Archive for the ‘Mining Camps’ Category

Photo Blog- Ghost Town of Rocky, Colorado

Posted: July 10, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mines, Mills and Smelters, Mining Camps, old west, Road Trips
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Ghost Town- Rocky, Colorado

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Between Lake George and Hartsel, Colorado, along Highway 24 is a small cluster of buildings,cabins and foundations just off the edge of the road on private property.  I have not been able to confirm with 100% certainty, but these may be the ruins of the long-forgotten town of Rocky.

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Very little information exists regarding Rocky. From 1880s era maps I own, Rocky was situated where these ruins exist today. Rocky was supply station and ranching center, and some small-scale mining was reported in the area as well.

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It appears that Rocky lived and died between around 1880 and 1910.  If anyone has any additional information on this site please contact me.

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Ghost Town Photo Blog- Independence, Colorado

Posted: July 5, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mines, Mills and Smelters, Mining Camps, old west, Road Trips
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Independence, Colorado is a well-preserved ghost town dating to 1879, located just below timberline on the western slope of Independence Pass between Twin Lakes and Aspen on Highway 82.

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Indpendence was named following the discovery of lode gold on July 4, 1879, it also went by the name Chipeta, in honor of Ute Chief Ouray’s wife, for a short time before the townsfolk settled on Independence.

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At the height of its boom Independence was home to around 1,500 people, home to 40 businesses, as well as three post offices.

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Life in the town, located at 11,000 feet elevation, was difficult, and winters were extreme.  As the lode gold played out Independence’s population plummeted, by 1890 there were less than 100 residents.

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In 1899 snows were so heavy that the last 75 residents of the town were cutoff from the supply centers of Aspen and Twin Lakes, and were on the verge of starvation. The remnant population of Independence decided theoir only chance for survival was to flee towards Aspen. The snowed-in inhabitants stripped boards from the remaining structures in town and built skis and sleds out of them for their trek to Aspen,which all 75 residents successfully made.

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Since 1899 only a few prospectors and hermits have called Independence home.Today, the town is totally abandoned, preserved as a historical park. Visitors can park in a small parking lot just below the summit of Independence Pass, and take a short hike down into the townsite. a Forest Service caretaker is sometimes present at the site.

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Photo Blog- Ghost Town of Balfour, Colorado- Vanished as Fast as it Appeared!

Posted: June 28, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mines, Mills and Smelters, Mining Camps, old west
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Balfour is one of the least-known ghost towns in the state of Colorado, and for good reason- The town existed for only five short years between 1893 and 1898 before it was abandoned!

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Remains at Balfour today

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Dugout cabin at Balfour today

Prospectors had dug around sporadically in the area since the 1860s, but it was not until 1893 that gold deposits of profitable quatities were discovered. Balfour is located on the southeastern edge of South Park, roughly 25 miles from Fairplay, or seven or so miles from the tiny town of Hartsel off of Highway 9 as you travel towards Guffey.

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Balfour, at oinly ten days old in 1893!

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Balfour cabin today

When Balfour boomed in 1893,a town appeared literally overnight. Photos taken when Balfour was only ten days old already show frame buildings in equal or greater number than tents in the new gold camp.  Before Balfour faded, there were three hotels, a saloon, post office, chruches, school, general store, and around one thousand residents.

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Second shot of Balfour at ten days old in 1893

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Balfour, 1893

Today scarcely a trace of Balfour remains, just a scattered handful of tumbledown cabins and barns. It is hard to imagine the site was once home to a thousand people, and had been billed as “the next Cripple Creek” when gold was discovered in 1893.

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Balfour cabin today

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A Ghost Town a Day For 30 Days- Day #30- Garcia, Colorado and Costilla, New Mexico

Posted: April 30, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mines, Mills and Smelters, Mining Camps
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The Final Day of A Ghost Town a Day feautures Garcia, Colorado and its sister-community Costilla, New Mexico

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Garcia is the oldest permanent European settlement in Colorado. Originally called “Plaza de los Mananares” the spot was settled by Hispanic families from Taos County, New Mexico. Adobe plazas with thick, windowless walls protected the early settlers from raids by Ute warriors.

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Located in the far southeast corner of the San Luis Valley just two miles north of the New Mexico border, Garcia was part of the once sprawling network of Rio de Costilla Valley settlements, which at their height in the mid-1800s numbered over 4,000 inhabitants. Today Garcia, and the sleepy village of Costilla across the border in New Mexico are home to roughly 475 people,  1/10th of the regions peak population, and very few of that 475 live in Garcia or Costilla proper, most reside on ranches and farms scattered in the hills nearby.

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The histories of Garcia and Costilla are so intermingled that Costilla County, Colorado is named for Costilla, the village in New Mexico- Costilla once being part of Colorado Territory, until a surveying error was discovered in 1869, which gave Costilla back to New Mexico. When Costilla, which pre-dated Garcia by a few years, returned to New Mexico, Garcia became the oldest settlement in Colorado.

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Today Garcia is a collection of homes, many abandoned adobes, and a few occupied. A stunningly beautiful church, and the remains of several adobe plazas. When traveling south out of Garcia, it is hard to tell where Garcia ends, and Costilla, New Mexico begins.

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A Ghost Town a Day For 30 Days- Day #29- Boston, Colorado

Posted: April 29, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mines, Mills and Smelters, Mining Camps
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Day #29 feautures Boston, Colorado

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Boston, at the head of Mayflower Gulch

Boston is an 1890s era mining camp situated at the head of Mayflower Gulch in Summit County.  There are around a half-dozen log cabins in varying states of decay, the sagging ruins of the boarding house, and rusted mining implements scattered around the site. Boston sits in a natural bowl, or ampitheater, and is surrounded by snow capped crags on three sides, making for some great photos. When I visited, there was a dense fog, and I was not able to capture the rocky spires that make a stunning backdrop to the camp.

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A cabin along the trail to Boston

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A combination hiking trail/seldom used 4×4 trail leads two miles into the site from a parking lot just off the side of Highway 91 that runs from Copper Mountain to Leadville. It is a popular hiking spot, and it is usually overrun with people on weekends. It is best to visit Boston early in the morning on weekdays to avoid crowds. Unfortunately, easy access also means Boston has suffered heavy vandalism and the trail in to the site is strewn with garbage from unscrupulous hikers who think it is the Forest Service’s job to clean up after them. Some “visitors” have even torn down log cabins at the site and burned the logs in bonfires.

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A Ghost Town a Day For 30 Days- Day #27- Geneva City, Colorado

Posted: April 27, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mines, Mills and Smelters, Mining Camps, old west, Road Trips
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Day # 27 features Geneva City, Colorado

 

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Geneva City is one of the most remote ghost towns in the Centennial State located at the headwaters of Geneva Creek in Clear Creek County and sitting in a bowl at timberline. Surrounded by snowcapped year-round, Geneva City can only be reached in the summer months, usually late-July through early-September, outisde of that the narrow, rugged 4×4 trail into the site is covered in snow.

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Geneva City is an old-timer- Prospectors first set up camp here after the end of the Civil War in the mid-1860s. Sturdy log cabins were built at the very edge of the pine trees to shelter prospectors from the harsh elements and electrical storms that plague the basin where Geneva City is located.

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The mountains surrounding Geneva City are rich in iron deposits, and Geneva Creek itself features extremely rare natural iron fens- a geological occurence where iron rich mineral water springs bubble up from the ground and creates rusty colored natural terraces. The high iron content of the Geneva basin area makes metal detecting nearly impossible, and attracts fierce electrical storms.

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Prospectors and miners have worked the rock in Geneva basin for over 100 years, finding small deposits of gold, and largeer depositis of silver, along with the plentiful iron. A smelter was built in the valley far below Geneva City in 1870, and the primitive rfining methods result in the slag from the old smelter still holding about a 10% silver content. The smelter has long since tumbled down, but crumbling red bricks and piles of black slag mark the spot. A sawmill was once operated nearby as well providing support beams and other wood products for the mines of Geneva City.

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The Brittanic Mine was the last mine in operation at Geneva City, and small scale operations were still carried out there into the early-1960s. Geneva City is unique because it never had a year-round population in its entire 100-year history. The winters at the site were just too harsh, and the town too remote to warrant year-round settlement. A number of log cabins, a large saloon/mess hall, a boarding house, and at least one small home, built of milled lumber which still exists, albeit precariously today. Mining remnants can be found all around the Geneva City site, as well as the Brittanic Mine site.

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A Ghost Town a Day For 30 Days- Day #22- Holland, Colorado

Posted: April 22, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mining Camps, old west
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Day #22 feautures Holland, Colorado

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Holland, Colorado dates to 1874 when a smelter was built at the site to handle the silver, gold, and iron ores being extracted in the Mosquito Range a short distance to the west. Two theories exist on how the town was named- One claims it was settled by Dutch immigrants from Pennsylvania who named the town “Holland”, but the other, more plausible story is that the smelter was built by two brothers Park and Dwight Holland, and the tiny settlement was named after them.

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Several log cabins were built in a small, circular, meadow around the smelter, and one large, luxurious, two-story home, said to belong to the smelter owners was built in a forested area just south of the main cluster of cabins, near the smelter. A Post Office was opened at Holland in February of 1874, but lasted less than one year, closing in December 1874. The smelter was a failure as well, and was sold at auction to pay off taxes only a year after its construction in 1875.

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Holland remained occupied until around 1890, the inhabitants working in nearby mines, or in the surrounding towns of Alma, Alma Junction, and Park City. In the mid-20th Century Holland, like many Colorado ghost towns, was “rediscovered” and some of the cabins were restored for seasonal use, and newer homes and cabin were built nearby.

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Today around six cabins remain at Holland, some buried deep in the trees require a keen eye to spot. Near the smelter site the brick chimney of the Holland Brothers house remains, obscured by pine trees, but the rest of the house is long gone. An old stage barn  which may date to Holland’s prime can be seen on the northern end of the town site, next to a newer home on private property.  All of the Holland site is privately owned and accordingly posted, but can be viewed from the public road.

 

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A Ghost Town a Day For 30 Days- Day #21- Dyersville, Colorado

Posted: April 21, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mines, Mills and Smelters, Mining Camps, old west, Road Trips
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Day #21 features Dyersville, Colorado

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In 1880 Father John Dyer, an itinterant Methodist preacher and Colorado legend, along with two other prospectors staked claims on a silver vein near the headwaters of Indiana Creek on the west slope of Boreas Pass near above the town of Breckenridge.  The Warrior’s Mark mine was built on the vein and Father Dyer and his partners built cabins at the site.  Over $10,000 worth of silver ore was hauled out of the Warrior’s Mark in the first six months of operations, and soon the small town of Dyersville sprang up to house the miner’s and their families.

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Dyersville had a church, where Father John would preach the gospel, a branch of the Breckenridge-based Adamson’s Blue Front clothing store,  a large mess hall, a saloon called the Angel’s Roost, and a school house. Mail was brought to Dyersville via Breckenrdige, but no Post Office was ever established in the town.  The Warrior’s Mark continued to produce until around 1900 when the vein played out, and Dyersville was abandoned.

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For decades Dyersville was lost to time, buried in the dense timber along Indiana Creek, its whereabouts known only to a few old-timers.  Dyersville was “found” again a few decades later, virtually untocuhed since it was abandoned around the turn of the 20th Century.

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Today, Dyersville still retains about a dozen log cabins in verious stages of repair, the roofs are gone on all, so it won’t be long until they vanish. In the last five years, vandals have damaged some of the esier to locate cabins at Dyersville. The ruins of the Warrior’s Mark can still be found nearby. Ruts from the old wagon road that once serviced thre town can still be seen cutting through the trees.

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You can see where there the mess hall was, broken plates, rusted cans, and bones from meals gone by litter a slope adjacent to the mess hall ruins. Another log building tucked away in the trees has the looks of the saloon based on a slit-trench dug along the back wall of the building running downhill- So saloon patrons could relieve themselves without having to step outside into the elements!

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A Ghost Town a Day For 30 Days- Day #20- Summerville, Colorado

Posted: April 20, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mines, Mills and Smelters, Mining Camps, old west, Road Trips
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Day #20 features Summerville, Colorado

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A view down Gold Run Road as it cuts through the center of Summerville

Summerville is a seldom mentioned ghost town on Gold Run Road between Salina and Gold Hill in Boulder County, Colorado. Dating to around 1870 when gold deposits were discovered, Summerville eked-out an existence on low grade ores for a few years until it became unprofitable. In the early-1900s when better refining and extraction practices were developed, Summerville came to life again, albeit shortly.

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One of the first ghost town photos I ever took was of this, of a Summerville shack

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Summerville shacks, some are still used seasonally, others appear to be vacant

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One of the vacant shacks at Summerville

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Embossed tin siding on this miner’s shack

 

Summerville was abandoned for a time, then peope returned restoring the small cabins and shacks for seasonal use. An impressive two-story, part log, hotel was built in 1877 and had served as a private residence in its final form. Sadly, a devastating forest fire swept through Summerville in 2004, and the historic hotel burned to the ground, today only an empty lot marks the spot. In 2013 Summerville was hit by a flood, but its position at the high head of the canyon limited damage. A handful of shacks, cabins, and out buildings in varying stages of decay remain today, all are private property.

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The historic Summerville Hotel, built in 1877, before it burned to the ground in a 2004 forest fire. Photo Credit: www.rockymountainprofiles.com

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One of the seasonally occupied cabins at Summerville

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Sandbags piled high, remnants of the massive floods of 2013 that swept through Summerville and the canyon below causing much damage and devastation the length of its path

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A Ghost Town a Day For 30 Days- Day #16- Goldfield, Colorado

Posted: April 16, 2020 in Colorado History, Colorado Road Trips, Ghost Towns, Mines, Mills and Smelters, Mining Camps, old west, Road Trips
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Day #16 features Goldfield, Colorado and the surrounding historic sites of Bull Hill, Independence, and the Vindicator Mine complex.

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Goldfield was part of the sprawling Cripple Creek Mining District which boomed in the 1890s, and has continued until this day. In 1900, at the peak of Goldfield’s boom, the town had a population of 3,500. Most of the residents worked at the Portland Mine. Goldfield was the thrid largest town in the district behind Cripple Creek and Victor- All three towns were situated around mountain which was a virtual “dome” of gold, having once been a gigantic volcanic bubble filled with the precious metal.

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There were other satellite towns and camps in the immediate vicinity of Cripple Creek-Victor-Goldfield, and those nearest to Goldfield were the town of Independence (called Hull City originally) Bull Hill, and Hollywood. Ruins of all of these towns, camps, and settlements still abound today, and one can spend hours taking it all in through a series of interpretive trails in the area.  Among the most impressive relics in the district are the remains of the Vindicator Mining complex.

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Poweder bunker at the Independence site, across the road from Goldfield near the Vindicator

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The Vindicator Mill

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Another part of the Vindicator complex

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