National and State Register

Ralston Gold Discovery Site (Gold Strike Park)

Jefferson County

The Lewis Ralston Gold Discovery Site is the location of one of the early Euro-American gold discoveries in Colorado. 

A black and white photo of the site with an open dirt field with cars on it and some trees in the background.

Ralston Gold Discovery Site (Gold Strike Park) 

Although the 1850 strike never yielded large quantities of gold, reports of the discovery led to the return of other prospectors in 1858, specifically the William Russell party, whose subsequent search for gold resulted in several discoveries which began Colorado’s first gold rush.