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Clear Creek County

Colorado
Rocky Mountain's Playground

Nearby and Near Perfect!



 
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The Cities and communities of Clear Creek County, Colorado*


Downieville-Lawson-Dumont

Empire

Georgetown

Idaho Springs

Silver Plume, St Mary's

*This list of cities may not be complete. The list may contain towns, cities, villages, boroughs, townships, ghost towns and other populated places.

If you have information about any of these unlinked communities, please send it to us and we will add a page for that community. Some of these places above may only be neighborhoods or local area names and are not listed with the census at all or just included in a larger surrounding designated census area..

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Information & Facts about Clear Creek County, Colorado


Attractions & other Information - Climate - Economy - Genealogy - Geography -
Government - History - Libraries - Location - Organizations & Groups -
Other Facts & Figures - Population - Schools


Government

Clear Creek County Government
405 Argentine St.
P.O. Box 2000
Georgetown, CO 80444
Phone: (303)679-2300

The county seat is Georgetown

Clear Creek County Sheriff's Office
405 Argentine Street
Post Office Box 2000
Georgetown, Colorado 80444
Phone: (303) 679-2376

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Population:

2000 - 9,322
2005 - 9,197

Density:
2000 - 24 persons per square mile

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Location:

Clear Creek County is in north-central Colorado. This page shows the location of the county in Colorado

Neighboring counties:
Northeast - Gilpin County
East - Jefferson County
South - Park County
West - Summit County
Northwest - Grand County

Clear Creek County is located in the Mountain Time Zone and does participate in daylight savings time during a portion of the year.

Try this map page for the area.

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Climate:

Expect the Unexpected in Colorado, so be prepared for any type of weather at any time of the year!


Average summer high: 76 degrees F.
Average summer low: 41 degrees F.
Average winter high: 45 degrees F.
Average winter low: 15 degrees F.

Record high: 95 degrees F.
Record low: -48 degrees F.

Here is a current weather page for Clear Creek County

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Other Facts and Figures:

Median household income:
2000 - $50,997

Median family income:
2000 - $61,400

Per Capita income:
2000 - $28,160

Total miles of roads: 203.7 miles

Number of housing units:
2000 - 5,128

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History:

George Jackson discovered placer gold in 1859 in what is now Idaho Springs. The first settlement in the county was Spanish Bar, near present-day Idaho Springs. The new miners found evidence of earlier mining by the Spanish in the area and so named it for that discovery. When the Colorado Territorial government created Clear Creek County in 1861, they named Idahoe as the county seat. By 1873, Idahoe City was founded with the named changed to Idaho Springs in 1876. Clear Creek County is one of the original 17 counties created on 1 November 1861. It still has its original boundaries from the time of its creation. The name is for Clear Creek, a stream that runs down from the continental divide through the county. The original county seat was Idaho Springs, but that designation was changed in 1867 to Georgetown where it remains today.

In 1863, Indian Hot Springs was created into an attraction of healing waters by Dr. E.M. Cummings.. It was an instant hit with over 5,000 people attending in just the first few years. Among the attendees were the Roosevelts, Frank and Jesse James and poet Walt Whitman. Many of the area settlements and towns were founded due to gold and silver which was abundant in this Colorado Mineral Belt area. Mining remained an important part of the entire area economy until April 1941 when the federal government classified gold mining as a non-essential industry. The order effectively sealed the fate of the miners because they could not get the needed supplies and equipment for their mining operations. Since that time, tourism has taken over as the main source of income for the county with only a handful of mines operating. A number of the old mines now run tours and attractions of their facilities, miles and tunnels.

Historic Idaho Springs

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Geography:

Total land area: 395 square miles
Total water area: 1 square mile
Total area: 396 square miles

There are FOUR 14,000 feet high peaks in the county - Mt. Bierstadt, Mt Evans, Gray's Peak and Torrey's Peak.

The Continental Divide is located in the county. From this point, water falls generally to the Pacific or to the Atlantic Oceans.

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Genealogy:

Kindred Trails page for Clear Creek County
US GenWeb page for Clear Creek County
Linkpendium page for Clear Creek County

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Libraries:

Clear Creek County Library System

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Schools:

Clear Creek School District
320 Highway 103
P.O. Box 3399
Idaho Springs, CO 80452
Phone: 303-567-3850

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Economy:

Back in the 1800's and early 1900's mining was the primary sector of the county, but tourism has taken a large portion of the activities here.

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Organizations & Groups

Alpine Rescue Team

Clear Creek County Historic Society
Clear Creek County Offices
405 Argentine St., P.O. Box 2000
Georgetown, CO 80444
Phone: 303-679-2357

Clear Creek County Tourism Bureau
Phone: 303-567-4660
Toll-free: 866-674-9237

Historic Georgetown, Inc.
P.O. Box 667
305 Argentine Street
Georgetown, Colorado 80444
Phone: 303-569-2840

St. Mary's Glacier
Property Owners Association and community

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Attractions & Other Information

What is a Tommyknocker? Find out on this fun facts page about Idaho Springs along with a number of other interesting facts.

Great historical photos of the Idaho Springs area

The Underhill Museum - home of Dr. and Mrs. James Underhill
learn about life in the early 1900s

Mount Evans Scenic Byway
The highest paved road in North America - 14,264 feet at the summit. See the website for detailed information about costs and hours of operation. Closed during a portion of the year.

The Argo Tunnel and Mine
The tunnel was begun in 1893 and completed in 1910. It runs about five miles toward Central City ending about 1300 feet below the surface.. It was built by Sam Newhouse to move ore from the various gold mines and to help the other mines drain their tunnels. The Argo mill began in 1913 at the beginning of the tunnel to reduce the cost of handling and transporting the ore. The mill was closed in 1943 after an explosion killed several miners. It was purchased by James N. Maxwell in 1976 to help preserve the history of mining in the area. It has operated as a museum and tourist attraction since that time.

Georgetown Loop Historic Mining & Railroad Park
Georgetown, Colorado 80444
Toll-free: 888-456-6777

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This page was created on 28 August 2008
This page was last updated on 17 April 2009 at 11:15 am

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