Black Hawk and Central City (Images of America)

The neighboring towns of Central City and Black Hawk in Gilpin County played very prominent roles in the formation of Colorado. The two mining camps supplied millions of dollars in gold, giving them great economic and political power in the 1800s, and Colorado’s first two US senators and representative came from Central City. The two towns were home to popular theaters, schools, churches, baseball teams, and thriving businesses, all designed to prove they were permanent, law-abiding settlements. As mining began to die out in the late 1890s and early 1900s, the two towns entered a period of steep economic decline, but a new mining operation and the reopening of the Central City Opera House in the 1930s led to a revival, making the former mining camps major tourist attractions. The introduction of legalized gambling in 1991 added yet another chapter to the colorful history of Black Hawk and Central City.