“So, you get to thinking…how can 15 or 20 percent of the population be responsible for 100 percent of the history?””

John Kittredge

CENTRAL CITY — If there's one thing people in Central City are interested in, it's history.

About 35 people gathered upstairs at Monte Lobo on Saturday afternoon, April 18, 2026, for a deep dive into the people who actually built Central City.

The talk, led by longtime Russell Gulch resident John Kittredge, challenged long-held assumptions about the town’s past and offered a more complex and somewhat unexpected picture.

John Kittredge, presenting his Central City history talk at Monte Lobo on April 18, 2026.

Photo by Mindy Leary

Kittredge opened with a simple premise. The story of Central City is usually told through prominent names like mine owners, judges, and financiers. But he said he was more interested in “the people that actually did that kind of stuff”—the laborers, masons, and builders who physically shaped the town after the Great Fire of 1874.

Beyond the Cornish narrative

One of the central themes of the talk was correcting what Kittredge described as an overemphasis on a single ethnic group in local history.

“We’ve heard so many times for so many years that virtually everything done in town…was one particular ethnicity,” he said, referring to the Cornish miners and builders commonly given credit for Central's rock walls.

Drawing from historical diaries and census records, he noted that English residents made up only about 15 to 20 percent of the population in the 1870s. “So, you get to thinking…how can 15 or 20 percent of the population be responsible for 100 percent of the history?” he said.

Instead, he described a far more diverse workforce, including Canadians, Irish, Italians, Germans, and others who contributed to the town’s rapid reconstruction after the fire.

Race, partnership, and a unique place

Kittredge also touched on race in early Central City, offering examples that contrasted with broader national trends of the late 19th century.

“Black and white people [went] into partnerships together in the 1870s,” he said, noting that such collaboration was rare elsewhere during that era and became even less common during the rise of Jim Crow laws.

He shared stories of Black residents who owned businesses, were skilled in trades, and lived within and throughout the community, rather than in segregated areas. While he acknowledged discrimination existed, he said that Central City functioned differently from many other American towns at the time.

Industry, mining, and many talents

The presentation showcased the versatility of early residents, many of whom worked across multiple industries and trades at once.

Kittredge pointed to figures like contractor Nate Sears, who built reservoirs, constructed buildings, operated a brickyard, patented mining equipment, and worked in mining ventures. “The number and diversity of things…they were involved in, it exceeds belief,” he said.

He also explained the technical side of mining and milling, including assay work and the use of muffle furnaces to test ore without contamination. Drawing from his own experience in local mills, Kittredge described how small samples of ore were processed to determine value, a critical step in the mining economy.

The discussion showed how closely related construction and mining were. Nearly everyone, regardless of profession, had some connection to the mines.

Rebuilding after the fire

Kittredge walked the audience through the aftermath of the 1874 fire, which destroyed much of Main Street and the surrounding areas. Rather than a slow recovery, he described a rapid rebuilding effort.

“This was immediately after the fire…they just went for it,” he said, noting that major brick buildings went up within months. One audience member said, “They weren’t scared to try things.” And zoning was not an obstacle back then.

He talked about the Belvidere Theater and the courthouse rock wall, impressed by the scale of the work given the limited tools available at the time. Massive stone walls, some over 30 feet high and several feet thick, were built largely by hand.

A call for deeper history

Throughout the talk, Kittredge encouraged audience participation and welcomed questions, often pausing to explore new details or correct misconceptions. He stressed that much of Central City’s history remains incomplete or misunderstood.

“Nobody knows it all. We don’t even know the beginnings of it,” he said.

The event, part of an ongoing series supporting the Belvidere Theater restoration fund, blended storytelling, research, and personal insight. It offered residents a chance to see history in a new light and learn about the diverse group of people who built the City of Central.