Georgeand David Griffith: pioneering brothers helped establish Georgetown.

• Position: HALL OF FAME

Young brothers and farmers George and David Griffith traveled from Kentucky to Colorado in 1858 in search of fresh mountain air and fortunes in gold.

"It is important to remember that our current success is built upon the legacies of the men and women who came before us," selection committee chair Freyer said.

The adventurous Griffith brothers established a camp in the Clear Creek Valley in June 1859 that came to be known as George's Town and would later become Georgetown. The men created the Griffith Mining District that was one of the earliest and most prominent mining districts in the Rocky Mountain West, noted Clear Creek County archivist Christine Bradley.

In summer 1859, George discovered gold in the Griffith lode at the base of what is now Griffith Mountain. They sent news home to their family and were joined by two other brothers, a sister-in-law and the boys' father.

"In the spring of...