HISTORY & SIGNIFICANCE Historic Context Statement of Context
Boyd Smelter/Mill Site is a two-acre public open space and archeological site owned by the City of Boulder. Boyd Smelter/Mill Site is associated with late 19th and early 20th century mining, engineering, and industry. The recommended period of significance is from 1874 to 1918 and captures the period of active smelting and milling operations, which begins when James Boyd’s first mill became operational and ends when the tungsten market collapsed and operations ceased. The site was designated a local archeological landmark by the City of Boulder Landmarks Board and City of Boulder City Council in 1998. Boyd Smelter/Mill Site includes above and below-grade archeological resources, including buried foundations of the main smelter building and ancillary buildings, buried concrete dams with headgates, and water pylons along Boulder Creek. The site is locally significant as one of the last remaining vestiges of the smelting and mining industry within Boulder. The site contains archeological features that could yield future information on the history of mining and milling within Boulder. Background History James Boyd purchased land along Boulder Creek to build a smelter in 1873, and began to process gold, silver, and iron in 1874. By 1876, the smelter processed nearly fifteen tons of ore per day. Boyd leased the smelter to Frank Goff in 1880, who processed twenty to thirty tons per day. Boyd eventually sold the smelter site in 1885. The site operated under multiple owners between 1893 and 1918. During World War I, between 1914 and 1918, Boulder County was the leading producer of tungsten in the country. Operations ceased with the collapse of the tungsten market after World War I. In the early 1900s the City of Boulder commissioned the renown landscape architectural firm the Olmsted Brothers to assess the Boulder foothills and mountains for scenic resources. The Olmsted Brothers recommended creating a series of park reserves and improvements to make Boulder Creek a natural stream. The location of Boyd/Smelter Mill Site was identified as a potential natural area. Following the closure of the smelter and mill in 1918, the land remained largely unchanged. Over time buildings were dismantled, while concrete footings, concrete headgates, and reservoirs remained through the 1950s. In the 1960s Canyon Boulevard was built adjacent to the site. Excavated waste material was spoiled onto Boyd Smelter/ Mill Site. The fill material buried many of the extant remnants of the smelter and mill. In the mid-1980s Boulder Creek Greenway was built on the north and east edges of the site. During construction, remnants of the smelter building were discovered, and construction of the trail was shifted north to minimize impact to below-grade features. Construction included the Boulder Creek Greenway, a soft surface trail, and two small bridges. Boyd Smelter/Mill Site has remained largely unchanged since being designated a Boulder Historic Archeological Landmark by the City of Boulder in 1998. Between 2001 and 2002, a series of surveys and reports were developed to determine future uses for the site. In 2017 Boulder Creek Greenway was widened. During site excavations several archeological features from the smelter site were uncovered, but were reburied. 6 Definition of the Context Boyd Smelter/Mill is associated with the theme of late 19th and early 20th century mining, engineering, and industry. Smelters in Colorado were significant for their advancements in metallurgical engineering, in particular for developing advanced methods for mining gold, silver, and industrial metal ore. While large regional smelters made most contributions, smaller local smelters like Boyd Smelter/Mill Site would have played a significant role in identifying, defining, and demonstrating these technologies and methods for ores in a specific region. The Boyd Smelter is significant for its contribution to industrial development in Boulder’s industrial geography. Smelters helped bring the railroad industry into a town, which in turn fostered the growth of, and reinforced, the mining industry within a developing city. 7
6 Mundus Bishop, Boyd Smelter Site Preservation and Interpretation Plan (Boulder, CO: Historic Boulder, Inc. and City of Boulder Parks and Recreation, 2002), 5. 7 Abigail Sanocki, "Boulder Creek Improvements at Boyd Smelter Technical Memorandum" (Boulder County, CO: ERO Resources Corporation), 2017.
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