Georgetown

History

The area was first settled in 1859 during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. George and David Griffith were members of a mining party which decided to separate from the others in the Central City and Idaho Springs areas. They found gold in Clear Creek (near the present-day site of the Alpine Inn) and decided to settle in the area for the rest of the summer and fall. The Griffith Mining District incorporated in June 1860. Soon after the formation of the Griffith Mining District, several early residents joined to form the "Georgetown Company," claiming 640 acres for a townsite. The townsite would be overseen by the Griffith Mining District. The commercial district was tagged "Main Street," a name which would continue into the 20th century. The center of the nascent town was roughly in the area of the I-70 interchange, close to the present-day Rutherford stables. Silver, the main product from the district, was not discovered until 1864. John Henry Bowman (1850–1900) came to Silver Plume, Colorado, in 1883, then moved to Georgetown, Colorado, in 1885. A machinist, he worked as foreman of the Miners Sampling Works. Later, he was superintendent of the American Sisters Mine, a company in which he owned stock. American Sisters Mine was a consolidation of Two Sisters Mine and Native American Mine, silver mines located on Columbia Mountain in upper Clear Creek County, Colorado. In 1891–1892, John Bowman and his wife, Lavinia Potts Bowman (1848–1901) built what later became known as the Bowman/White House in Georgetown (a historical site today). There they raised two daughters, Iorria and Mary Ellen ("Mellie"). In 1899, Iorria married J. E. Carnal and moved to Ohio. For the most part, Mellie (1876–1969) stayed in the family home after she married John James…

Geography

Georgetown is located in the valley of Clear Creek. I-70 and US 6 run along the western edge of the town, with access from Exit 228. It is east to Denver and west across the Continental Divide to Silverthorne. At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of including of water. |source 2 = National Weather Service (mean maxima and minima 2006–2020) }}

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,999
• Mountain Chickadee

  Poecile gambeli (Ridgway, 1886) · Aves
  3,881
• Dark-eyed Junco

  Junco hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,004
• Steller's Jay

  Cyanocitta stelleri (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  2,863
• Broad-tailed Hummingbird

  Selasphorus platycercus (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  2,764
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  2,687
• White-crowned Sparrow

  Zonotrichia leucophrys (J.R.Forster, 1772) · Aves
  2,434
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  2,393

Largest nearby schools

• Carlson Elementary School
  Elementary · IDAHO SPRINGS · 145 students · 11.2:1 ratio
• Georgetown Community School
  Elementary · GEORGETOWN · 94 students · 9.4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.7 — 2025-06-13
  7 km SE of Erie, Colorado
• M 2.5 — 2020-10-24
  2 km ESE of Georgetown, Colorado
• M 2.9 — 2008-02-26
  29 km WNW of Westcreek, Colorado
• M 2.5 — 2003-11-06
  7 km SW of Norrie, Colorado