Men working for I. P. Lambing (superintendent at the mine) of Golden, Colorado and Colonel Stephen W. Downey (a lawyer and president of what would become Centennial Gold Mining Company) of Laramie, Wyoming, discovered gold on what would become Centennial Ridge on Centennial Mountain in 1875.
Gold had people coming to the area again in 1902, and again in 1923-1924, but no significant amount was ever found.