John M. Ferrell came to the Golden valley from upstate New York in June of 1859. He camped on the southeastern banks of Clear Creek and created the Washington Avenue crossing for the gold rushers. When Golden was organized, Ferrell became one of its 16 original founders and agreed to sell his bridge to the community.

Ferrell was accompanied by his wife Jeanette and sons Frank and Charles. They were soon followed by his daughters Helen and Prunette (Nettie), with husbands Edward L. Berthoud and Silas W. Burt. Ferrell, a man of colorful speech and devout Episcopalian faith, was a highly skilled railroad builder. Being publicly acclaimed as a thorough master of public works, his engineering knowledge was very valuable in the creation of the Washington Avenue Bridge.

Ferrell and his family followed booms throughout his life, which brought them to the "Pikes Peak Gold Rush," as it was called at the time. Ferrell became an honored and enterprising Golden citizen, building and operating the Miners Hotel and a stage stop at his old campsite. Three original Golden streets were named after the women of his family Ferrell was the organizing vice president of the St. Vrain, Golden City & Colorado Wagon Road Company. A life-long Democrat, Ferrell was elected as Jefferson County's first Treasurer in 1861. When the flood of 1864 destroyed the bridge, Ferrell operated a ferry across Clear Creek until the bridge was rebuilt. Later that year he returned to the east to spend the rest of his life at Oneonta, Otsego County, New York. Today the crossing which John M. Ferrell created endures as the oldest known remaining bridge crossing in the territories which comprise present day Colorado.

Caption: View of the E.L. and Helen Berthoud residence build around 1880. Courtesy Denver Public Library, Western History Collection.
Caption: John M. Ferrell

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Show me all markers in:  Golden, CO  |  Jefferson County  |  80401  |  Colorado  |  United States of America

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