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36-421: Jeffco or JeffCo may refer to: Jefferson County, Colorado Jefferson County, Missouri transit (JeffCo Express) Jefferson College (disambiguation) , multiple schools Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Jeffco . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

72-600: A Cherokee woman, and through his connections to the tribe, he heard about Ralston's 1850 discovery of gold along the South Platte River. Green Russell organized a party to prospect along the South Platte River, setting off with his two brothers and six companions in February 1858. They rendezvoused with Cherokee tribe members along the Arkansas River in present-day Oklahoma and continued westward along

108-652: A decade, produced a dramatic but temporary influx of migrants and immigrants into the Pike's Peak Country of the Southern Rocky Mountains . The rush was exemplified by the slogan "Pike's Peak or Bust!", a reference to the prominent mountain at the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains that guided many early prospectors to the region westward over the Great Plains . The prospectors provided

144-591: A party of Spanish-speaking gold seekers from Taos, New Mexico , worked a placer deposit along the South Platte River about 3 miles (4.8 km) above Cherry Creek at a location later known as Mexican Diggings near the Overland Park Golf Course in Denver . William Greeneberry "Green" Russell was a Georgian who worked in the California gold fields in the 1850s. Russell was married to

180-420: Is Regina "Reggie" Marinelli. She was in elected 2022 and became the first woman to do so in county history and became the first Democrat to hold the office in nearly a century. She previously worked in the county Sheriff's Office for over 30 years. Jefferson County was a Republican stronghold for most of the 20th century. However, it has voted Democratic in every presidential election since 2008, consistent with

216-674: Is also incorporated in the unofficial monikers of many Jefferson County agencies. The Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport operated by Jefferson County was previously known as the Jeffco Airport. A major employer in Jefferson County is the large Coors Brewing Company in Golden. Also, the state-supported Colorado School of Mines , a university specializing in mining , geology , chemistry , and engineering

252-737: Is located in Jefferson County. On August 25, 1855, the Kansas Territorial Legislature created Arapahoe County to govern the entire western portion of the territory . The county was named for the Arapaho Nation of Native Americans who lived in the region. In June 1858, gold was discovered along the South Platte River in Arapahoe County (in present-day Englewood ) by William Greeneberry Russell and Sam Bates who had been following up

288-522: Is one of the few counties in the United States to border as many as ten counties. 1790-1960 1900-1990 As of the census of 2000, there were 527,056 people, 206,067 households, and 140,537 families residing in the county. The population density was 683 people per square mile (264 people/km ). There were 212,488 housing units at an average density of 275 people per square mile (106 people/km ). The racial makeup of

324-452: Is the county library system. The Board of County Commissioners operates as the governing body of the county. Established in 1861, the board consists of three commissioners who are elected at-large to four-year terms. The board sets policies that guide county programs and operations which serves residents and businesses. There are several elected officials that oversee a department or aspect of county operations. Jefferson County lies within

360-459: The City & County of Denver and the 2001 consolidation of the City & County of Broomfield removed the east and extreme northeastern corner of the county, respectively. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 774 square miles (2,000 km ), of which 764 square miles (1,980 km ) is land and 9.8 square miles (25 km ) (1.3%) is water. Jefferson County

396-693: The Georgia Gold Rush to the California gold fields. The party followed the Trail of Tears west, and on June 22, 1850, they crossed the South Platte River (a few miles north of what is today Denver ) and camped near the confluence of two streams. One of the prospectors, Lewis Ralston panned for gold near the mouth of the smaller stream (in what is now Gold Strike Park in Arvada, Colorado .) He found about ¼ troy ounce (8 g) of gold, then worth about five dollars (about $ 550 USD today.) While Ralston

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432-610: The Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson from 1859 to 1861, built his home in the county at Mount Vernon and later at Apex . Originally Jefferson County's borders extended to the 40th parallel north , the South Platte River (excluding the town of Highland) to the east, and to Bear Creek to the south. The Jefferson Territory never received federal sanction, but during his last week in office, President James Buchanan signed an act which organized

468-606: The Santa Fe Trail . Others joined the party along the way until their number reached 107. Upon reaching Bent's Fort , they turned to the northwest, reaching the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte on May 23. The site of their initial explorations is in present-day Confluence Park in Denver. They began prospecting in the river beds, exploring Cherry Creek and nearby Ralston Creek but without success. In

504-523: The Territory of Colorado on February 28, 1861. That November 1, the new Colorado General Assembly organized the 17 original counties of Colorado, including Jefferson County. The reorganized Jefferson County extended to most of its current borders and Golden continued as county seat. In 1908, the southern tip of Jefferson County was transferred to Park County , reducing Jefferson County to its present length of 54 miles (87 km). Several annexations by

540-585: The U.S. state of Colorado . As of the 2020 census , the population was 582,910, making it the fourth-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Golden , and the most populous city is Lakewood . Jefferson County is included in the Denver - Aurora -Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . Located along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains , Jefferson County is adjacent to

576-440: The 1st Judicial District which is represented by District Attorney Alexis King. The Jefferson County Sheriff is an oldest elective office in Jefferson County (along with Clerk and Recorder, Assessor and Treasurer) and among the first popularly elected offices in Colorado, established in 1859 with the first Sheriff, Walter Pollard, elected on January 2, 1860. Its office holders over the course of over 150 years have included some of

612-650: The Jefferson Territorial Legislature organized 12 counties for the new territory, including Jefferson County . Jefferson County was named for the namesake of the Jefferson Territory, Thomas Jefferson , the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the nation's third president . Golden City was elected on January 2, 1860, as the county seat of Jefferson County. Robert Williamson Steele , Governor of

648-538: The June 22, 1850, discovery of gold on Ralston Creek in today's Jefferson County by Lewis Ralston, for whom the creek was named. This discovery precipitated the Pike's Peak Gold Rush . The Doniphan Party upon arriving upon Clear Creek discovered markers left over from earlier mining in 1834 by the Estes Party, placed their own alongside and on November 29, 1858, founded the future county's first town of Arapahoe City upon

684-464: The Pike's Peak country. Some even dared to go out in the winter of 1858 to try to get a head start, only to realize that they would have to wait until the snow melted to begin mining. Hardrock mining boomed for a few years, but then declined in the mid-1860s as the miners exhausted the shallow parts of the veins that contained free gold, and found that their amalgamation mills could not recover gold from

720-545: The Sheriff's office for failing to prevent their son from carrying out the Columbine High shootings. According to a "notice of intent to sue" filed by Susan and Thomas Klebold, county officials were "reckless, willful and wanton" in the way they handled a 1998 police report about Eric Harris' Internet ravings. This lawsuit was dismissed along with several others pertaining to the shooting. The current county sheriff

756-415: The county was There were 206,067 households, out of which 33.40% had children under age 18 living with them, 55.10% were married couples living together, 9.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.80% were non-families. 24.50% of all households were made up of individuals, of those 6.30% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size

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792-481: The county was $ 28,066. About 3.40% of families and 5.20% of the population were below the poverty line , including 5.80% of those under age 18, and 5.10% of those age 65 or over. According to a report in the JAMA , residents of Jefferson County had a 2014 life expectancy of 80.02 years. The sole school district serving the county is Jefferson County School District R-1 . Jefferson County Public Library

828-481: The first major European-American population in the region. The rush created a few gold rush towns such as Denver City and Boulder City that would develop into cities. Many smaller camps such as Auraria and Saint Charles City were absorbed by larger camps and towns. Scores of other mining camps have faded into ghost towns , but quite a few camps such as Central City , Black Hawk , Georgetown , and Idaho Springs survived. For many years, people had suspected

864-470: The first week of July 1858, Green Russell and Sam Bates found a small placer deposit near the mouth of Little Dry Creek that yielded about 20 troy ounces (620 g) of gold, then worth about 380 dollars (about $ 44,000 USD today.) This was the first significant gold discovery in the Rocky Mountain region. The site of the discovery is in the present-day Denver suburb of Englewood , just north of

900-404: The general trend in the Denver metropolitan area. In 2020, Joe Biden won the largest percentage for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1916. 39°35′N 105°15′W  /  39.59°N 105.25°W  / 39.59; -105.25 Pike%27s Peak Gold Rush The participants in the gold rush were known as " Fifty-Niners " after 1859, the peak year of the rush and often used

936-559: The gold, they came up short because he could not quite remember the location. On January 24, 1848, James W. Marshall found placer gold near Coloma, California , and unbeknownst nine days later, Mexico ceded California and the rest of northern Mexico to the United States with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . The California Gold Rush ensued. In the spring of 1850, John Beck led a party of predominately Cherokee veterans of

972-706: The junction of U.S. Highway 285 and U.S. Highway 85 . This discovery was announced with great excitement by the Kansas City Journal of Commerce on 26 August 1858 with the headline, "THE NEW ELDORADO!! GOLD IN KANSAS!!" The first decade of the boom was largely concentrated along the South Platte River at the base of the Rocky Mountains, in the canyon of Clear Creek in the mountains west of Golden City, at Breckenridge and in South Park at Como , Fairplay , and Alma . By 1860, Denver City, Golden City , and Boulder City were substantial towns that served

1008-446: The land southeast of today's West 44th Avenue and McIntyre Street (with West 44th running through the town). On June 16, 1859, its second town, Golden, Colorado , was founded in the valley to the west. Many residents of the mining region felt disconnected from the remote territorial governments of Kansas and Nebraska , so they voted to form their own Territory of Jefferson on October 24, 1859. The following month on November 28, 1859,

1044-417: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeffco&oldid=821023484 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Jefferson County, Colorado Jefferson County is a county located in

1080-488: The mines. Rapid population growth led to the creation of the Colorado Territory in 1861. The Pike's Peak gold rush sent many Americans into a frenzy, prompting them to pack up their belongings and head to Colorado. This initial boom influenced people to begin falsifying information, often sending people out to the west without any proof of a true presence of gold. As early as the spring of 1859, people raced to

1116-411: The most noted law enforcement officers in Colorado history. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office responded to the 1999 Columbine High School massacre , and investigated it together with the F.B.I. The Sheriff's Office received backlash after it was revealed the agency had the perpetrators Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold in and out of custody prior to the shooting. After the shooting Sue Klebold sued

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1152-498: The motto Pike's Peak or Bust! In fact, the location of the Pike's Peak gold rush was centered 85 miles (137 km) north of Pikes Peak . The name Pike's Peak gold rush was used mainly because of how well known and important Pike's Peak was at the time. The rush created a few towns such as Denver and Boulder that would develop into cities. The Pike's Peak gold rush, which followed the California gold rush by approximately

1188-429: The mountains in present-day Colorado contained numerous rich gold deposits. In 1835, French trapper Eustace Carriere lost his party and ended up wandering through the mountains for many weeks. During those weeks he found many gold specimens which he later took back to New Mexico for examination. Upon examination, they turned out to be "pure gold". But when he tried to lead an expedition back to the location of where he found

1224-585: The state capital of Denver. In 2010, the center of population of Colorado was located in Jefferson County. The county's slogan is the "Gateway to the Rocky Mountains", and it is commonly nicknamed Jeffco . The name Jeffco is incorporated in the name of the Jeffco School District, the Jeffco Business Center Metropolitan District No. 1, and several businesses located in Jefferson County. Jeffco

1260-454: Was 2.52, and the average family size was 3.03 persons. In the county, the population ages were spread out: For every 100 females there were 99.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 57,339, and the median income for a family was $ 67,310. Males had a median income of $ 45,306 versus $ 32,372 for females. The per capita income for

1296-485: Was elated, the rest of the party was unimpressed and continued on to California the next morning. Ralston continued panning for gold, but gave up after a few days and caught up with his party. As the hysteria of the California Gold Rush faded, many discouraged gold seekers returned home. Rumors of gold in the Rocky Mountains persisted and several small parties explored the region. In the summer of 1857,

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