CHNC News: New titles and a New Partner

In March, the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection (CHNC) and its new partner the Clear Creek County Library District, added two new titles to CHNC –  The Silver Plume Coloradoan, 1881-1884 (159 issues) and the Silver Standard, 1885-1907 (1142 issues).  Both of these newspapers were published in Silver Plume, Colorado, Clear Creek County.  

Silver Plume, a neighboring town of Georgetown, was established in 1870.  By 1875 the population grew to about 2,000 due in large part to the silver mining industry and the European immigrants who came seeking work.  When the Georgetown Loop arrived in 1883, connecting the two towns by railroad, Silver Plume became a tourist spot and thrived.  A fire in 1884 destroyed much of the business district.  Silver Plume’s population began to dwindle with the Panic of 1893.  Today the town has a few hundred residents and despite the 1884 fire many of the historic buildings remain.  

Adding new content to CHNC could not be possible without the support of our partners. The Clear Creek County Library District received a 2015 Statewide Internet Portal Authority Micro-Grant (SIPA) to begin digitizing historic material that documents their rich community history.  SIPA’s mission is to “assist governmental entities to place more information, products and services online.”  Each year they award grants up to $6,500 to government agencies across the state.  By adding this historical newspaper content to CHNC, Clear Creek County Library District is sharing their history with their community near and far.  CHNC averages about 18,000 visitors a month from all over the Unites States and the world.  These two new titles will help CHNC reach an even larger audience.  We look forward to working with the Library District again.  

If you would like to learn more about CHNC and how to become a partner, contact Leigh Jeremias at ljeremias@coloradovirtuallibrary.org.