Law, Order, and Municipal Authority in Colorado's Early Mining Towns

• Publication year: 2002
• Pages: 134
• Citation: Vol. 31 No. 10 Pg. 134

31 Colo.Law. 134 Colorado Lawyer 2002.

2002, October, Pg. 134. Law, Order, and Municipal Authority In Colorado's Early Mining Towns

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134

Vol. 31, No. 10, Pg. 134

The Colorado Lawyer
October 2002
Vol. 31, No. 10 [Page 134]

Departments
Historical Perspectives
Law, Order, and Municipal Authority In Colorado's Early Mining Towns
by Tom I. Romero, II

In May 1859, prospector John H. Gregory, vegetable gardener D. K. Wall, and a few select associates returned to the mountain canyons Gregory had explored earlier that winter Following Clear Creek from its confluence with the South Platte, Gregory brought Wall about thirty-five miles west of Denver to the rich vein of ore that he previously discovered Without the aid of lawyers, who were admittedly in short supply, Gregory and Wall divided up the most promising claim sites between themselves and returned to Denver to organize and announce to the world the creation of the Gregory Mining District. The action brought a horde of would-be prospectors into the area. Within weeks, miners from Canada, Ireland Germany, Mexico, and other parts of the United States formed shelters, located claims, and erected the institutions that became the basis of Colorado's earliest municipal mountain settlements in Central City, Mountain City, Nevada City, and Black Hawk.

Literally and figuratively, Central City - established by prospectors and miners in June 1859 - was the vital center of what came to be known as "the richest square mile on earth." Due to the fact that miners dominated the area, municipal organization in Central City and neighboring communities was based solely on mining rules, codes, and regulations. On its face, miners' courts provided a forum to resolve the disputes of an international population. Central City and the mining district it governed granted citizenship rights to all European and American miners who held valid, legally recorded claims. Organized on a popular basis, mining-camp law attempted to provide simple justice, without much legal jargon or technical legislation. Indeed, almost all of the early mining cities barred lawyers from interfering with the collective will and authority of the miners and their courts.

Not surprisingly, miners chafed for years at federal and state attempts to bring them under judicial control and surveillance. For example, in 1861, a Central City miner shot a county deputy...