Wideawake
A historical populated place in Gilpin County, Colorado, recorded by the U.S. Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System.
Location Record
Names and historical notes
Recorded by GNIS. Source wording is retained; these notes have not been independently verified by Forgotten America.
GNIS description
mining site
GNIS historical note
Most recently owned by the Clemens family the town was home to several hundred at its peak during the Colorado gold rush. Name origin is unknown. One version states "Documents from the Gilpin Cty Historical Society say the town was named for miners who couldn't decide their next move . . . Let's postpone this business till we're more wide awake. Another version has a disgusted miner, after several meetings, chastising his colleagues: 'we'll call one more meeting on this business, and you'd better be wide awake.'"
Also recorded as
- Wide Awake
Source editions and recorded citations
Feature ID 181541. Description/History extract: August 28, 2026. All Names extract: September 30, 2026. Retrieved October 22, 2026. Only populated fields are displayed.
GNIS citation text may identify a source series rather than a specific page. It is reproduced below without implying that its underlying documents were inspected.
- Map U.S. Geological Survey 1981-12-31 00:00:00 Geographic Names Phase I data compilation (1976-1981) Primarily from U.S. Geological Survey 1:24,000-scale topographic maps (or 1:25K, Puerto Rico 1:20K) and from U.S. Board on Geographic Names files.
- Text Tucker, Frank H., Knights of the Mountain Trails: A Century of Hiking in the Mountains and Parks of the Pikes Peak Region, Colorado Springs (Little London Press), 83 pages, 2002. A history of the Saturday Knights Hiking Club and their efforts at mapping and developing the trails of the Pikes Peak region.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), Historical Features.