Archive for October, 2020

Ghost Town Photo Blog- Elkhorn, Colorado- Nearly Lost in Cameron Peak Fire

Posted: October 27, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mining Camps, old west
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Elkhorn, dating to the 1880s, in the hills of northern Larimer County was nearly lost in the recent Cameron Peak Fire, the largest forest fire in Colorado history. Heroic efforts by fire fighters, and a little help from Mother Nature slowed the fire just before it consumed this old mining camp and supply depot along Elkhorn Creek, although it does appear that some structures were lost to the flames.

Historic Photo of Elkhorn, Colorado

Very little gold was ever discovered in Larimer County, Colorado- A few deposits in paying quantities were located along Manhattan and Elkhorn Creeks in the Poudre River drainage about 40 miles northwest of Ft. Collins. Two small camps by the same names appeared- Manhattan and Elkhorn. Manhattan, the larger and more important of the two, became the namesake for the Manhattan Mining District which boomed and busted between 1890 and 1905.

 

Miner’s shacks at Elkhorn in 2018
Current Map of the Cameron Peak Forest Fire- Red Area is burnt area- This indicates the two small shacks pictured in previous photo may have been lost to the fire.

So little gold was found along Elkhorn Creek that the town of Elkhorn never grew to be much more than a few miner’s shacks, a general store, Post Office, and school. Gold fever, which never truly panned in Elkhorn, soon gave way to ranching and logging operations. Elkhorn eked out an existence as a small supply depot for the area. Logging continues in the area to this day…or did prior to the devastating Cameron Peak fire.

 

One of the old stores at Elkhorn, used as a storage barn today

Elkhorn today is a wide spot in the road along County Road 68. An impressive log store dating to Elkhorn’s boom days can’t be missed as you pass through- Today it serves as a storage barn. A few other miner’s shacks and old log buildings can be seen scattered along the meadow and the hillsides around the old store. All of the area is private property, fenced, and marked. Photos can be taken from the County Road of what remains, although that is unclear following the forest fire.

 

Elkhorn Store on a sunny day
Elkhorn Store in the fog
Another old shop at Elkhorn- This building and those in the background may have been lost in the Cameron Peak fire according to Forest Service maps showing the fire’s preimeter in the area of Elkhorn.
Elkhorn in the fog
Another shot of Elkhorn on a foggy day

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Ghost Town Photo Blog- Preston, Colorado

Posted: October 24, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mines, Mills and Smelters, Mining Camps
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Very few visitors who spend a weekend in the booming tourist town of Breckenridge, Colorado are aware that there is a ghost town within walking distance to explore- Preston. Preston is a tiny mining town located at the head of Gold Run Gulch in the pine tree covered slopes right next to the Breckenridge Municipal Golf Course. Preston can be reached by a short hike, mountain bike, or 4×4 using Gold Run Road/Forest Road 300 near the Jessie Mill.

Preston dates to around 1874 when the Jumbo Mine began to pay big dividends, and a couple hundred miners and their families brought the camp to life. There was general store, lumber mill, bunk house for bachelor miners, and an on-and-off Post Office at Preston which operated intermittently between 1874 and 1890. Preston was stopping point for supply trains and miners heading in between the mining towns of the Swan River valley, and the camps located in French Gulch.

A few old cabins nestled at the base of towering stands of pine trees remain at Preston today. The tumbledown walls and boards of other once-important buildings are scattered around the town site as well as the customary rusted bits and pieces of yesterday. A sign at the edge of the site gives a brief history of Preston and its mines. If you find yourself with an afternoon to kill the next time you visit Breckenridge, take the short and scenic journey to nearby Preston.

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Photo Blog- Sunshine, Colorado a Forgotten Gold Camp

Posted: October 23, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mines, Mills and Smelters, Mining Camps, old west, Road Trips
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Sunshine, Colorado, located just west of Boulder in Sunshine Canyon, sprang to life between 1870 and 1873, after George A, Jackson (who first found gold at the spot which is now Idaho Springs back in 1859) discovered rich gold deposits in the sandy terrain of Sunshine Canyon. George A. Jackson was a lucky man in many ways- He had made the first big gold strike in 1859 at what became Idaho Springs, and can be considered one of the “Founding Fathers” of Colorado, alongside William Green Russell and John Gregory- Were it not for the gold strikes of these three men, the Gold Rush of 1859 might not have happened. Jackson fell in with the secessionist crowd in the months prior to the Civil War breaking out in 1861, and he soon found himself arrested and languishing in the Colorado Territorial Prison in Denver for his allegiances to the rebel cause. In February of 1862, Jackson escaped the prison and made his way to Texas, where he joined a Confederate Cavalry unit. During this period, Jackson was a wanted man in Colorado, and had a $100 price tag on his head- A hefty sum in the 1860s. Jackson survived the war in the Red River country of west Texas, in relative anonymity. Jackson returned to Colorado following President Johnson’s general amnesty of 1868, which restored full citizenship status to former members of the Confederate Army, and absolved them of any charges they may have have been facing for wartime activities. This is when Jackson began prospecting again, and had the uncommon fortune of striking it rich a second time in Sunshine Canyon!  

 

George A. Jackson- Had Luck on His Side

By 1874 Sunshine had a population of over two hundred, and seven mines operating in the surrounding area. Sunshine canyon is narrow and steep, and homes of every configuration sprang up in unusual places at odd angles and on steep inclines. Mine workings intertwined with the residences giving the town a chaotic look. Down towards the bottom of the narrow gulch was the business district with a haphazard row of false-fronted shops and saloons. It is said, at its peak, Sunshine even had seven hotels! In 1900 a beautiful stone school house was built towards the head of Sunshine Canyon which still stands today.

 

 

Sunshine at its peak
Old dwelling at Sunshine today

Today not much is left of the “old” Sunshine- Much has been torn down or lost to flooding and forest fires in the past 100 years. Much new construction has gone on in Sunshine Canyon in recent years, and most of the homes and buldings in the area are of more recent times. A keen set of eyes can, however, pick out a few remants of the past scattered in among the new at Sunshine. The school house is a must see.  All of the property and buildings in Sunshine canyon is privately owned, so please respect the locals and their privacy if you plan to visit.

 

On a small, grassy, knoll above the canyon is the tiny Sunshine Cemetery where many of the early pioneers of the town are buried. There are a handful of recent burials for current residents as well. A small parking lot is open to visitors, and a simple gate allows access to the graveyard.

 

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Photo Blog- 25 Picturesque Abandoned Buildings in Colorado

Posted: October 22, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns
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Since forest fires have most of the National Forest closed down in Colorado and we can’t get out and explore much, here is a completely random collection of 25 picturesque abandoned buildings from across the Centennial State. Enjoy!

1. Crosson’s Store- Yampa, Colorado
2. Coal miner’s home- Engleville,Colorado
3. General Store- Andrix, Colorado
4. Farm house- San Acacio,Colorado
5. The Soda Shop- Pritchett, Colorado
6. Home- Ironton, Colorado
7. General Store- Rugby, Colorado
8. Miner’s cabin- Geneva City, Colorado
9. General Store- Garo, Colorado
10. School/General Store/Post Office- Elkhorn, Colorado
11. Trading Post- Gardner, Colorado
12. Store Fronts- Como, Colorado
13. Farm House- Baca County, Colorado
14. Bunkhouse- Buckskin Gulch, Colorado
15. Miner’s Cabin- Boston, Colorado
16. Ranch House- Park County, Colorado
17. Jail- Berwind Canyon, Colorado
18. Home- Arbourville, Colorado
19. Fancy House- Cripple Creek, Colorado
20. Miner’s Shack- Cameltown, Colorado
21. Assayer’s Office- Rollisnville, Colorado
22. Mine Office- Derry Ranch Placer, Colorado
23. General Store- Eldora, Colorado
24. Masonic Lodge- Central City, Colorado
25. Home- Stringtown, Colorado

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Ghost Town Photo Blog- New Cardinal, Colorado

Posted: October 21, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mining Camps, old west, Road Trips
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Cardinal is a realtively unknown ghost town by Colorado standards. Located in Boulder County just west of Nederland on the road to Caribou. (Check out my blog on the Caribou Ghost Town)

 

Cardinal could tachnically be called “New Cardinal” because there was once another Cardinal,or “Old Cardinal” a mile or two up the road from the present town site. Old Cardinal was the weekend recreation camp for miner from Caribou- Caribou residents had voted to make Caribou a dry town with no saloons or brothels, so enterprising bar keepers and sporting ladies set up shop down the hill from Caribou in a small meadow along the railroad tracks. Miners from Caribou could catch the ore train down the hill to Old Cardinal for a wild weekend, then ride the ore train back up to righteous Caribou.

 

In the late 1800s, an ore vein was discovered a couple of miles below Old Cardinal, and a new mining camp sprang up which did not harbor the same puritanical values of Caribou. It only made sense for the working girls and booze peddlers of Old Cardinal to move on down the hill to the new camp.  As they abandoned Old Cardinal, they even moved their buildings down the hill to the new camp, which soon took on the monicker of “New Cardinal.”

 

A freighter hauling mining equipment into the New Cardinal town site

New Cardinal boomed for a few short years around the turn of the last Century. An enormous stamp mill was constructed, an Assayer’s Office overlooked the mine workings, and bunk houses and private homes sprang up, and of course there were the saloons and the brothel.

Assayer’s Office
Mill building around 1920

New Cardinal, as all mining towns do, eventually faded away and was abandoned. The old buildings at the sight fell into decay, and some wetre occupied in the 1960s. In recent years the better homes at the site have been renovated and once again occupied. For a short time, someone was even renting the old Assayer’s Office as a weekend getaway.  

 

In the early 2000s Boulder County Open Space invested substantial time, labor, and money into the restoration/preservation of the mill building at Cardinal in hopes of opening it up as historic park/museum.  Unfortunately, all the restored mill building attracted was unscrupulous rock climbers who scaled the outer faces of the freshly restored building, and Boulder County closed the site to the public, and it has remained closed.

 

 

The mill at Cardinal after restoration efforts
Boiler at Cardinal

I have only visited Cardinal once, using an old guide book that said the site was open to exploration. When I reached the spot, I was unaware that the site had been closed by Boulder County. All of the land and buildings at Cardinal are now privately owned, and at least two houses are occupied. I was met by one of the residents who was friendly and allowed me to look around the old town site as long as I stayed on the dirt road, and took photos from a distance. I appreciated their hospitality, but it was clear that Cardinal is private and the owners would like to keep it that way- I can respect that.

 

 

 

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Photo Blog- Historic Gold Hill, Colorado

Posted: October 19, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Mining Camps, old west, Road Trips
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Took my yearly trip up to Gold Hill a few days ago. Such a great little town!  I am surprised that so few people know about it, but I guess that is also a blessing!

Located in Boulder County in the foothills west of Denver, Gold Hill is an old-timer among Colorado towns, dating all the way back to 1859. Gold Hill is so old in fact that it was once part of Nebraska Territory!

 

As the name obviously suggests, Gold Hill was a mining town from the great Colorado Gold Rush of 1859. Massive deposits of gold ore were found in the hills and gulches surrounding the town site. Prospectors flocked to the spot and the town sprang to life.

 

 

“Mountain District Number 1 at Nebraska” aka Gold Hill has been plagued by forest fires and floods since it’s very beginnings- The first documented forest fire that threatened the town was recorded in 1860, another huge fire in the 1890s ravaged the town, torrential rains caused flooding that threatened Gold Hill in 2013, and as of my typing this in October 2020, a forest fire caused the evacuation of the town yesterday. But somehow Gold Hill always manages to hang on.

 

Today Gold Hill is home to around 120 residents. There town has retained it’s historic feel and very little modern-era construction exists in the town. There are no paved streets in Gold Hill, only narrow dirt roads wide enough for one car to travel. Old trucks af every make and model are scattered around the streets and hillsides of Gold Hill.

 

Gold Hill has an Inn that hosts live bands outdoors in the summer months, an old two-story log hotel, a General Store/Coffee Shop/Cafe and the photogenic Red Store on the eastern edge of town. There is also a school house, museum, and outdoor display of old rusted mining equipment. South and east of town a short distance is the tiny Gold Hill cemetery which was ravaged by forest fire, and still shows the scars.

 

Gold Hill is a true gem and a fun place to explore, but can get crowded on weekends in the summer time. I’d suggest visit on a weekday in the off-season when you can really take in the beauty of this old mining town.

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