06/18/15

Thursday Thoughts: Boulder Gold!

Next week I’m off to Colorado for a very full visit. I will participate in the Historical Novel Society conference in Denver. My mentor is best-selling historical novel author, Diana Gabaldon. I will give talks on my book in Boulder and Brighton. And best of all I will be with my children and grandchildren.

There is great history of the Cornish in Colorado. Perhaps one of the most interesting times was the mining era.

Beginning in 1859, Cornish hard rock miners flocked to Colorado to mine gold, silver and lead. Dr. A.L. Rowse, the Oxford historian born the son of a clay worker in St. Austell, Cornwall, wrote inĀ The Cornish in America:

“Cornish miners, with their long experience in underground work, contributed much to the improvement of mining technique. . . by their skillful sinking of shafts and tracing of veins and . . . their mechanical aids like the Cornish pump for removing water from the underground recesses.”

Cornish Miner Boulder, CO

Cornish Miner
Boulder, CO

The Cornish miner is commemorated by the famous statue on Pearl Street in Boulder.