This monument recognizes the organization of the first town in what is now known as Jefferson County, the gold-mining settlement of Arapahoe City. In 1859, the town apparently consisted of more than 30 log buildings. Other sources report the non-Indian population as 700 at that time; so one of these numbers is probably in error.

Photos on this page courtesy Peter J. Modreski.

The plaque on the monument reads:

THIS TABLET IS THE
PROPERTY OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

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IN THIS IMMEDIATE AREA ONCE STOOD
ARAPAHOE CITY
A PIONEER PLACER MINING CAMP, THE
EARLIEST TOWN IN JEFFERSON COUNTY.
NAMED FOR THE ARAPAHO INDIANS.
TOWN COMPANY ORGANIZED NOV 29, 1858.
FROM HERE WENT GEORGE A. JACKSON
AND JOHN H. GREGORY TO MAKE THEIR
HISTORIC GOLD DISCOVERIES NEAR
IDAHO SPRINGS AND CENTRAL CITY.
ARAPAHOE'S POPULATION WAS 80 IN 1860.
EXTENSIVE GOLD DREDGING OPERATIONS
OF 1904 COVERED PART OF THE SITE.

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ERECTED BY
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF COLORADO
FROM
THE MRS. J.N. HALL FOUNDATION AND BY
STUDENTS OF FAIRMOUNT SCHOOL, A.D. QUAINTANCE
AND THE AMERICAN PIONEER TRAIL ASSOCIATION.
1946

Plaque Detail