The Parker Mining District area is no longer accessible and is now at the bottom of the Rueter-Hess Reservoir. ​

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Newlin Gulch obtained its name because an early resident of the area, William C. Newlin, settled there in the 1860s. He had brought some of the first Shorthorn Cattle into the Pikes Peak Region, driving them, some 30 cows and one bull, all the way from Minnesota. He homesteaded southwest of the settlement of Pine Grove, and ran his cattle on the open range.

 

The Newlin Gulch Gold Mining District was centered about four miles southwest of Pine Grove (now Parker), on the Newlin Gulch. Some mining operations in the Newlin Gulch area began in the mid-1880s, and then resumed again in the late 1890s. In early 1898, mining equipment was set up and operations were begun at several locations along the gulch. Several small placer claims were made and numerous companies were formed to exploit the gold finds. As late as 1910 one mine, the Muldoon, was still in operation, employing 22 men. However, the water supply proved to be inadequate and the yield too low, so the gold fields were abandoned. Although several promising placer deposits were found during the years previously mentioned, a large-scale production was never achieved. During succeeding years, there were sporadic attempts at working the diggings, particularly during the great depression of the 1930s. The last reported operations were in 1941.

 

Tragedy struck one day in March of 1922. George Hendricks, a placer miner at the Newlin Gulch District was instantly killed when he was caught in a cave-in, in a tunnel where he was working.

 

The Clarke sisters, Gertrude, Wilma, & Charlotte, stated that their father made much more money panning gold from Cherry Creek than he ever did from ranching.

 

Information for this brief was obtained from A Guide to Historic Sites in the Parker Area by F.D. McLaughlin, Douglas County: A Historical Journey by the Douglas County Historical Society, various articles from Record Journal, and a personal interview with the Clarke sisters.

 

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