On a frigid January 7, 1859, George Jackson was camped near the confluence of Clear Creek and Chicago Creek. He scraped up some frozen ground around his campfire, melted it in his cup and found gold! He marked the spot, headed back to Golden and returned in the spring with a group of trusted men to explore what he was certain was a rich find. Indeed, his was the first significant discovery of placer gold in the territory. Although Jackson and his party tried to keep the discovery secret, word soon got out and the Colorado Gold Rush was underway.
A settlement sprang up as a tent city, bustling with activity. By June 1859 there were 400 people in the settlement, and the Jackson Mining District was formally organized‚ the first recorded in the Colorado Territory.
Known as Jackson's Diggings, Spanish Bar, Sacramento City, Idahoe and, eventually, Idaho Springs, it soon became the major supply center for all the mining activities in the surrounding area and remains the largest town in Clear Creek County.
