Hall, 1895
William Greeneberry Russell, a miner from the gold fields of northern
Georgia, had come to the vicinity of present-day
Denver, then part of western
Kansas Territory, in 1858 and with his brothers, founded
Auraria on the banks of the
Cherry Creek river. His discoveries led to what became the
Pikes Peak Gold Rush. Another settlement on the opposite bank was founded by
William Larimer in early 1859. This settlement soon merged with Auraria and was named Denver after the
territorial governor. Russell discovered placer gold deposits in June 1859 in the valley that was soon named Russell Gulch in his honor. By the end of September, 891 men were mining gold in the gulch, and the eponymous town was built near the head of the gulch to serve the miners. The placer deposits were quickly worked out, and work shifted to the vein deposits that were the source of the placer gold. ==Geography==