Central City is a small city located in the foothills outside of Denver, Colorado, with a population of less than 800. In May 1859, Central City sparked the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush, and by 1860 up to 10,000 prospectors had flocked to the town.

Unlike many jurisdictions, property rights within Central City fall under any of the following survey and property systems: 

• Public Land Survey System
• 1880 Triangulation Survey of Central City
• General Mining Act of 1872
• Homestead Act of 1862
• Sections 2382 to 2386 of the United States Revised Statues (Townsites)

DDS teamed with Eugene “Gene” Kooper, PLS/CFEDS, to create a high-precision survey control network of the U.S. Public Land Survey Section corners, Central City Triangulation Network, and other monuments associated with parcels in and around Central City.

This project requires extensive research in the Gilpin County Clerk and Recorders Office, Colorado State Archives, Government Land Office, and National Archives to collect information associated with the various property instruments applicable to Central City. DDS scanned thousands of property applications in the Colorado State Archives from 1862 to 1980.

The project will create documentation associated with the high-precision survey control network and specific guidance related to the property types in and around Central City as a resource for Central City, surveyors, lawyers, and the public. In addition, DDS is coordinating with Central City, Gilpin County Assessor, Gilpin County Surveyor, and the BLM to rebuild as much of the parcel history into the ArcGIS Parcel Fabric. The ArcGIS Parcel Fabric will attach all the source documents (e.g., surveys, patents, field notes, etc.) to become a resource of the parcel history of Central City and Gilpin County.