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Breckenridge Gold & Tom's Baby by Johnny Walker Breckenridge started as a small mining camp in 1859, and at the peak of the gold rush was named after then Vice-President John Cabell Breckinridge to guarantee a post office for the town. They later changed the spelling to Breckenridge after the politician joined the Southern Confederate Army in the Civil War. In 1887, Breckenridge became famous for the find of the largest gold nugget in Colorado, the 13-pound "Tom's Baby". On July 23, 1887, the largest gold nugget ever found in the State of Colorado was discovered in Breckenridge. Tom Groves walked into the town cradling the blanket wrapped bundle in his arms, and it was appropriately named "Tom's Baby", weighing in at 13.5 lbs. 
Tom's Baby Three days later the nugget was sent to Denver via train...it then disappeared for 85 years. Rumors surrounding the nugget's 85 years of freedom are abundant, including that it was shown at the Smithsonian, the Peabody Museum, Harvard University and Chicago's Field Museum, but none could be verified. Tom's Baby was essentially kidnapped. In 1972, the Colorado State Historical Museum was prodded into examining gold specimens that had been deposited in a Denver bank in 1926. Sure enough, Tom's Baby was found, but over 5 lbs are still missing. Breckenridge is just over the hill from South Park. Geologists have made the statement "These gold fields contain more gold than has been taken out by all the mining done over the last 120 years." 
article courtesy Johnny Walker, Rocky Mountain Travel Guide
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