idaho Springs Location in the United States | |
| Coordinates:39°44′33″N105°30′49″W / 39.74250°N 105.51361°W /39.74250; -105.51361[3] | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  Colorado |
| County | Clear Creek County[2] |
| City | Idaho Springs[1] |
| Founded | 1859 |
| Incorporated | 1885-11-15[4] |
| Government | |
| • Type | Statutory City[1] |
| • Mayor | Chuck Harmon[5] |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.29 sq mi (5.92 km2) |
| • Land | 2.25 sq mi (5.83 km2) |
| • Water | 0.035 sq mi (0.09 km2) |
| Elevation | 7,526 ft (2,294 m) |
| Population | |
• Total | 1,782 |
| Time zone | UTC−7 (MST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−6 (MDT) |
| ZIP Code[8] | 80452 |
| Area codes | 303 and720 |
| FIPS code | 08-38370 |
| GNIS feature ID | 204710[3] |
| Website | www |
TheCity of Idaho Springs is thestatutory city that is themost populous municipality inClear Creek County, Colorado, United States. Idaho Springs is a part of theDenver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the2020 United States census it had a population of 1,782.[7] Idaho Springs is located inClear Creek Canyon, in the mountains upstream fromGolden, some 30 miles (50 km) west ofDenver.
Founded 166 years ago in 1859 by prospectors during the early days of thePike's Peak Gold Rush, the town was at the center of the region's mining district throughout the late nineteenth century. TheArgo Tunnel drained and provided access to many lodes of ore between Idaho Springs andCentral City. During the late twentieth century, the town evolved into a tourist center alongU.S. Highway 6 andU.S. Highway 40, which ascend Clear Creek Canyon through the historic mining district.
The town today is squeezed along the north side ofInterstate 70, with a historical downtown in the central portion, a strip of tourist-related businesses on its eastern end, and mostly residences on its western end. It also serves as abedroom community for workers at theLoveland Ski Area farther up the canyon. The town today is the largest community in Clear Creek County, but, for historical reasons, the county seat has remained atGeorgetown.
On January 5, 1859, during theColorado gold rush, prospector George A. Jackson discoveredplacer gold at the present site of Idaho Springs, where Chicago Creek empties intoClear Creek. It was the first substantial gold discovery in Colorado. Jackson, aMissouri native with experience in theCalifornia gold fields, was drawn to the area by clouds of steam rising from some nearbyhot springs. Jackson kept his find secret for several months, but after he paid for some supplies with gold dust, others rushed to Jackson's diggings.[9] The location was originally known as "Jackson's Diggings". Once the location became a permanent settlement, it was variously called "Sacramento City", "Idahoe", "Idaho", "Idaho City", and finally "Idaho Springs".[10]
The first placer discoveries were soon followed by discoveries of gold veins in the rocks of the canyon walls on both sides of Clear Creek.Hard rock mining became the mainstay of the town long after the gold-bearing gravels were exhausted.
TheIdaho Springs miners' strike of 1903 demanding aneight-hour day erupted into violence in May 1903. This was a conflict was a part the much broaderColorado Labor Wars, where the Western Federation of Miners sought to pressure mining companies into improving conditions for miners.
The 1969 filmDownhill Racer portrayed analpine ski racer from Idaho Springs, played byRobert Redford; a brief scene was shot on location in Idaho Springs. Several scenes from the comedy filmThe Overbrook Brothers were filmed here in the spring of 2008.
Idaho Springs is located in northeastern Clear Creek County alongClear Creek near the confluence of its tributary, Chicago Creek.[11]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2), of which 0.03 square miles (0.09 km2), or 1.53%, is water.[12]
Idaho Springs has ahumid continental climate (Koppen: Dfb) with moderately cold winters and warm summers with cool nights. Annual snowfall is heavy, averaging 72 inches (183 cm).[13]
Idaho Springs is notable for having relatively even levels of precipitation between all months. An average of 40 inches of precipitation fall each year.[14]
| Climate data for Idaho Springs, Colorado (Elevation 7,555ft) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 62 (17) | 67 (19) | 73 (23) | 78 (26) | 89 (32) | 95 (35) | 93 (34) | 91 (33) | 92 (33) | 83 (28) | 73 (23) | 66 (19) | 95 (35) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 38.8 (3.8) | 40.9 (4.9) | 45.5 (7.5) | 53.6 (12.0) | 62.1 (16.7) | 72.8 (22.7) | 77.4 (25.2) | 76.1 (24.5) | 69.8 (21.0) | 59.3 (15.2) | 47.3 (8.5) | 39.9 (4.4) | 57.0 (13.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 15.1 (−9.4) | 16.0 (−8.9) | 19.8 (−6.8) | 27.0 (−2.8) | 34.4 (1.3) | 41.8 (5.4) | 47.6 (8.7) | 46.4 (8.0) | 39.1 (3.9) | 30.4 (−0.9) | 22.3 (−5.4) | 16.5 (−8.6) | 29.7 (−1.3) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −32 (−36) | −29 (−34) | −23 (−31) | −6 (−21) | 8 (−13) | 23 (−5) | 28 (−2) | 28 (−2) | 14 (−10) | −5 (−21) | −21 (−29) | −24 (−31) | −32 (−36) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 0.33 (8.4) | 0.50 (13) | 0.90 (23) | 1.78 (45) | 1.94 (49) | 1.50 (38) | 2.59 (66) | 2.05 (52) | 1.36 (35) | 0.99 (25) | 0.64 (16) | 0.47 (12) | 15.05 (382) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 5.4 (14) | 8.5 (22) | 12.3 (31) | 15.1 (38) | 5.2 (13) | 0.4 (1.0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 1.9 (4.8) | 7.4 (19) | 8.6 (22) | 7.2 (18) | 72.0 (183) |
| Source: The Western Regional Climate Center[15] | |||||||||||||
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 229 | — | |
| 1880 | 733 | 220.1% | |
| 1890 | 1,338 | 82.5% | |
| 1900 | 2,502 | 87.0% | |
| 1910 | 2,154 | −13.9% | |
| 1920 | 1,192 | −44.7% | |
| 1930 | 1,207 | 1.3% | |
| 1940 | 2,112 | 75.0% | |
| 1950 | 1,769 | −16.2% | |
| 1960 | 1,480 | −16.3% | |
| 1970 | 2,003 | 35.3% | |
| 1980 | 2,077 | 3.7% | |
| 1990 | 1,834 | −11.7% | |
| 2000 | 1,889 | 3.0% | |
| 2010 | 1,717 | −9.1% | |
| 2020 | 1,782 | 3.8% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
Idaho Springs Public Schools are part of theClear Creek School District RE-1. There are two elementary schools, one middle school, one high school, and one charter school. Students attendClear Creek High School.
Carlson Elementary School is located in Idaho Springs.
Idaho Springs is the birthplace ofColorado-style pizza.[16][17]
Idaho Springs is incorporated into the Colorado Department of Transportation'sBustang network. It is part of the West Line, which connects Denver to Grand Junction.[18]
Beaus of Holly, a -TV Christmas movie produced in 2020 for the Ion Channel, was filmed in Idaho Springs. The fictional mining town of Haven Springs in the video gameLife Is Strange: True Colors is inspired by Idaho Springs.[19]
Media related toIdaho Springs, Colorado at Wikimedia Commons
Idaho Springs travel guide from WikivoyageMunicipalities and communities ofClear Creek County, Colorado,United States | ||
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| Cities |  | |
| Towns | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
