Colorado Springs Vintage Homes Blog

Cripple Creek Gold Rush and what it meant to Colorado Springs

       The Old North End’s home building boom in Colorado Springs  

Search for Homes in the Old North End

The late 1880’s were difficult for Colorado Springs.  It had stagnant growth and Colorado College fell on hard times.  The Old North End appeared to be destined to only house prairie dogs and rattlesnakes with its open, grass-covered fields. 

This was about to change as gold was discovered nearby.  In 1890, a prospector by the name of Bob Womack found some gold by a stream called Cripple Creek.  The great gold rush was on.  By 1896, production soared. Most of these men who came and mined the area didn’t want to locate their families to such a rough area.  They decided that Palmer’s “Little London” (aka Colorado Springs) would be a perfect place to build their homes and bring their families to. 

Between 1890 and 1900 the population of Colorado Springs more than doubled and the quaint little prairie town experienced phenomenal residential growth.  These men were newly wealthy and they didn’t want any house; oh no, they wanted mansions for the super rich and large homes for the new middle class.  They wanted to show-off their wealth and so they bought many lots north of Colorado College and starting building beautiful homes in what would become know as The Old North End.  Many of them survive today, right down to the wide streets and large trees. 

Most of these homes were built between 1890 and 1910 where Wood Ave became known as “Millionaires Row” and there was an abundant use of gables, large porches and Victorian influences that added to the ambiance of these fine homes in Colorado Springs.  Schools and businesses were also built to give services to the new residents of Colorado Springs.  Money was plentiful during this period and Colorado Springs had never seen such growth.  Of course, it wouldn’t last forever but even after it was over in the early 1900’s Colorado Springs became a city where folks were proud to live and work in. 

The Gold Rush of Cripple Creek also started a building Rush for homes in Colorado Springs!

• The Founder of Colorado Springs, William Jackson Palmer
• The Young Years of Colorado Springs
• Tea and crumpets in Colorado Springs
• The End of an Era in Colorado Springs

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Kathy (719-287-1049)   KTorline@msn.com

Tags: Colorado College, colorado springs co real estate, Colorado Springs History, Colorado Springs Real Estate, Colorado Springs Realtor, Millionaires Row, Neighborhoods - Old North End

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 5:54 am and is filed under History, Neighborhoods - Central and Downtown. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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