09-20-2024 - On This Day in Insane History

On September 20, 1876, the citizens of Leadville, Colorado were startled out of their morning routines by a most bizarre occurrence. As folks filtered into the streets, stretching after biscuits and coffee, they found themselves nearly ankle deep in what appeared to be tiny pebbles and pebbles. Upon closer inspection, these small stones seemed to sparkle and gleam in the early light. Excited rumors began flying - had Colorado's gold fields expanded to include their very own town? Pans and buckets were hastily procured as the whole town set to harvesting this peculiar crop. Prospectors panned throughout the day, straining increasingly full pans through practiced hands, and were quite surprised by the yellow flakes building up. While no huge nuggets were found, the sheer quantity more than made up for size. Nearly the entire town joined in the manic mining, and by dusk bags and barrels were overflowing with shining gold dust swept straight from their streets. It seemed the good folk of Leadville had struck it truly rich, without ever lifting a pick or shovel. To this day, no one knows how or why gold was deposited across Leadville that fine fall morning. But it made for one of the strangest and luckiest mining days in the history of the Colorado gold rush.