What we know
Where the Russell party found gold on the head of Cherry Creek (late August 1857, per Robert McBride in 1873; June 1858 per Hall); the Russellville Town company was organized Dec. 8, 1858. In 1859 'chock-full of stores and saloons, boarding houses, blacksmith shops, sawmills'; by 1867 'only one house in the "city," and that's the stage stopping place for grub' on the Denver & Santa Fe line, kept by Palmer (1869-70). Military company organized here in 1868. Renamed Gold Dale for the 1880s placer revival (John Ferris's pumps and sluices, 1885); Golddale PO 1882-85.
Where it was
USGS GNIS Locale 185142. 'Some six miles to the west of' Elizabeth station (News, 1884); 'five miles southeast of the present Frankstown' (Hall 1891); 'thirty-five miles up the Divide' from Denver (News, 1869).
The U.S. Geological Survey's official point for this place name.
Sources
Sources are named in the text above. Numbers such as S-0080 refer to our source list. Most newspaper quotations were read in the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection. Long quotations from recent books are shortened here.