Central City, Colorado

How Central City is governed

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0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

  Executive

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  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

    Executive

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    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

      Administration & departments

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      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

      Administration & departments

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      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

      Administration & departments

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      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

      Administration & departments

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      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

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  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

    Administration & departments

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    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

    Administration & departments

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    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

    Legislative

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    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

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  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

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    Presides over the municipal court.

Website

centralcitycolorado.us

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Population over time

From 663 in 2010 to 779 in 2020 (+17.5%).

History

On May 6, 1859, during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, John H. Gregory found a gold-bearing vein (the Gregory Lode) in Gregory Gulch between Black Hawk and Central City. Within two months many other veins were discovered, including the Bates, Gunnell, Kansas, and Burroughs.

The Mountain City, Kansas Territory, post office opened on January 17, 1860 The area uphill (west) from Mountain City was known as Central City. As many as 10,000 prospectors soon flocked to the town and surrounding prospects. On February 28, 1861, U.S. President James Buchanan signed an act creating the free Territory of Colorado. On November 1, 1861, the Colorado Territory created Gilpin County with Central City as the county seat.

The year 1863 brought the first attempt by hard rock miners to form a hard rock miners' union. Of 125 miners signing a union resolution in Mountain City, about fifty broke windows and doors at the Bob Tail mine, forcing other workers out. After a night of shooting and fighting, the union effort among Central City miners failed.

On March 11, 1864, Mountain City, Colorado Territory, was officially incorporated, with John S. McCool serving as the first mayor.

Many Chinese immigrants lived in Mountain City during the early days working the placer deposits of Gregory Gulch. They were forbidden to work in the underground mines. Most of them are believed to have returned to China after making their stake.

The frontier gambler Poker Alice lived for a time in Central City and several other Colorado mining communities.

As the mining pits expanded, the Mountain City post office was moved uphill and reopened as the Central City, Colorado Territory, post office on October 8, 1869.

On April 28, 1873, the city was visited by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and the first lady, who arrived with a group including Governor Elbert, ex-governor Edward M. McCook, Jerome B. Chaffee, Henry M. Teller, General Harney, and General Babcock. The party came to Black Hawk from Golden via train, then transferred to carriages for the transit to Central City. Upon arrival, the procession paraded through town, which was thronged with spectators, before stopping at the Teller House at 1 p.m. In preparation for their visit, the sidewalk leading to the entrance had been covered with silver bricks from the Caribou Mine, valued at about $13,000. President Grant was reportedly incredulous when he walked over the silver bricks to the entrance and learned that they were pure silver. After dinner and a reception, the party departed for Idaho Springs, the next stop on Grant's tour of Colorado.

On May 22, 1874, a fire started in a Chinese laundry on Gregory street at 11 a.m. and spread quickly throughout the town. A request for help was sent to Golden and the Excelsior Fire Company took a special train to Central City to help fight the fire, arriving to cheers from the locals. Smoke billowing from the fire could be observed as far as Denver, which also sent a fire engine by train after receiving a dispatch to the mayor of Denver stating "The flames are still raging. Send assistance." By 3:30 p.m. the fire was under control, but not before destroying most of the city. The Teller House, Catholic church, Roworth's City Bakery, and several other structures survived the fire, while about 150 structures were destroyed. Many people lost their homes, businesses and belongings as a result, forcing the town to undertake a large effort to rebuild. Total losses from the fire were estimated to exceed half a million dollars. To help prevent future fires, ordinances were passed to widen the city streets and build a water supply for fire prevention.

Gold mining in the Central City district decreased rapidly between 1900 and 1920, as the veins were exhausted. Mining revived in the early 1930s in response to the increase in the price of gold from $20 to $35 per ounce, but then virtually shut down during World War II when gold mining was declared nonessential to the war effort. The district was enlivened in the 1950s by efforts to locate uranium deposits, but these proved unsuccessful.

The City of Central was reincorporated on June 12, 1886.

The population of Central City and its sister city Black Hawk fell to a few hundred by the 1950s. Casino gambling was introduced in both towns in the early 1990s, but had more success in Black Hawk (which has 18 casinos) than in Central City (which has 6 casinos), partly because the main road to Central City passed through Black Hawk, tempting gamblers to stop in Black Hawk instead. In an effort to compete, Central City completed a four-lane, 8.4-mile (13.5 km) parkway from Interstate 70 to Central City, without going through Black Hawk. The highway was completed in 2004, but Black Hawk, which prior to the introduction of gambling was much smaller than Central City, continues to generate more than seven times the gambling revenue that Central City does. To compete, Central City has recently eliminated height restrictions for building on undeveloped land. Buildings were previously limited to heights of 53 feet (16 m), so as not to overshadow the town's historic buildings.

Tax from the gambling revenue provides funding for the State Historical Fund, administered by the Colorado Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Other cities in Colorado

• Denver 715,522
• Colorado Springs 478,961
• Aurora 386,261
• Fort Collins 169,810
• Thornton 141,867
• Arvada 124,402
• Westminster 116,317
• Pueblo 111,876

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