The Great Pikes Peak Gold Rush

Colorado's Pikes Peak Gold Rush was an event of enormous social and cultural significance, changing the basic economy and lifestyle of the entire region. Pikes Peak became synonymous with the wild westward rush that ensued.

Few events have shaped the history, economy, and even geography of the state of Colorado quite like the Gold Rush. This book examines the events that led up to the discovery of gold, how the Gold Rush changed the cities and towns of Colorado, and the long-term effects on the state’s environment and natural resources. The informative text, supported by full color images and primary source documents, provides not only a chronology of events, but also historical perspective on how the past inevitably impacts the present.

Danger, hardship, and isolation could not turn back the tide of men and women who thirsted for yellow metal. The Pike?s Peak gold rush of 1859 attracted as many gold seekers as the more famous California gold rush of the previous decade. In this volume, noted western historian LeRoy R. Hafen has collected invaluable Pike?s Peak gold rush diaries chronicling the struggles, dreams, and heartaches of those who traveled the overland routes to untold riches. The diarists who came along the Arkansas and Platte Rivers and along trails from Texas, Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois created records of the landscapes and peoples they encountered as they journeyed. In the words of these single-minded adventurers, larger-than-life characters mingle with the awesome, terrible beauty of the Great Plains and the sparse comforts of the old Middle West. The Pike?s Peak gold rushers provide firsthand accounts of the dangers and rewards of overland travel, as they sought ephemeral fortunes in the Rocky Mountain West.

Colorado Gold Rush history comes to life! Buried in the archives until 2021 and never published, this recently discovered collection of Gold Rush journals gives us a glimpse into the day-to-day life of emigrants and prospectors during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush. Writing to an "imaginary confidant", Argonaut Daniel Jenks left us a captivating firsthand account of what it was really like to cross the 'Great American Desert' on the Santa Fe and Cherokee Trails. Daniel Jenks wrote of that extraordinary chapter in American history like few others have. And now, for the first time ever, you can finally read Daniel's long-lost Colorado Gold Rush journals for yourself. It's a must-read for all History Buffs! Go West! With Daniel Jenks.

Few events have shaped the history, economy, and even geography of the state of Colorado quite like the Gold Rush. This book examines the events that led up to the discovery of gold, how the Gold Rush changed the cities and towns of Colorado, and the long-term effects on the state’s environment and natural resources. The informative text, supported by full color images and primary source documents, provides not only a chronology of events, but also historical perspective on how the past inevitably impacts the present.