________________________________________________

                          STEP INTO THE PAST

________________________________________________

  This is one of 12 books about the first gold mine town in Colorado and the people who have lived there. Gold was discovered in 1859 by a group of prospectors. It was first found in a creek in Denver. A group of men followed the creek up to the town of Boulder where they camped. Then it was on up the creeks to the Gold Hill area.                                                 History

------------------------------

                  GOLD HILL FOREST FIRE OF 1894
                      By Blanche Hastings Swallow

                       Fire was Southwest of Gold Hill, CO
I shall never forget the fear and the terror of those early morning hours of November 14, 1894, when, leaving our home in flames, with the wind blowing a hurricane. Papa had got the two horses and the milk cow out of the burning barn and now he and my two sisters, Alice and Maude were leading our two horses and picking our way through those flaming, screaming pine trees, with burning branches falling around us for at least a half mile before we came to the open field of our neighbors, the Walstead Place. My father and mother, and my two sisters. I was just past my 10th birthday. Alice was the oldest. Oh, that wind and smoke and flying, flaming branches was awful. Just how can one forget such a terrifying experience? One just can't forget.

Papa had taken some mining timbers to a new mine down on Left Hand Creek the day before, and Mama and we three girls went to town with him as we were going to school, and Mama would spend the day with two other daughters, Mrs. James (Mary), Pittman and Mrs. Dan (Jessie), Coughlin. Our ranch was about 2 or 2 1/2 miles west of Gold Hill on the Gold Hill Ward road. It was late when Papa got back from Left Hand, and it was past midnight when we got home. When we topped the hill above the Nelson place we could see a red glow off in the direction of Ward, and Papa said it might be some campers who had camped for the night on Left Hand creek at the foot of Sawmill hill. He made the remark, that he hoped they would put out their fire and not go off and leave it burning, and we thought no more about it. Mama had bought some groceries and dry goods in town and Mr. McLellan let Papa have a quarter of beef he had just butchered, and he was to pay him back next time we butchered a critter. Our house and barns were built on the south slope of a hill and in a little draw that led down into the head of Long Gulch. There was a large spring of water at the upper end of this draw and part of the kitchen was built over a smaller spring coming out of the hillside.

A good cellar had been dug into the side of the hill near the house and walled up with rocks and a roof of poles covered with dirt. We took care of the groceries and put the meat in the cellar. This was, also, where we kept our potatoes and other root vegetables. Then we got ready for bed while Papa went to take care of the horses.

It did so happen that the campers or who ever they were, either did not put out their fire, or else they let it get away from them, we never knew which, but it did set fire to the timber on Sawmill Hill. It was probably burning when we went to bed, but we couldn't see it from where our house was located in this draw and next to the hill. We hadn't been in bed so very long when Mama roused up and said she thought she had seen something red go by the window, and she jumped out of bed to look, and there was the fire right on top of us. She wakened Papa and us girls and said the hillside was on fire, and told us girls to get up and put our clothes on but not to take time to fasten them as the house was on fire then. We jumped up and dressed as fast as we could and ran out of the house, not taking time to pick up a thing. Papa had gone to the barn to get the horses out. He didn't have much trouble with them as the barn was built in an L shape and they couldn't see too much of the fire. He tried to save the harnesses but the barn was on fire where they were hanging and he was afraid he couldn't take that much time for fear he would get caught. Mama wanted us to go in the cellar and stay there. She thought maybe it wouldn't catch fire, but Papa said, "No, we will run for it. I'd just as soon die out on the hill side as roast to death in the cellar, because it will surely go, and at least we have one chance to get away."

We had to go over and around the hill to get to the Walstead place, which now seemed miles away, and we were almost out of the timber when we met the men who were staying on the Walstead place. They had become quite concerned about us and were on their way over to see if they might be of some help. We were sure glad to see them because the horses were getting more frightened and hard to hold. The men were surprised that we had gotten so far out. These men were Hans and Nels Hanson and Hans Nelson.

They helped us on over to their place and put their saddles on our horses and started us out for town. Papa and one of the men ran on ahead to awaken the Chris Nelson and Frank Johnson families, who lived about a half mile from town, and then on in to town to sound the alarm. We made it to town soon after Papa did and although there was some fire around us, we were out of the worst of it before we got to the ridge above the Nelson ranch; the big part of it now was to the south and in the Long Gulch area toward Copper Rock where the timber was heavier.

It was about four o'clock when Papa got to town. He started in at the edge of town and knocked on the doors and warned the folks about the fire. Some of them got out and went with him, and someone thought about ringing the schoolhouse bell which was always a danger signal. In a jiffy it seemed, everyone was up and making preparations to evacuate the town. Some were digging holes in their yards to bury what they could, others were taking their stuff and putting it in the tunnels on the hillside. When this was done some folks were on their way to Boulder, while others went up on Horsfal Hill and over to the Horsfal mine shaft house and other buildings that were handy where they stayed to get out of the wind. From up there on the hill they could watch the progress of the fire and wait, wait for what seemed to be a dreaded outcome. We went to the Horsfal mine and stayed until in the afternoon and then went to Boulder, but we came back the next day.

When the families were settled on the hill, the men went back to town, got their shovels and axes and went to fight the fire, which, by now some of it was on the ridge above the Nelson ranch. Almost all of the large timber had been cleared off of this ridge in years past and was now mostly a new growth of small trees and not too thick and this clearing acted as sort of a fireland down the ridge, but across the clearing toward town was a heavy stand of young trees, so with the possibility of sparks getting into those, some of the men were trying to check the fire at this point, but with the wind blowing a gale it didn't look too good for the town of Gold Hill.

Fortunately, by mid afternoon the wind changed to the north east and seemed to blow the fire back. About five o`clock that evening it turned cold and started to snow, and after a few inches of this, the fire was out and Gold Hill was saved almost certain destruction.

The next in line about a mile east and south of Ehlers, was our home which was completely destroyed. The wagons, harnesses, saddles and even the farm implements were damaged. We lost everything we had. Papa had several cords of wood, cut and piled on the hill side, both cord wood and stove length and it all burned. The old milk cow came through alive, as did the stock on the range, but some were scorched a little. The cellar did burn and everything in it was ruined. All we got away with was the two horses and what few clothes we had on. Even our little dog died in the flames that took our house.

We learned afterward that some careless campers on Left Hand creek, about four miles from our ranch, had gone away and neglected to extinguish their camp fire, which with the help of a little wind, that only a forest fire can create, was soon a raging inferno, roaring up over Sawmill Hill in a path of at least a half mile wide by the time it reached the top of the hill where it expanded to a greater area. Sawmill Hill at this time was heavily covered with pine and spruce trees, but was laid bare in a matter of minutes.

There were six small ranches in the path of the fire. From the top of the hill a short distance was the ranch of a party named Zeemons, who happened to be in Ward at the time. Their barn and sheds were burned but didn't get to the house a stones throw away. In later years this was the home of the Martin Lally family. The Crimmins ranch, about 1/4 of a mile lost all of their buildings. They also were in Ward. Around the hill about a mile, near where Gold Hill station on the railroad was located later, was the Silas Hickok place. They also lost everything, but saved themselves by taking refuge in the clearing near a small lake just below their house. They moved into Gold Hill after the fire. The Fred Ehler ranch was on around the hill a short distance to the east of Hickok's. They lost everything, barn, house, and some stock. Mr. Ehler almost lost his life, the only near casualty of the fire. In trying to save some stock from the burning barn he was caught when the roof fell in on him. Mrs. Ehler was able to rescue him, and with his clothing afire managed to drag him out into their lake nearby and put out the fire. Although seriously burned, he recovered, rebuilt their home and lived there for several more years. Mrs. Ehler was quite badly burned on her hands and arms, but not seriously.

The Walstead home was next. It was destroyed after we had stopped there. It was never rebuilt. To look back on that dreadful morning I often think how fortunate we were to get out alive.

It was quite a while before Papa could build a new house for us, but when he did, he built on the flat above the old place and nearer to the Ward road. I think we moved into it about 1897.