About - Welchester Elementary School

Welchester is a high-achieving, professional learning community with about 300 students, located in Golden, Colorado. We have a strong commitment to students, staff development, collaboration and learning. Teachers at Welchester use progress monitoring methods to regularly assess student achievement, set goals and change instruction to best meet the needs of individual students.

The Welchester Legacy

Articulation Area

Facility Overview

Welchester opened in 1961 with an official capacity of 420. The school was designed to house kindergarten through sixth grade. It was constructed at a cost of $242,574 which, broken down over its 18,295 square feet, cost $13.26 per square foot. The site was located far enough from the playground equipment to allow for future expansion.

Additions to Welchester over the years

In 1964, six classrooms and the LMC were added to the school. In 1990 another addition was made. This addition consisted of adding 10 classrooms.

History

Welchester was named after a prominent pioneer, Charles Clark Welch, a founder of the Colorado School of Mines. Born in 1830 in Jefferson County, New York, Mr. Welch was a descendant of Elder Brewster of the Mayflower Colony. He studied to be a teacher but only taught a few years and at age 20 traveled the world. In 1860 he arrived in Central City and with Mr. Loveland founded the Colorado Central Railroad.

Mr. Welch and his wife had a son, Charles Clark Welch, Jr., who was a lawyer and expert on irrigation law. At age 52 he and his wife were approaching his Welchester estate on Wide Acres road on November 26, 1932, when the Denver and Intermountain Trolley hit their car, killing both only a few feet away from their gateway.

Near the school was the Welchester stop on the old interurban line. Charles Welch was the founder of the Welch ditch, which still carries irrigation water from Clear Creek to the area. The school was originally called Zang because it is near the corner of 10th and Zang.