The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1907-12-20
HISTORY AND GROWTH OF THE
STATE SCHOOL OF MINES
At GOLDEN.
ITS VALUABLE WORK
ESTABLISHED BY THE WISDOM
AND FORESIGHT OF COLO.
RADIO PIONEERS.


its origin in the needs of practical
mines. writes President Victor c. Aid.
erson in a sketch contributed to Mn
ing Science. AS cary as 1864 (only a
Few years after the discovery Of gold
In Colorado) the miners of Gilpin
county set aside portion of the re-
celpts coming from the sale and re-
ccrding Of mining claims towards the
support of a school of mines. Very
little Is known of the school in those
days; 1t may have been a school Of in
etruction or it may have been public
assay Office. However. the seed was
sown and harvest resulted. When in
1868 Bishop Randall, of the protestant
Episcopal church. inaugurated his uni.
versity at Golden, School of Mines
was an integral part of the institution.
This continued in successful operation
until, in 1874, it was transferred 10
the territory, and the territorial legis-
lature appropriated $1,000 for its sup
port. Hon. c. C. Welch introduced the
bill organizing the school.
With the year 1874, then, began the
School of Mines as we now know Il
The first board of trustees contained
men who have since become wei.
known in the history of Colorado
Hon. w. A. Loveland, Senator Nathan
iel P. Hill, Capt. E. l.. Berthoud, Alp
heus Wright, c. c. Davis, w. w. Ware
and Capt. James T. Smith, who has
held the office of secretary of the
board continuously since that time
and has signed every diploma the
ho hn oh \;
remained under the jurisdiction of the
territory until the state of Colorado
was admitted in 1876, when the new
state government took it over lnd /,
became the Colorado School OF Mines
The year 1879 was critical one in the
history of the school, for in that year
the fifth-of-a-mill tax for the regular
support of the school was established,
the first building was erected and tn
agitation to remove the school 10
Boulder was begun. The mill tax has.
since that time, been in continuou
and successful operation; the Oui'h
ings and grounds have increa Sed in
value from the original appropriation
of $500 in 1879 to s550.000 in 1907,
but the removal Of the school has
never gone beyond the point of acade
mic discussion.
In 1882 the attendance had grown to
such an extent that more room was
needed and second building was
erected at cost Of $14,500. This was
followed by third in 1890. Theso
three are now connected, and rs one
building are devoted almost exclusive
Iy to the department of chemistry A
third building. called the Hall Of En-.
glneering, erected in 1894, and origin
ally devoted to various uses, is now oc
cupied wholly by the department OF
physics. Building Jagged for some
years till in 1902 the assay laboratory
was completed. This is now regard d
as the best arranged and equipped IL.
boratory of any School of Mines in this
country, or the world. 1t accommodates
81 students at one time and is so ar.
ranged that each man works as indie
pendently as If his furnace We're in
only one In the laboratory. In 1905
the heating, lighting and power plan
was donated $25,000 by Mr. Winfield
Scott Stratton, and completed for the
special use of the departments of min
ing and metallurgy. This building
represents the latest engineer
ing ideas OF power plant
for an engineering school, uniting, rs
II does under one roaf, the regular
power plant and the laboratories OF
the school naturally associated with ii.
In 1906 Simon Gugeenheim hail. til
gift of Senator Simon GugganhciT
was completed and formally dedicated.
1t contains the administration Offices.
the library, the department Of geology
and mineralogy lecture rooms fol
mathematics, and the auditorium.
There Is now under construction z new
gymnasium and club house, which
will contain not only a well equipped
gymnasium but Offices for the athlete
manager, large club room, lockers,
shower baths, bowling allevs and
swimming pool. During the past sum
mer an important innovation was made
by the equipment of an actual mine on
the side of Mt. Zion, one-ha!f mil
west Of the school. Here tunnel
house has been erected, forses, drills
and all necessary tools supplied, and
the work of driving a tunnel in o the
mountain actually begun electricity
and air are supplied from the power
plant of the school. 1t is believed
that the school in the United States
to have mine of its own for the prac
ttcal instruction of its students in
actual mining operation.
study of the successive catalogues
OF the school shows exceedingly inter.
esting lines of development In the
early days, the School of Mines cfsar.
ed the only instruction in applied
science in this part of the country. Tn,
school was small and individual in
structors followed their person Il
whims. Prof: Arthur Lakes, for ex
ample. taught painting to a class o,
young ladies'. Students were admit.
ted to take such special courses as
they desired. At one time electrical
engineering was included in the cur.
riculum. All this variation was prob.
ably wise at the time, but one persist.
ent force Is evident throughout the en-.
tire history of the school-thc use CT
the mines. mills and smeltcrs of the
state as the outside, to-be.visited la.
boratory of the school. AS result
ing consequence the school has taken
IN recent years its present dominant
charnrt priStir that ic :, b;,b ,r,, l..