Idaho Springs, Colorado was founded by gold prospectors in 1859, during the early days of the Colorado Gold Rush, and was a regional mining center throughout the late 1800's, not to mention the county seat until 1868. The town has since become a tourist center lying along the north side of I-70, complete with the Argo Gold Mill in town, the Phoenix Mine right outside of town, and many original structures from the mining era. Today Idaho Springs is also a bedroom community for workers at the Loveland Ski Area, and, partly for that reason, is the largest town in Clear Creek County, though Georgetown remains the county seat.In the vicinity of Idaho Springs is Mount Evans, a Colorado Fourteener reachable by the highest paved road in America. Sources: city-data.com, colorado.com, idahospringsco.com, wikipedia.org |