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Golden is the Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States.〔(【引用サイトリンク】accessdate=2011-06-07 )〕 Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Founded during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush on 16 June 1859, the mining camp was originally named Golden City in honor of Thomas L. Golden. Golden City served as the capital of the provisional Territory of Jefferson from 1860 to 1861, and capital of the official Territory of Colorado from 1862 to 1867. In 1867, the territorial capital was moved about east to Denver City. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 18,867 in 2010. The Colorado School of Mines, offering programs in engineering and science, is located in Golden. Also there are the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, National Earthquake Information Center, Coors Brewing Company, CoorsTek, Spyderco, American Mountaineering Center, and Colorado Railroad Museum. It is the birthplace of the Jolly Rancher, a candy bought out by the Hershey Foods Corporation. Famous western showman William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody is buried nearby on Lookout Mountain. ==History== Established as a gold-rush town, Golden City quickly became a leading economic and political center of the region, being a center of trade between the gold fields and the east, a crossroads and gateway of important roads leading to the mountains, and a center of area industry. By the end of 1860, Golden City had been popularly elected the seat of Jefferson County and was capital of the provisional Jefferson Territory. While the town lost much of its populace and leading citizenry during the American Civil War for several reasons (ranging from military to economic), Golden City became capital of the federally recognized Colorado Territory in 1862, continuing as such until 1867. Golden City became the "Lowell of the West", a regional center of trade and industry that boasted at certain times three flour mills, five smelters, the first railroad into the Colorado mountains, the Coors Brewery, brick works, the only paper mill west of Missouri, clay and coal mines, and more. During the 1870s, it became home to three institutions of higher education, the Colorado University Schools, of which the Colorado School of Mines remains today. Golden was also home to an opera house and seven churches, including Colorado's third (Methodist) church, oldest Baptist church, likely oldest Christian (Disciples of Christ) church, and first Swedish immigrant (Lutheran) church. The town was home to sizable populations of German, Swedish, Italian and Chinese immigrants; five immigrants became mayors of Golden. Until the early 20th century, Golden maintained a small town population of around 2,500 people. Several industries faded or were destroyed by tragic events, , but others flourished to continue Golden's industrial legacy, including its brewing, brick making, clay mining and porcelain industries. Golden became even more connected through mass transit, with two trolley lines extending to Denver, while the movie theater gradually took the place of the opera house for downtown entertainment. Downtown revitalization efforts began in the 1920s with its first streetscape and ornamental lighting project and urban renewal on its north and east, anchored by new senior high and grade schools. The historic cultural tension between the city's north and south sides gradually eased, and the town successfully endured additional major economic depressions, including the Silver Crash of 1893 and the Great Depression. The School of Mines gained a worldwide academic reputation, Coors rapidly came to the forefront of the national and international brewing and ceramics industries, and the city modernized with a recreation center, paved streets and more. After World War II Golden boomed, rapidly gaining population, size and economy. In 1959, the town nearly tripled in geographic size overnight when it annexed large properties to the south, including the new Magic Mountain theme park, one of the earliest entertainment attractions of its kind. A number of new subdivisions were built and public infrastructure was modernized, including new buildings for the senior high school, city hall, recreation center, library, museum and central fire and police stations. Also built were new downtown anchors, including department stores and grocery stores, several new church buildings, new county offices, and the Horizon Plan, which transformed the School of Mines. The decline in the price of petroleum and near simultaneous failure of several downtown anchors placed the central business district into recession in the 1980s, and the downtown was revitalized again through various initiatives, including its second streetscaping project in 1992. In 1993 the old Golden High School building was converted into the American Mountaineering Center, making Golden a research and education hub for mountaineering. The Coors Brewery had become the largest single-site brewery in the world, its porcelain subsidiary among the foremost of its kind, and Golden became home to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Today Golden has a population of over 18,000 people and is home to more people and businesses of national and international influence than ever before, yet maintains a small-town historic identity. A Golden mailing address may also represent one of several communities in unincorporated Jefferson County to the north and west of Golden, communities undergoing continual residential development of former farm, ranch and mining land and which possess a considerable population. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Golden, Colorado」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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