Mount Evans Scenic Byway
Argo Gold Mill, CO

The Argo Mill offers tours of the mill that started the Rocky Mountain gold rush in 1859. Once George A. Jackson discovered gold at the confluence of Chicago Creek and Clear Creek, thousands of miners poured into the area. The feature that makes the Argo Mill so unique is the tunnel running under the mill. This was dug to drain the water out of the mineshafts. In the beginning, gold could be found relatively close to the surface, but as that gold disappeared, miners had to go deeper and deeper for gold, often times running into water. This tunnel was the longest in the world in 1894 and ran from Idaho Springs to Central City. The mine is now listed on the register of National Historic Places.