Statement of Significance Boyd Smelter/Mill Site is historically significant as the location of Boulder’s first smelter, built in 1874. The site is historically significant for its association with smelting and milling industries that occurred along Boulder Creek and with the railroad that served these industries. Boyd Smelter/Mill Site is exceptional as one of the last remaining vestiges of the industry within the city of Boulder. 13 The site is environmentally significant as one of the last remaining vestiges of Boulder’s smelting and milling industries that once proliferated along Boulder Creek. Boyd Smelter/Mill Site contains features that provide important information on the history of mining and milling in Boulder. 14 The Colorado Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office reviewed the Cultural Resource Inventory Form for the site in 1998 and determined the site to be eligible for the State and National Registers. 15
During the height of the mining industry, multiple smelting sites occurred along Boulder Creek. 16
Boyd Smelter/Mill Site contains features that "provide important information about the history of mining and milling in Boulder." 17 Excavations as recent as 2017 yielded information about the building that once existed on site. 18 The discovery of industrial and domestic remnants may yield more information of the history of Boulder and of the smelting/milling industry of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Period of Significance The recommended period of significance corresponds to the site’s use as both a smelting and a milling site from 1874 to 1918. This begins with James Boyd's establishment of smelting operation in 1874 and ends in 1918 when the tungsten market collapsed and operations in Boulder were shutdown. 19
13 Jack E. Smith, Cultural Resource Survey of Boyd Smelter Site (5BL7094) (Boulder, CO: Historic Boulder Inc., 2001), 4-5. 14 City of Boulder, Ordinance No. 6003: Boyd Smelter/Mill Site (Boulder, CO: City of Boulder, 1998), 2. 15 "Public Hearing,"3.
16 City of Boulder, Ordinance No. 6003, 2. 17 City of Boulder, Ordinance No. 6003, 2. 18 Abigail Sanocki, "Boulder Creek Improvements." 19 "Public Hearing,"2.
10-9
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator