Why can’t we be friends?

Gilpin Historical Society

By Dave Forsyth, PhD

After the Central City Opera House’s grand opening on March 3 and 4, 1878, the Pueblo Democrat wrote that while the Opera House was grand, it would be more impressed when Central City and Black Hawk built equally grand schools and churches. With town rivalries alive and well, Central City’s Evening Call responded with the following editorial on March 11, 1878: …is it possible that a gentleman of your intelligence and inquiring turn of mind has lived in Colorado a full twelve months and never heard of the educational facilities of Central and Black Hawk? Has Mr. Bennett, your present principal, with whom, by the way Central supplied you,  never told you of the school house-capped hills that surround the Golden Queen of the mountains? Do you not know of the Central public school—paid for, Doctor, yes paid for— with its average attendance of 400 pupils, and its efficient corps of teachers, male and female— the pride of our people and the admiration of the State? Did you never hear of our public library, with its 5,000 volumes, comprising the leading works in biography, history, science and fiction, with a translation of ancient classics as well as the French, German, Spanish and Italian authors? Why, Doctor, the mere reading of a catalogue would brush you up in your humanities. We’ll send you a copy. Have you never heard of St. Aloysius Academy, under the direction of the good sisters, whose cross-capped walls of brick and mortar, perched upon the very apex of Mount St. Vincent, commands the attention of the tourist as he leaves the train and Black Hawk and wends his way to Central? And paid for again, Doctor, aye, paid for. Have you never heard of the Public School at Black Hawk, with its average attendance of 875 scholars and its seven teachers? Why, Doctor, the pupils of the Black Hawk school publish a monthly paper almost as large as the Democrat and published at the Call office. We’ll send you a copy.