Washington Hall - Central City, CO
Posted by: 
Outspoken1
N 39° 48.074 W 105° 30.802
13S E 456052 N 4405822
Washington Hall was the Miner's Court before Colorado became a state.
Waymark Code: WM9E3N
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 08/08/2010
Views: 1
Washington Hall, built in 1863, was the location for the Gregory Miners Court in the gold-rush era of the Colorado Territory. Movies often portray miners as an uncouth, unkempt bunch - which was often far from the real truth. Mining camps, which grew at a rapid rate, quickly setup a legal and recreation system as well as supplementary commerce. Almost all mining camps had a lending library to while away long hours of bad weather.
"A miners' court was a court that summoned a subset of the miners in a district when a dispute arose in the frontier West. A presiding officer or judge was elected and a jury was selected. Other systems that were used included alcaldes and arbitration. In the event a decision was disputed, a mass meeting of the camp could be called to allow a dissatisfied party to plead his case and possibly get the decision reversed.' (though not cited or footnoted, this is a good explanation - from (
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This was the first district court in the Colorado Territory. During the boomtown, construction was haphazard. The 1871 Republican Convention in Central City turned rowdy when the second floor of Washington Hall collapsed and deposited 200 (uninjured) men into the Recorder’s office on the first floor. (from (
visit link) ) The building survived the Fire of 1873 since the fire never broached the street.
It currently houses the Gilpin County Art Gallery. The oldest juried (judged) art show in Colorado has attracted visitors since 1946 and displays a wealth of artistic creations: sculpture, painting, watercolors, textiles, jewelry and ceramics. (
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