The Protohistoric Period, A.D. 1540-1860, begins with European contact and ends with settlement by EuroAmerican people who wrote down their observations of the native peoples. The discovery of gold in Douglas County in 1858 by the Green Russell party began the gold rush era in Colorado. Russellville Gulch along the Cherokee Trail was the site of first 'color'. Green Russell and his group which included Cherokee Indians camped at Russellville Gulch and panned the small creek. Finding gold in amounts not worth their time, they moved on but sent word back East about the gold. Sporadic mining in the county yielded little gold but brought settlers who found other reasons to stay. Gold mining in one area of Douglas County at the Newlin Gulch (Muldoon) mine, continued until the early 1940s. This exhibit will feature early settlement household life artifacts as well as the gold recovery and artifacts found in historic sites up to the 1950s.

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