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Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings

	ASPEN Colorado
Location: Pitkin County.

Large quantities of silver ore lying in the debris on the sides of Aspen and Smuggler Mountains attracted the earliest prospectors, who came from Leadville, to the site of Aspen about 1879. Between 1880 and 1884 many mines were active in the area, some of which became world famous. Large nuggets of high-grade ore netted millions of dollars for stockholders. One of the largest bodies of ore in the world was worked in the Comprise Mine, and more high-grade ores were shipped from Aspen than any other camp in the world. In 1889, when the town's population was more than 8,000—and it had three daily newspapers, electric street lights, a telephone exchange, waterworks, and two railroads—the output of the mines in the vicinity was $10 million. By 1892, the population had risen to 11,000, and the town boasted 6 newspapers, 10 churches, 3 banks, and 3 streetcars. The average annual output of the lead and silver mines was $6 million. In 1893, however, a depression occurred because of the collapse in silver prices. Mining continued on a smaller scale until the 1920's, when the ore thinned out and the mines began closing down.

Four noteworthy structures of the early days have survived: the Hotel Jerome and the Wheeler Opera House, both built in 1889; the Catholic Church (1892); and the Court House (ca. 1890). The city today is a ski resort and cultural center.

	BOGGSVILLE Colorado
Location: Bent County, on an unpaved road, about 2 miles southeast of Las Animas.

Boggsville was the site of the first successful irrigation experiment in southwestern Colorado and the cradle of the Colorado cattle industry. It was established in 1860 by Thomas O. Boggs, who obtained a 2,000-acre tract of land from the original Vigil and St. Vrain land grant. In 1867 Boggs joined with John W. Prowers, a prominent cattle raiser who brought the first herd of cattle from Missouri into Colorado and settled at Boggsville, and Robert Bent to construct a 7-mile irrigation canal, known as Tarbox Ditch. This canal, on the Purgatoire River, a tributary of the Arkansas, irrigated 1,000 acres on the farms of the three men. Boggs sold his produce and livestock to nearby Fort Lyon. By the 1880's Prowers owned 10,000 head of cattle. The town thrived until 1873, when the Kansas Pacific Railroad bypassed it in favor of Las Animas. It then became a ghost town.

Only two significant structures, the Boggs and Prowers homes, have survived. The latter also served as a hotel, store, and stage station. Built of adobe, it is now unoccupied and in poor condition. The Boggs home, a 10-room one-story building, is in fair condition because of its 30-inch plastered walls.

	BRECKENRIDGE Colorado
Location: Summit County.

In 1859 Ruben Spalding and a party of 30 men discovered small amounts of gold in the Blue River. After building a blockhouse for protection against the Indians, they panned the river. They named their camp Breckinridge in honor of the Vice President of the United States; later, after he sided with the Confederacy, they renamed it Breckenridge. In 1860 a rush occurred, and for 3 years the placer fields were the richest in Colorado, until they washed thin. The camp became the center of a group that had a combined population of 8,000. Late in the 1880's new strikes precipitated a second boom. During the 1890's a third boom occurred, when miners dredged the Blue River for placer deposits. Today the rock walls along the shore left by the dredging process may still be seen. Many of the buildings in the town date from the second or third boom and are excellent examples of mining-town architecture.

	CHALK CREEK CANYON Colorado
Location: Chaffee County, along Colo. 162.

Between the 1870's and the end of World War I a number of gold-mining towns thrived in this canyon, located in the Arkansas River Valley. They were served by the Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad. Alpine, the first, originated in 1875 to support the Tilden Mine. It was the point from which ore was shipped to Pueblo for smelting. The largest town in the canyon was St. Elmo, incorporated in 1880, which at one time had 2,000 inhabitants. Both Alpine and St. Elmo have a small population today.

Within a few miles of St. Elmo are two ghost towns, Romley and Hancock. Romley was founded about 1870, when the Mary Murphy Mine was active. The mine, which yielded a total of $14 million, ceased operations at the end of World War I. Hancock was once a bustling mining town of five stores, two sawmills, one hotel, and numerous saloons. It was also a railroad construction headquarters and transfer point for railroad passengers traveling to Gunnison.

	CREEDE Colorado
Location: Mineral County.

This town was founded by Nicholas C. Creede, a discouraged prospector who in 1890 and 1891 stumbled upon silver bonanzas at the townsite. Christening his mines the Holy Moses and Amethyst, Creede made a fortune from the rich ore. Hundreds of prospectors soon arrived via the branch line that the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad completed to the diggings. They formed a rough camp, called Jim Town for a short time, the forerunner of the town of Creede. By 1893 the population was about 8,000. Along with Aspen, Creede led Colorado in silver production, although periodically damaged by fires and floods. After 1893, when silver prices collapsed, most of the mines closed down, though they were far from exhausted. Mining resumed in the 20th century and has continued to the present day. The ramshackle Ford's Saloon, built by Bob Ford, reputedly the slayer of Jesse James, is still standing.

	FAIRPLAY Colorado
Location: Park County.

In 1859 some prospectors reached the region of South Park and established Tarryall Camp, from which they barred all newcomers. Dubbing the camp "Graball," the newcomers moved on and discovered gold in the gravel bars of the South Platte River. They organized a mining district and founded the town of Fairplay, so named because the camp boss demanded "fair play" for everyone. Two significant historic buildings are still standing in the modern town: The Community Church and the courthouse, both of which were built in 1874.

A non-profit corporation has reconstructed in Fairplay a replica of an old Colorado mining town, called South Park City. The town consists of old buildings and furnishings assembled from South Park, the mountain basin drained by the headwaters of the South Platte River.

	GEORGETOWN Colorado
Location: Clear Creek County.

Prior to the Leadville strike in the year 1878, Georgetown was the most important mining town in Colorado. The first great boom occurred after 1859, when George and David Griffith discovered gold. Soon the valley around "George's Town" was alive with miners. In 1864 a prospector discovered a rich lode of silver, 2,000 miners arrived, and George's Town became a thriving community. In 1866 two camps half a mile apart agreed to combine under the name Georgetown, and 2 years later the county seat was moved to Georgetown from Idaho Springs. Georgetown—along with nearby Silver Plume—prospered until the 1890's, when the price of silver collapsed.

Among the remarkable historic buildings that have survived are: the Maxwell House, a typical Victorian house; the Hammill House, home of William A. Hammill, an influential citizen; the Protestant Episcopal Church, oldest Episcopal church in Colorado; the Hotel de Paris, famous throughout the West for its French wine and food; and two old firehouses. The Colonial Dames and the Colorado Historical Society are among the groups that have cooperated in preserving these quaint old buildings and opening them to the public.

NHL Designation: 11/13/66

	ILIFF RANCH HEADQUARTERS SITE Colorado
Location: Logan County, just east of the village of Iliff.

John Wesley Iliff, son of a well-to-do farmer, left Ohio in 1856 and settled in present Kansas. Moving to Colorado during the gold rush of 1859 and eventually settling in the South Platte Valley, he entered the cattle business. By the early 1870's he owned 15,000 acres of land and 35,000 head of cattle. His main ranchhouse was near the present village of Iliff. After his death, in 1879, the ranch was broken up and the headquarters fell into ruins. The buildings had been destroyed by the beginning of the 20th century, and the ranch site is now a plowed field.

	KOKOMO Colorado
Location: Summit County, on Colo. 91, about 12 miles north of Climax.

In 1878 a group of Indiana prospectors, who found large silver deposits in the vicinity, founded this town. Two smelters, the White Quail and the Greer, processed the ore. Fire destroyed the town in 1881, when its population was 10,000, but the residents rebuilt. Mining slowly declined until only a few mines were active and the population of the town a few hundred. Today Kokomo is almost deserted. Significant surviving buildings are the Masonic Hall and the Community Church.

	OURAY Colorado
Location: Ouray County.

This town was established in 1875, when prospectors discovered rich silver lodes nearby. Miners rushed to the vicinity, and Ouray incorporated 2 years later. It boomed during the 1880's, but the collapse of silver prices in 1893 cast a shadow over the future. The discovery of gold nearby in 1896 by Thomas Walsh, however, caused a revival. Walsh's Camp Bird Mine annually yielded $3 million or $4 million from 1896 to 1902. In 1902 Walsh sold the mine for $5,200,000 to a British syndicate, and it is still profitably operated. Ouray is a popular tourist resort and is still an active mining town. Among the buildings that are a reminder of the early days are the Beaumont Hotel, an ornate three-story white brick structure, and the Elks Hall.

	SILVER PLUME Colorado
Location: Clear Creek County.

The picturesque mining town of Silver Plume was so named because the first ore discovered there, late in the 1860's, was shaped like a feather. Until the swampy flatland in the valley could be drained and cleared for a townsite, the miners erected their tents and cabins on the sides of the five mountains in the vicinity. By 1870 the town began to take shape. Rich mines, on tortuous mountain trails, were the source of silver, lead, copper, zinc, and gold. The most famous mine was the Pelican silver mine, discovered in 1868. In 1884 fire nearly destroyed the town, even though the residents obtained aid from nearby Georgetown. Slowly the landmarks of Silver Plume's early history have disappeared but many still remain.

NHL Designation: 11/13/66