Join us on Thursday, February 4th to learn from guest speaker Wesley Brown how Colorado’s gold rush shaped maps of today. History, Cartography, Gold! This one will be fun!
In the spring of 1858, Colorado’s Front Range area was uncharted and inhabited only by natives. But by the close of 1859, 100,000 fortune seekers had thoroughly explored the Front Range, north of Pueblo to the Wyoming border. In their quest for gold, they left their footprints on the landscape, establishing dozens of settlements and blazing numerous trails. This slide show and lecture will teach you about Colorado’s gold rush and how this important chapter of history influenced Colorado maps of today.
Wesley Brown has been a collector, student, and author of old maps for forty years. He confines his map collecting to two areas (1) the earliest world maps up to the year 1540 and (2) the exploration and settlement of Colorado from the 16th through 20th centuries. A Denver resident, he co-founded the Rocky Mountain Map Society in 1990 and served as its President for its first seven years. He has served as the Co-Chairman of the Philip Lee Phillips Society (the national map and geography society of the Library of Congress). He has served on the Council of the Society for the History of Discoveries. Wes has long been associated with the Denver Public Library, as one of its mayoral-appointed Commissioners where he served as President and where he is still active in acquisitions for the institutions important western collections. He has published many papers on maps.
Wes fell in love with maps at age 16 using U.S. Geological Survey maps for climbing mountains. He has climbed about 400 different named peaks in Colorado and currently is a Field Active member of Alpine Rescue Team where he continues to use maps for navigation.
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We’ll have a some pizza and refreshments to enjoy while we listen to this great talk and chat about it afterwards. Remember, newcomers are always welcome!
Check out the Rocky Mountain Map Society. If you’re into historic maps, joing their group too!