Crisman - Colorado Ghost Town

CRISMAN

NAME: Crisman
COUNTY: Boulder
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 2
CLIMATE: Cold winter with snow, cool summer
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Summer

COMMENTS: Near Boulder.
REMAINS: House and Wine Cellar.

Crisman probably has something no other mining town even dreamed of having-a wine cellar stocked by an aristocrat Frenchman. The town got its start in 1874 with the Logan mine, which, it is said, was the richest, mine in the county. Its free gold was so pure it was put into a strong box and shipped directly to the Denver Mint. The town had a general store and a post office by 1875. Francois Pierre Ardourel, a former Captain in the French Army came to Colorado after service in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Being an aristocratic Frenchman, he insisted on fine wines and built a lavish wine cellar under his home, which bored into a hill. After the flood of 1894 washed out much of the Pacific Railroad tracks, the tracks were relocated on higher ground behind Ardourel's house. This necessitated loosing some of the wine cellar. But the smaller wine cellar and the home still stand in Crisman.Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.

Crisman probably has something no other mining town even dreamed of having-a wine cellar stocked by an aristocrat Frenchman. The town got its start in 1874 with the Logan mine, which, it is said, was the richest, mine in the county. Its free gold was so pure it was put into a strong box and shipped directly to the Denver Mint. The town had a general store and a post office by 1875. Francois Pierre Ardourel, a former Captain in the French Army came to Colorado after service in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Being an aristocratic Frenchman, he insisted on fine wines and built a lavish wine cellar under his home, which bored into a hill. After the flood of 1894 washed out much of the Pacific Railroad tracks, the tracks were relocated on higher ground behind Ardourel's house. This necessitated loosing some of the wine cellar. But the smaller wine cellar and the home still stand in Crisman.Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.

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