Presented by Mark Hanson, author of Tarryall Gold

Nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Tarryall Valley held the finest gold in the state, and (in today’s dollars) well over $100 million was recovered. As recently as the 1940s, a dragline dredge recovered nearly 14,000 ounces from its creek bed. Tarryall is a lush time capsule of one of Colorado’s earliest gold strikes. Here are hidden more than 70 teetering cabins, over 1,000 prospect pits and mines, miles of flumes, 5 remaining mill sites, bygone blacksmith shops, and the hopes and dreams of thousands of prospectors. For 9 years, this area has been the focus of Mark Hanson’s camera and historical research. His field exploration covers a tight peak-to-valley grid, encompassing the mining district’s 18 square miles from Como, Colorado, to the Continental Divide and Boreas Pass. Join us as Hanson describes the century-long search for Tarryall’s elusive mother lode as we meet some of the miners who illustrate a diverse parade of explorers from gold farmers to silver magnates, from German immigrants to Civil War veterans, and even the money launderers of Tammany Hall.

A claim-holding geologist fascinated with Colorado’s nineteenth-century gold rush, Mark Hanson recently published his book, Tarryall Gold: From Rush to Hush, a fascinating picture of the men, the conflicts, the fortunes, and the disappointments that birthed a state and helped build the West. He graduated from the University of North Dakota with a BS degree in geology and a minor in archaeology and earned an MS degree in geology from the Colorado School of Mines. Joining a generation of “black gold” prospectors, Hanson enjoyed a 30-year career searching for oil, gas, and helium across the Gulf Coast, West Texas, and the western US.