DORCHESTER |
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NAME: Dorchester COUNTY: Gunnison ROADS: 2WD GRID: 5 CLIMATE: Cold winter with snow, cool summer BEST TIME TO VISIT: Summer |
COMMENTS:
Current picnic and camping area. REMAINS: Nothing but the guard station.. |
Dorchester was a town of a thousand miners and prospectors in 1900 when gold was discovered in the Italian Mountains. Many of the miners and prospectors came from Tin Cup and Aspen. An eastern mining expert, after a short visit, even went as far as to call Dorchester the "coming mining camp of the new century." Snow covered the area much of the year making it difficult to transport the ore to a smelter. Snow-slides were also frequent and added to the problem of transporting the ore. However, mining continued through the early years and during the First World War. After the war, the mines closed and the town was deserted. Now the site is a picnic and camping area reached over a rough but passable road. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth. |
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