COLUMBIA (Telluride)
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COLUMBIA (Telluride) |
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| NAME: Columbia
COUNTY: San Miguel ROADS: 2WD GRID: 7 CLIMATE: Cold winter with snow, cool summer BEST TIME TO VISIT: Summer |
COMMENTS:
Part of Telluride. REMAINS: Current Mines. |
| Columbia was just another camp along the San Miguel River in the late 1870s. It was a silver mining camp at the time and prospered until the silver crash of 1893. The camp was almost deserted when soon thereafter rich gold properties were found and another boom began. Sometime before the gold strike, the name Columbia was changed to Telluride and the rest is history. However, Telluride as a mining town was not without its dark side. In 1901, the town experienced its first major strike that was the forerunner of vicious labor wars that were to last until 1905. Men were killed and others injured until military troops were called to establish order. Telluride also had its snowslides. The worst years were 1902 and 1906 when scores of lives were lost in avalanches. One hundred persons lost their lives in the winter of 1905-1906. Not a ghost town in any sense of the word, it is included here only for the reason its history as a mining town is today submerged in its reputation as a tourist and winter sports center. Forgotten or not even known is its mines have produced about a quarter of a billion dollars in precious metals and many of its best mines are still operating. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth. |
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