In the summer of 1859, a prospector by the name of Joseph Higginbottom [Higgenbotham] was one of many men who searched for gold in South Park, Colorado. Known as "Buckskin Joe' because of his leather clothes, Higginbottom discovered a sizable deposit of gold in the area that became known as the Buckskin Joe District. The community of Buckskin Joe, renamed Laurette, flourished for several years. The Buckskin Joe District had produced gold with an estimated value of $1.6 million by 1866.