Colorado s several mineral rushes have laid the foundations for much. Longtime ghost town hunter philip varney is the author of six ghost town guides, including ghost towns of colorado, ghost towns of northern california, and ghost towns of the pacific northwest. He works for the loveland reporterherald and has two weekly columns. Pages in category ghost towns in colorado the following 110 pages are in this category, out of 110 total. Nothing remains of the now deserted ghost town in jefferson county, except a historical marker on the south side of 44th avenue, between the towns of golden and wheat ridge. He has published a number of guide books focusing on colorado history including colorado on foot 1991 and ghost towns of the colorado rockies 1968, both published. Photographer john drew, along with his wife susan, teamed up with varney for ghost towns of northern california. There are over 1,500 registered sites with over 600 still having some remains from their previous occupants.
If youre not careful wandering through colorado s ghost towns you. Ghost towns of colorado provides comprehensive information on more than 90 towns and sites from cripple creek to leadville. Oct, 2017 the state of colorado is littered with ghost towns. This is an incomplete list of ghost towns in utah, a state of the united states. He is a regular contributor to arizona highways magazine and frequently leads travel groups on ghost town tours. The 5 best colorado ghost towns with photos tripadvisor. Elmo, animas forks, and ashcroft, three of the best. Jul 18, 2016 colorado is home to numerous ghost towns that are filled with rich history. The colorado trail databook, 6th ed colorado mountain club pack guide englisch. Over the past several years, there has been a serious, growing interest in seeking out the multiplicity of ghost towns and old mining camps that still stand today among the high peaks of the colorado rockies. Animas forks is a ghost town located twelve miles 19 km northeast of silverton in san juan county, colorado, united states.
The author has included a presentday picture taken from the same angle. The colorado trail databook, 6th ed colorado mountain club pack. Sep 26, 2019 by 1883 summitville was one of the largest gold producers in the state of colorado. Apex, apex colorado, apex ghost town, black hawk colorado ghost towns, colorado ghost towns, ghost town, ghost town photography, gilpin county colorado, gilpin county ghost towns, jeff eberle, pine creek mining.
Season 5 episode 4 26m 40s according to the colorado springs gazette, colorado has more than 1,000 ghost towns, over 600 of which have some sort of remains. Apex, colorado ghost town comparative photos 1890s and. See more ideas about ghost towns, colorado and old west. The map below is an overview of our online tour of fifteen of colorado s historic ghost towns and mining camps. Ghost towns of the colorado rockies internet archive. Our driver alex was a wealth of information regarding the history of these towns. Alta apex bugtown caribou eureka freeland fulford goldfield guston henson ironton keota lincoln city pearl smuggler summitville sunset. Sandra and her photographerdaughter, povy kendal atchison, include 147 ghost towns in the book, colorado ghost towns and mining camps. Mar 29, 2014 apex, colorado ghost town comparative photos 1890s and today posted. One of the indian meanings of keota is the fire has gone out which was quite prophetic for this town.
Colorado is full of fascinating ghost towns located throughout the state, some of the best preserved around. While most colorado ghost towns are associated with the mountains and the gold rush, the barren expanse of colorados eastern plains is home to many ghost towns and almost ghosts faded agricultural and railroad towns rapidly vanishing. These towns were abandoned for different reasons, some due to mining or economic struggles, others due to natural forces like cold winters. Colorado ghost towns, mining camps, four wheel drive trips. Writers program of the work projects administration in the state of colorado 1947.
Colorado ghost towns and mining camps by sandra dallas. Colorado is home to 150 recorded town sites and many more abandoned or ghost towns with storied pasts of mining riches, rowdy saloons and outlaw showdowns. Each is a hidden reminder of past search for treasure. He also travels around the state lecturing on colorado history and. There are a lot of ghost towns in the area to explore. Ghost towns of colorado writers program of the work. Jun 01, 1972 robert leaman brown was a teacher of western and colorado history in the denver school system for thirtythree years and later at the denver center of the university of colorado. Colorado trail 9th edition colorado mountain club guidebook. Where can i read more about colorado s prairie ghost towns. Explore the unknown and the supernatural of the past and present that haunts colorado in these baffling stories of mystery and intrigue. Some tours will offer airport pickup service accordingly and transfer you to the pre hotel. Carpenter is a ghost town in mesa county, colorado, united states, twelve miles northeast of grand junction at the end of an extension to 27. As with the other four corners states new mexico, utah, and arizona, there are operators who offer vacation packages to explore many of these. Wild west ghost town explorer day tours from las vegas.
Las vegas ghost tours, area 51, ufo and haunted towns. Mapped guide to colorados mustsee ghost towns 303 magazine. Most of the early settlers are gone, leaving few persons with any oral tradition to pass on to future generations. Colorado ghost towns and mining camps by sandra dallas book cover, description, publication history. Best colorado ghost towns things to do in colorado. Philip varney is also the author of ghost towns of northern california. Located south of lake city, carson is one of the bestpreserved ghost towns in colorado. Many are tucked away in the mountains or deep in forests. It is a landmark of keota, one of the prairie ghost towns. See jeep rentals for places to rent a jeep in durango or silverton, all within a day trip of graysill mines and other ghost towns. The official site of colorado tourism 2020 colorado tourism office. Ghost towns are listed by name, and also by county. Ghost towns of the colorado prairies for recent information on prairie ghost.
Photographer john drew, along with his wife susan, teamed up with varney for ghost. Nine mills operated 155 stamps, it had its own newspaper, 14 saloon and about 600 people. Dozens of books have been written about colorado s mining camps and can be found in libraries and book stores. Ghost town of dearfield negro colony, colorado life. Ghost towns of the colorado rockies follows a unique format which adds to the interest and value of the book. As often was the case with the gold boom towns of colorado, the gold diminished and the town slowly died. This is an incomplete list of ghost towns in colorado, a state of the united states. Write the towns in alphabetical order on the back of this paper. Walk these main streets and imagine the former hustle and bustle of these towns in their heyday during colorados mining boom frenzy in the late 1800s. He has written books on ghost towns in arizona and in southern california. The site is littered with old machinery, mining equipment and structures. Colorado ghost towns are equally as famous as the ones found in arizona, and the majority of them have similar histories.
The tours are broken into five regions click on each region of the map to zoom in, or select a specific tour from the menu to the left. Sep 14, 2010 get stopbystop directions for a driving tour of the ghost towns of colorado from national geographics ultimate road trips. These las vegas ghost tours will take you to the most exciting abandoned and ghost towns in nevada, california, and arizona. Guide to the colorado ghost towns and mining camps ohio. Year round you can explore the best abandoned, old ghost towns in. The beautiful hoover dam is located 30 miles southeast of las vegas in the black canyon of the colorado. He has published a number of guide books focusing on colorado history including jeep trails to colorado ghost towns 1963 and ghost towns of the colorado rockies 1968, both published by caxton press. Residing along the continental divide trail, carson was founded in in the late 1880s just below 12,000 feet.
Distributed by the university of nebraska press for caxton press this is the third in robert browns series of picturesque guidebooks to another era. There are more than 1,500 ghost towns in colorado, some that history. Sandra dallas, a reporter for business week for twentyfive years, is the author of colorado ghost towns and mining camps, no more than five in a bed also published by the university of oklahoma press, gaslights and gingerbread, many other books and articles on colorado and the west, and several bestselling novels. At over 11,000 feet, animas forks is one of the highest mining camps in the western us. Nov 10, 2017 according to the colorado springs gazette, colorado has more than 1,000 ghost towns, over 600 of which have some sort of remains. Colorado ghost towns and mining camps is the first new book in more than twentyfive years to document these mountain communities. Due to incomplete records and legends that are now accepted as fact, no list will ever be complete. Arapahoe also spelled arrapahoe was one of the first settlements in what is now the u. The lesser known ghost stories of colorado book one, is a quality handcrafted book printed on recycle paper product, 6x8. Ghost towns season 5 episode 4 colorado experience pbs.
In text and photographs he has captured the sense of the historic as well as the nostalgic of a new selection of ghost towns and mining camps that dot the back country byways and high mountain valleys of colorado. Sep 18, 20 a few months ago on a sunny spring day i headed for a little known colorado ghost town. Get off road, and explore the ultimate ghost towns of colorado on foot, by jeep, or atv to immerse yourself in the history of mining in the west. Follow co rd 578 just over 3 miles to the mine site.
Jun 10, 2019 colorado ghost towns offer a peek in the foggy windows of a oncerowdy brothel, an atv trek on roads no one bothered to pave on their way out of town and stories of intense standoffs in gulches will remind you why this was the wild west. If you enjoy haunted places and are fascinated by everything paranormal and the ufo, you will get a kick out of these paranormal tours departing from vegas. The settlement was established by william thomas carpenter early in 1890 to provide the miners who worked in his two book cliff mines with a place to live. Prairie ghost towns of northern colorado in polaroid transfer art. Books on agricultural ghost towns of the plains are much rarer. Get ready for adventure as philip varney and john drew take.
Rather it is a directory of towns, and compilation of known information about those towns. The road continues to highway 145 and connects with telluride. The area is managed by the bureau of land management. Colorados mining history runs deep, and the landscape is dotted with the remains of that history.
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