The City of Leadville is a
statutory city that is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
, the most populous community, and the only
incorporated municipality
A municipal corporation is the legal term for a local governing body, including (but not necessarily limited to) cities, counties, towns, townships, charter townships, villages, and boroughs. The term can also be used to describe municipally owne ...
in
Lake County,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
, United States.
The city population was 2,602 at the 2010 census and an estimated 2,762 in 2018. It is situated at an elevation of . Leadville is the highest incorporated city in the United States and it is surrounded by two of the tallest 14,000 foot peaks in the state.
Leadville is a former silver mining town
A mining community, also known as a mining town or a mining camp, is a community that houses miners. Mining communities are usually created around a mine or a quarry.
Historic mining communities
Australia
* Ballarat, Victoria
* Bendigo, ...
that lies among the headwaters
The headwaters of a river or stream is the farthest place in that river or stream from its estuary or downstream confluence with another river, as measured along the course of the river. It is also known as a river's source.
Definition
The ...
of the Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...
within the Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
. The Leadville Historic District
The Leadville Historic District is in the mining town of Leadville, Colorado. The National Historic Landmark District includes 67 mines in the mining district east of the city up to the 12,000 foot (3658 m) level, and a defined portion of the vi ...
, designated a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1961, contains many historic structures and sites of Leadville's mining era. In the late 19th century, Leadville was the second most populous city in Colorado, after Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
.
History
Settlement
The Leadville area was first settled in 1859 when placer gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
was discovered in California Gulch
The California Gulch site consists of approximately 18 square miles in Lake County, Colorado. The area includes the city of Leadville, parts of the Leadville Historic Mining District and a section of the Arkansas River from the confluence of Calif ...
during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush
The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 a ...
. Prospectors panned for gold in the stream that ran through California Gulch in what became the town of Oro City (''oro'' is the Spanish word for gold). Horace Tabor
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
, who became known as the "Leadville Silver King", and his wife Augusta were among the first prospectors to arrive in Oro City. His wife made money as postmistress, banker, cook, and laundress while Tabor was a prospector.
The early miners had noted that mining for placer gold was hampered by heavy black sand in the sluice box
Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed (alluvial) deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit (also called open-cast mining) or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment.
Placer mining is frequently used for p ...
es, and in 1874 it was discovered that the heavy sand that impeded gold recovery was the lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
mineral cerussite
Cerussite (also known as lead carbonate or white lead ore) is a mineral consisting of lead carbonate (PbCO3), and is an important ore of lead. The name is from the Latin ''cerussa'', white lead. ''Cerussa nativa'' was mentioned by Conrad Gessner ...
, which has a high silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
content. Prospectors traced the cerussite to its source, present day Leadville, and by 1876 had discovered several silver-lead lode
In geology, a lode is a deposit of metalliferous ore that fills or is embedded in a fissure (or crack) in a rock formation or a vein of ore that is deposited or embedded between layers of rock.
The current meaning (ore vein) dates from the 17t ...
deposits. As the gold has been tapped out of the gulch and attention was averted to nearby Leadville, a mile or two away, Oro City became a ghost town.
Founding of Leadville
Leadville was founded in 1877 by mine owners Horace Tabor and August Meyer
August Robert Meyer (August 20, 1851 – December 1, 1905) was an American mining engineer, founding organizer of Leadville, Colorado, and developed the park and boulevard system for Kansas City, Missouri as first president of the Commission of P ...
at the start of the Colorado Silver Boom
The Colorado Silver Boom was a dramatic expansionist period of silver mining activity in the U.S. state of Colorado in the late 19th century. The boom started in 1879 with the discovery of silver at Leadville. Over 82 million dollars worth of silv ...
. The town was built on desolate flat land below the tree line
The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...
. The first miners lived in a rough tented camp near the silver deposits in California Gulch. Initially, the settlement was called "Slabtown", but when the residents petitioned for a post office, the name "Leadville" was chosen. By 1880, Tabor and Meyer's new town had gas lighting, water mains, of streets, five churches, three hospitals, six banks, and a school for 1,100 students. Many business buildings were constructed with bricks hauled in by wagons.
In early 1878, Meyer, along with Leadville's pioneer smelter entrepreneur, Edwin Harrison, after whom the famed Harrison Avenue is named, and Tabor established a post office in Leadville, with Henderson as postmaster. The post office and the telegraph office both prospered.
The town's first newspaper was ''The Reveille'', a Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
weekly, in 1878. Three months later, a competing Democratic weekly, ''The Eclipse'', emerged. ''The Chronicle'' was the town's first daily and first newspaper in America to employ a full-time female reporter. Like the ''Rocky Mountain News
The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...
'', ''The Chronicle'' took the lead in outing criminals and thieves, in an attempt to clean up the town's shady business culture. Despite violent threats, the ''Chronicle'' survived without major incident.
William Nye opened the first saloon in 1877, and it was followed by many others. The same year the Coliseum Novelty was the first theater to open. It offered sleeping rooms upstairs for a nightly rate and provided a variety of entertainments: dancing girls, dogfights, cockfighting, wrestling and boxing matches, and rooms for gambling. In June 1881, it burned to the ground. Ben Wood, who arrived in Leadville in 1878, opened the first legitimate theater, Wood's Opera House, with a thousand seats. It was a first-class theater, where gentleman removed their hats and did not smoke or drink in the presence of a lady. Less than a year later, Wood opened the Windsor Hotel. His opera house was regarded as the largest and best theater constructed in the West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
, an honor it held until the opening of the Tabor Opera House
The Tabor Opera House is an opera house in Leadville, Colorado. Opened in 1879, The building has been designated a national treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
History
Built by Horace Tabor, who went on to become the to ...
. Horace Tabor's Opera House was the most costly structure in Colorado at the time. Building materials were brought by wagons from Denver. The massive three-story opera house, constructed of stone, brick, and iron, opened on November 20, 1879. Tabor, originally from Vermont
Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
, became the town's first mayor. After striking it rich, he had an estimated net worth of 10 million dollars and was known for his extravagant lifestyle.
In 1883, Horace Tabor divorced his wife of 25 years and married Baby Doe McCourt, who was half his age. Tabor was by then a US senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
, and the divorce and marriage caused a scandal in Colorado and beyond. For several years, the couple lived a lavish lifestyle in a Denver mansion, but Tabor, one of the wealthiest men in Colorado, lost his fortune when the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act
The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was a United States federal law
enacted on July 14, 1890.Charles Ramsdell Lingley, ''Since the Civil War'', first edition: New York, The Century Co., 1920, ix–635 p., . Re-issued: Plain Label Books, unknown date, ...
caused the Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...
. He died destitute but remained convinced that the price of silver would rebound. According to legend, he told Baby Doe to "hold on the Matchless mine... it will make millions again when silver comes back." She returned to Leadville with her daughters, Silver Dollar and Lily, where she spent the rest of her life believing Tabor's prediction. At one time the "best dressed woman in the West", she lived in a cabin at the Matchless Mine for the last three decades of her life. After a snowstorm in March 1935, she was found frozen in her cabin, aged about 81 years.
Mining and smelting
Mining in the Leadville area began in 1859 when prospectors discovered gold at the mouth of California Gulch
The California Gulch site consists of approximately 18 square miles in Lake County, Colorado. The area includes the city of Leadville, parts of the Leadville Historic Mining District and a section of the Arkansas River from the confluence of Calif ...
. By 1872, placer mining in California Gulch yielded more than $2,500,000, roughly . In 1876, black sand
Black sand is sand that is black in color. One type of black sand is a heavy, glossy, partly magnetic mixture of usually fine sands containing minerals such as magnetite, found as part of a placer deposit. Another type of black sand, found on ...
, once considered bothersome to placer gold miners, was discovered to contain lead carbonates, leading to a rush of miners to the area and the founding of the town in 1877. By 1880, Leadville was one of the world's largest and richest silver camps, with a population of more than 15,000. Income from more than thirty mines and ten large smelting
Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...
works produced gold, silver, and lead amounting to $15,000,000 annually.
According to one historian of the era, "The outpouring of the precious metal from Leadville transformed the struggling Centennial State into a veritable autocrat in the colony of states. As if by magic the rough frontier town of Denver became a metropolis; stately buildings arose on the site of shanties; crystal streams flowed through the arid plains and the desert blossomed and became fruitful. Poverty gave way to the annoyance of wealth and the fame of silver state spread throughout the world."
Swindles were not uncommon in the mining community. When the Little Pittsburg mine was exhausted of its rich ore body, its managers sold their shares while concealing the mine's actual condition from the other stockholders. "Chicken Bill" Lovell dumped a wheelbarrow load of silver-rich ore into a barren pit on his Chrysolite claim in order to sell it to Horace Tabor for a large price. Tabor had the last laugh when his miners dug a few feet farther and discovered a rich ore body. Some time later the manager of the Chrysolite mine fooled an outside mining engineer into overestimating the mine's ore reserves.
The city's fortunes declined with the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act
The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was a United States federal law
enacted on July 14, 1890.Charles Ramsdell Lingley, ''Since the Civil War'', first edition: New York, The Century Co., 1920, ix–635 p., . Re-issued: Plain Label Books, unknown date, ...
in 1893, although afterwards there was another small gold boom. Mining companies came to rely increasingly on income from the lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
and zinc
Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...
. The district is credited with producing over 2.9 million troy ounces of gold, 240 million troy ounces of silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
, 1 million short tons of lead, 785 thousand short tons of zinc, and 53 thousand short tons of copper.
A bitter strike by Leadville's hard rock miners in 1896–97 led to bloodshed, at least five deaths, and the burning of the Coronado Mine. In a letter to a London business contact, mine owner Eben Smith
Eben Smith (December 17, 1832 – November 5, 1906) was a successful mine owner, smelting company executive, railroad executive and bank owner in Colorado in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
Early life
Eben Smith was born in Erie, Pen ...
wrote, "The strikers got the worst of it in the raid on the Coronado and Emmet ines
Ines or INES may refer to:
People
* Ines (name), a feminine given name, also written as Inés or Inês
* Saint Ines or Agnes (), Roman virgin–martyr
* Eda-Ines Etti (stage name: ''Ines''; born 1981), Estonian singer
Places
* Doña Ines, a vo ...
there were 10 or 12 killed; we do not know how many, and a great number wounded; they take care of their wounded the same as the Indians but every now and then a fellow turns up that the rats have been eating or who has gone to decay that we know must have been shot ..."
World War II caused an increase in the demand for molybdenum
Molybdenum is a chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42 which is located in period 5 and group 6. The name is from Neo-Latin ''molybdaenum'', which is based on Ancient Greek ', meaning lead, since its ores were confused with lea ...
, used to harden steel. It was mined at the nearby Climax mine
The Climax mine, located in Climax, Colorado, United States, is a major molybdenum mine in Lake County, Colorado, Lake and Summit County, Colorado, Summit counties, Colorado. Shipments from the mine began in 1915. At its highest output, the Clima ...
, which at one time produced 75 percent of the world's output. By 1980, the Climax Mine was the largest underground mine in the world. Taxes paid by the mine provided Leadville with good schools and libraries and provided employment for many residents. When the market dropped in 1981, Leadville's economy suffered and many people lost their jobs. With little industry other than the tourist trade, most of the former miners left, and the standard of living declined. Climax reopened in 2008 and started production in 2010. It currently is the most efficient mine producing molybdenum in Colorado and is estimated to have a production life of thirty years.
The many years of mining left behind substantial contamination of the soil and water and the Environmental Protection Agency
A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...
designated some former mines Superfund
Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
sites, such as California Gulch
The California Gulch site consists of approximately 18 square miles in Lake County, Colorado. The area includes the city of Leadville, parts of the Leadville Historic Mining District and a section of the Arkansas River from the confluence of Calif ...
. As of 2019, the EPA reports: "A vast majority of the cleanup at the site has been completed, so current risk of exposure is low. Pregnant women, nursing mothers and young children are still encouraged to have their blood-lead levels checked
Leadville's colorful past
As the population boomed, by 1878, Leadville had the reputation as one of the most lawless towns in the American frontier, West. The first city marshal was run out of town a few days after he was appointed, and his replacement was shot dead within a month by one of his deputies. Fearing the town would be lost to the lawless element, Mayor Horace Tabor sent for Mart Duggan, who was living in Denver, as a replacement. Duggan is little-known today, but was well known at the time as a fearless gunfighter. Using strong-arm and lawless tactics, during his two stints as marshal, Duggan brought order to Leadville by 1880 when he stepped down. He was shot and killed in 1888 by an unknown assailant, most likely an enemy he had made when he was a Leadville marshal. Historian Robert Dearment writes, "Mart Duggan was a quick-shooting, hard-drinking, brawling tough Irish man, but he was exactly the kind of man a tough, hard-drinking, quick-shooting camp like Leadville needed in its earliest days. His name is all but forgotten today, but the name "Matt Dillon
Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including an Oscar and Grammy nomination.
Dillon made his feature film debut in '' Over the Edge'' (1979) and established himself as a te ...
" is recognized around the world. Such are the vagaries of life."
Alice Ivers, better known as Poker Alice
Alice Ivers Duffield Tubbs Huckert (February 17, 1851 – February 27, 1930), better known as Poker Alice, Poker Alice Ivers or Poker Alice Tubbs, was an English poker and faro player in the American West.
Her family moved from Devon, Englan ...
, was a card player and dealer of the Old West who learned her trade in Leadville. Born in Devonshire
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is a ...
, her family moved to America when she was a small girl. They first settled in Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, where she attended an elite girls' boarding school. When she was a teenager, her family moved to Leadville when the silver boom drew hundreds of new residents to the area. At the age of twenty she married a mining engineer who, like many of the men at that time, frequented the numerous gambling halls in Leadville. Alice went along, at first just observing, but eventually she began to sit in on the games as well. After a few years of marriage her husband was killed in a mining accident and she turned to cards to support herself. Alice was attractive, dressed in the latest fashions, and was in great demand as a dealer. Eventually Alice left Leadville to travel the gambling circuit, as was common of the male gamblers of that time. She continued to dress in the latest fashions but took to smoking cigars. Well known throughout the West, gambling halls welcomed her because she was good for business. Alice said that she won more than $250,000 by gambling during her lifetime.
Texas Jack Omohundro
John Baker Omohundro (July 27, 1846 – June 28, 1880), also known as "Texas Jack", was an American frontier scout, actor, and cowboy. Born in rural Virginia, he served the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. He late ...
, Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
scout, cowboy and stage actor with "Buffalo Bill" Cody's travelling revue, died of pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
a month before his 34th birthday in summer 1880 in Leadville, where he was living on a small estate with his wife, ballerina Giuseppina Morlacchi.
Around 1883, shortly after the gun fight at the O.K. Corral, Doc Holliday
John Henry Holliday (August 14, 1851 – November 8, 1887), better known as Doc Holliday, was an American gambler, gunfighter, and dentist. A close friend and associate of lawman Wyatt Earp, Holliday is best known for his role in the event ...
moved to Leadville, where he dealt faro. On August 19, 1884, he shot ex-Leadville policeman Billy Allen, who had threatened him for failing to pay a $5 debt. Despite overwhelming evidence implicating him, a jury found Holliday not guilty of the shooting or attempted murder.
Gunfighter and professional gambler Luke Short
Luke Lamar Short (January22, 1854September8, 1893) was an American Old West gunfighter, cowboy, U.S. Army scout, dispatch rider, gambler, boxing promoter, and saloon owner. He survived numerous gunfights, the most famous of which were agains ...
also spent time in Leadville.
Margaret "Molly" Brown, who became known as "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", moved to Leadville when she was 18. In 1886 she married a mining engineer who was twelve years older, James Joseph Brown
James Joseph "J.J." Brown (September 27, 1854 – September 5, 1922), was an American mining engineer, inventor, and self-made member of fashionable "society". His wife was RMS ''Titanic'' survivor Margaret Brown.
Early life
Brown was born in ...
. The Brown family acquired great wealth in 1893 when Brown was instrumental in the discovery of a substantial gold ore seam at the Little Jonny Mine.
The mine was owned by his employers, the Ibex Mining Company. Margaret Brown became famous because of her survival of the 1912 sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'', after exhorting the crew of to return to look for survivors. A 1960 Broadway musical based on her life was produced, along with a 1964 film adaptation of the musical, both titled ''The Unsinkable Molly Brown''. Her home in Denver has been preserved as the Molly Brown House Museum.
Meyer Guggenheim of the Guggenheim family
The Guggenheim family ( ) is an American-Jewish family known for making their fortune in the mining industry, in the early 20th century, especially in the United States and South America. After World War I, many family members withdrew from th ...
started out in Leadville in mining and smelting
Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a ch ...
. The family went on to possess one of the largest fortunes in the world. Family members have become known for their philanthropy in diverse areas such as modern art and aviation, including several Guggenheim Museums
The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.
Museums in this group include:
Locations
Americas
* The Solomon R. Guggenh ...
.
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...
appeared at the Tabor Opera House during his 1882 American Aesthetic Movement
Aestheticism (also the Aesthetic movement) was an art movement in the late 19th century which privileged the aesthetic value of literature, music and the arts over their socio-political functions. According to Aestheticism, art should be prod ...
lecture tour. The reviews were mixed, and the press satirized Wilde in cartoons as an English dandy
A dandy is a man who places particular importance upon physical appearance, refined language, and leisurely hobbies, pursued with the appearance of nonchalance. A dandy could be a self-made man who strove to imitate an aristocratic lifestyle desp ...
decorated with sunflower
The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a large annual forb of the genus ''Helianthus'' grown as a crop for its edible oily seeds. Apart from cooking oil production, it is also used as livestock forage (as a meal or a silage plant), as ...
s and lilies
''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...
, the floral emblems of the Aesthetic Movement. A Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
newspaper described the event:
Oscar Wilde's visit to Leadville excited a great deal of interest and curiosity. The Tabor-opera house where he lectured was packed full. It was rumored that an attempt would be made by a number of young men to ridicule him by coming to the lecture in exaggerated costume with enormous sunflowers and lilies and to introduce a number of characters in the costume of the Western "bad men". Probably, however, better counsel prevailed and no disturbance took place.
Mayor David H. Dougan invited Wilde to tour the Matchless Mine
The Matchless Mine is located in Lake County, Colorado. It made Horace Tabor's fortune. His wife, Baby Doe Tabor, died in the superintendent's cabin. The mine is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is part of the National Minin ...
and name its new lode "The Oscar". Wilde later recounted a visit to a local saloon, "where I saw the only rational method of art criticism I have ever come across. Over the piano was printed a notice – 'Please do not shoot the pianist. He is doing his best.'"
Post-mining era
The town has made major efforts to improve its economy by encouraging tourism and emphasizing its history and opportunities for outdoor recreation. The National Mining Museum and Hall of Fame opened in 1987 with a federal charter. The town's altitude and rugged terrain contributes to a number of challenging racing events, such as the Leadville Trail 100
The Leadville Trail 100 Run (aka The Race Across The Sky or the LT100) is an ultramarathon held annually on rugged trails and dirt roads near Leadville, Colorado, through the heart of the Rocky Mountains. First run in 1983, the race course climb ...
series of races. It is often used as a base for altitude training
Altitude training is the practice by some endurance athletes of training for several weeks at high altitude, preferably over above sea level, though more commonly at intermediate altitudes due to the shortage of suitable high-altitude locations. A ...
and hosts a number of other events for runners and mountain bicyclists.
Geography
At an elevation of , Leadville lies close to timberline, which in Colorado is from . The surrounding peaks are all well above 12,000 feet, and are thus bare of trees. Leadville has the highest elevation of any city in the United States.
Leadville lies in a valley at the headwaters of the Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...
which flows through the southern Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
and eventually empties into the Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...
. It is situated between two mountain ranges, the Mosquito Range
The Mosquito Range (elevation approximately 14,000 ft) is a high mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. The peaks of the range form a ridge running north–south for roughly 40 mi (64 km) fr ...
to the east and the Sawatch Range
The Sawatch Range or Saguache RangeThe place name "Saguache” is pronounced “Sawatch” . This name derives from the Ute language noun "''sawup''" meaning "sand dunes" and is spelled using the Spanish language version of this name "Saguach ...
to the west, both of which include several nearby peaks with elevations above , the so-called fourteeners
In the mountaineering parlance of the Western United States, a fourteener is a mountain peak with an elevation of at least . The 96 fourteeners in the United States are all west of the Mississippi River. Colorado has the most (53) of any single ...
. Mount Elbert
Mount Elbert is the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains, the highest point in the U.S. state of Colorado, and the second-highest summit in the contiguous United States (after Mount Whitney). The ultra-prominent fourteener is the highest peak ...
, southwest of Leadville, is the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the highest point in the Colorado and the entire Mississippi River drainage basin. An ultra-prominent
An ultra-prominent peak, or Ultra for short, is a mountain summit with a topographic prominence of or more; it is also called a P1500.
The prominence of a peak is the minimum height of climb to the summit on any route from a higher peak, or fr ...
fourteener, Mount Elbert is the highest summit of the Sawatch Range and the second-highest summit in the contiguous United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
after Mount Whitney
Mount Whitney (Paiute: Tumanguya; ''Too-man-i-goo-yah'') is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States and the Sierra Nevada, with an elevation of . It is in East–Central California, on the boundary between California's Inyo and Tu ...
in California. Mount Massive
Mount Massive is the second-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent fourteener of the Sawatch Range is located in the Mount Massive Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, west ...
, west-southwest of Leadville, at is the second highest summit in the Rocky Mountains and state of Colorado, and the third highest in the contiguous United States.
Turquoise Lake lies on the western outskirts of Leadville. The surface available for recreation includes . Turquoise Lake is a feature of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. Recreation is managed by the Forest Service for the Bureau of Reclamation
The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...
as part of San Isabel National Forest
San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the state's 53 fourteeners, peaks over high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado.
It is one of eleven national forests in the state of Color ...
.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city of Leadville has an area of , all land. The lower part of California Gulch
The California Gulch site consists of approximately 18 square miles in Lake County, Colorado. The area includes the city of Leadville, parts of the Leadville Historic Mining District and a section of the Arkansas River from the confluence of Calif ...
runs past the southern edge of the city, flowing west to the Arkansas River
The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...
.
Climate
Leadville has an alpine subarctic climate
The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of an ocean, ge ...
( Dfc) with cold winters and mild summers, bordering on a cold semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(Bsk). The average January temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . The average July temperatures are a maximum of and a minimum of . There are an average of 271.7 mornings annually with freezing temperatures, which can occur in any month of the year. The record high temperature was on July 18, 2003. The record low temperature was on February 1, 1985.
Average annual precipitation is . The wettest calendar year was 2014 with and the driest 1994 with . The most precipitation in one month was in January 1996. The most precipitation in 24 hours was on February 13, 1986. Average annual snowfall is . The most snowfall in one year was in 1996. The most snowfall in one month was in April 1995.
Demographics
As of the census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 2,821 people, 1,253 households, and 675 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,514 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 83.52% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
, 0.14% African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 1.28% Native American, 0.32% Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 0.11% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 12.34% from other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 2.30% from two or more races. Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
or Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 25.45% of the population.
There were 1,253 households, out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.91.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 109.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.8 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,714, and the median income for a family was $44,444. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $23,512 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $20,607. About 9.1% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.
Historic sites and districts
The Leadville Historic District
The Leadville Historic District is in the mining town of Leadville, Colorado. The National Historic Landmark District includes 67 mines in the mining district east of the city up to the 12,000 foot (3658 m) level, and a defined portion of the vi ...
was designated a National Historic Landmark District
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
in 1961. The district encompasses 67 mines east of the city up to the elevation, and a defined portion of the village area, with specific exclusions for various buildings. The principal historic buildings are the Tabor Grand Hotel, St George's Church, Temple Israel, the Annunciation Church, Tabor Opera House, City Hall, Healy House, Dexter Cabin
Dexter Cabin was the Leadville, Colorado home and hunting lodge of James V. Dexter, a mining investor and businessman. Although it is a cabin, the interior has been described as "surprisingly plush," "elegantly finished," and "incredibly orna ...
, Engelbach House, and Tabor House, as well as mining structures and small homes.
The National Mining Hall of Fame
The National Mining Hall of Fame is a museum located in Leadville, Colorado, United States, dedicated to commemorating the work of miners and people who work with natural resources. The museum also participates in efforts to inform the public ab ...
on West 9th Street is dedicated to commemorating the work of miners and people that work with natural resources. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. Major exhibits include an elaborate model railroad
Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale.
The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...
, a walk-through replica of an underground hardrock mine, the Gold Rush Room with specimens of native gold, a large collection of mineral specimens, and a mining art gallery. The site also includes the Matchless Mine
The Matchless Mine is located in Lake County, Colorado. It made Horace Tabor's fortune. His wife, Baby Doe Tabor, died in the superintendent's cabin. The mine is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is part of the National Minin ...
and cabin, former home of Baby Doe Tabor
Elizabeth McCourt Tabor (September 1854 – March 7, 1935), better known as Baby Doe, was the second wife of Colorado pioneer businessman Horace Tabor. Her rags-to-riches and back to rags again story made her a well-known figure in her own day, ...
.
Some historic sites are linked by the Mineral Belt National Recreation Trail
The Mineral Belt National Recreation Trail is an 11.6 mile all-season biking/walking trail that loops around Leadville, Colorado and through its historic mining district. The trail's setting is quintessentially Colorado Rocky Mountain landscape. ...
, an all-season biking/walking trail that loops around Leadville and through its historic mining district. In part it follows old mining-camp railbeds. Interpretative kiosks recount the history and a photograph of what was on that particular site more than a century ago. The trail is well-marked with interpretive signs and altitude and mileage markers.
Camp Hale
Camp Hale was a U.S. Army training facility in the western United States, constructed in 1942 for what became the 10th Mountain Division. Located in central Colorado between Red Cliff and Leadville in the Eagle River valley, it was named for ...
is located north of Leadville in the Eagle River valley north of Tennessee Pass. It was a U.S. Army ski warfare
Ski warfare is the use of ski-equipped troops in war.
History
Early
Ski warfare is first recorded by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in the 13th century. During the Battle of Oslo in 1161, Norwegian troops used skis for reconnoi ...
training facility constructed in 1942 for what became the 10th Mountain Division
The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in the US military to re ...
. Some of the nation's finest skiers were employed as instructors. Soldiers were trained in mountain climbing, Alpine and Nordic skiing, and cold-weather survival, as well as various weapons and ordnance. When it was in full operation, approximately 15,000 soldiers were housed there. As the only source of recreation for the trainees, Leadville was persuaded to change its moral character, perceived "to be on a rather low plane" at the time. Today Camp Hale is designated as a National Historic Site offering a self-guiding tour with interpretive signs at ten stops and a larger interpretive site at the main entrance.
north of Leadville the old downhill training slope, Cooper Hill, located atop Tennessee Pass on the Continental Divide
A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...
, now operates as the Ski Cooper
Ski Cooper is an alpine ski resort in Colorado, one of the oldest in the state. Opened as Cooper Hill Ski Area in 1942, the ski area served as the training site for the 10th Mountain Division, based at nearby Camp Hale during World War II.
The ...
resort.[Pennington, Bill]
"The Legacy of Soldiers on Skis"
. ''The New York Times'', 10 March 2006. Retrieved 30 January 2010. Much of the area is above the tree line
The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...
, providing a panoramic view of the peaks of the Sawatch Range
The Sawatch Range or Saguache RangeThe place name "Saguache” is pronounced “Sawatch” . This name derives from the Ute language noun "''sawup''" meaning "sand dunes" and is spelled using the Spanish language version of this name "Saguach ...
to visitors. A memorial to troops of the 10th Mountain Division is located at the summit.
Culture and sport
Boom Days, held on the first full weekend of August, is a tribute to the city's mining past. The event has been honored by Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
as a Local Legacy Event. The festivities held over three days include mining competitions and burro racing, motorcycle games, a rod and gun show, live music, a craft fair and parade. The annual skijoring
Skijoring (pronounced ) (Skijouring in British English) is a winter sport in which a person on skis is pulled by a horse, a dog (or dogs), another animal, or a motor vehicle. The name is derived from the Norwegian word ''skikjøring'', meaning "s ...
event and Crystal Carnival take place in March. This is a horse-drawn skiing for the family since the 1960s. The town has frequent, sometimes small parades held in the downtown area, such as the quirky St Patrick's Day Practice Parade.
The Leadville Trail 100
The Leadville Trail 100 Run (aka The Race Across The Sky or the LT100) is an ultramarathon held annually on rugged trails and dirt roads near Leadville, Colorado, through the heart of the Rocky Mountains. First run in 1983, the race course climb ...
, an ultramarathon
An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...
, takes place each August on an out-and-back course on trails around Turquoise Lake, over Hagerman Pass
Hagerman Pass, elevation , is a high mountain pass that crosses the continental divide in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the United States. The pass traverses the Sawatch Range west of Leadville, connecting the headwaters of the Arkans ...
, the Colorado Trail, through Twin Lakes, across the Arkansas River, up and over Hope Pass, to the ghost town of Winfield. It then returns along the same course.
The Mineral Belt Trail is an , two-way non-motorized paved trail around the city. Five access points offer opportunities to walk shorter sections: Ice Palace Park, Lake County Middle School, Dutch Henry Hill, California Gulch, and the East 5th Street Bridge. Mineral Belt is completely ADA-accessible for wheelchairs and strollers, cyclists, runners and in-line skaters.
The "Route of the Silver Kings" is a driving tour of the historic mining district. The tour passes mines, power plants, ghost towns and mining camps.
Outdoor recreation
Situated within the San Isabel National Forest
San Isabel National Forest is located in central Colorado. The forest contains 19 of the state's 53 fourteeners, peaks over high, including Mount Elbert, the highest point in Colorado.
It is one of eleven national forests in the state of Color ...
and surrounded by three wilderness areas, Leadville is popular with hikers and campers. The Mount Massive Wilderness
The Mount Massive Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area in the Sawatch Range, located in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is operated jointly by the United States Forest Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the San Is ...
and Buffalo Peaks Wilderness
The Buffalo Peaks Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area located in San Isabel and Pike National Forests in central Colorado. The wilderness was named after two highly eroded volcanic mountains, East Buffalo Peak and West Buffalo Peak, in the Mo ...
are within of the city, and the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness
The Collegiate Peaks Wilderness is a area located in central Colorado between Leadville and Buena Vista to the east and Aspen to the west and Crested Butte to the southwest. Most of the area is in the San Isabel and Gunnison National Forests, wi ...
is within .
Turquoise Lake lies on the western outskirts of Leadville. Recreation facilities consist of eight campgrounds and two boat-launching ramps. The surface available for recreation includes . Primary recreation activities include camping and fishing. Fish species include mackinaw trout
The lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush'') is a freshwater char living mainly in lakes in northern North America. Other names for it include mackinaw, namaycush, lake char (or charr), touladi, togue, and grey trout. In Lake Superior, it can als ...
, rainbow trout
The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...
, and brook trout
The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae. It is native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada, but has been introduced elsewhere ...
. The facilities are closed in winter due to ice and snow, but they remain a popular area for ice fishing. Turquoise Lake is part of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project. Recreation is managed by the Forest Service for the Bureau of Reclamation as part of the San Isabel National Forest.
The Top of the Rockies Byway
The Top of the Rockies National Scenic Byway is a National Scenic Byway and Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway located in the high Rocky Mountains of Eagle, Lake, Pitkin, Summit counties, Colorado, United States. The byway showcases the two hig ...
, designated a National Scenic Byway
A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...
in 1998, is a highway that travels starting in Aspen
Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus.
Species
These species are called aspens:
*'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...
and traveling through Leadville to either Minturn or Copper Mountain. Seldom dropping below , it drives over three mountain passes that are above , and there are views of six mountains of over . The Top of the Rockies Byway runs through three national forests: Pike
Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to:
Fish
* Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus''
* Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes
* ''Esox'', genus of ...
, Arapaho
The Arapaho (; french: Arapahos, ) are a Native American people historically living on the plains of Colorado and Wyoming. They were close allies of the Cheyenne tribe and loosely aligned with the Lakota and Dakota.
By the 1850s, Arapaho band ...
, and White River. The Camp Hale Memorial is located along the byway, where soldiers trained on skis to fight in the Apennine Mountains
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...
of Italy during World War II. The road passes through the Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area
The Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA) is one of the United States' most popular locations for whitewater rafting and kayaking on the Arkansas River. There is a total of 150 miles of water that extends from Leadville, Colorado to Pueblo, C ...
and Arkansas River Headwaters State Park.
Mosquito Pass
Mosquito Pass, with an elevation of , is a high mountain pass in the Mosquito Range of central Colorado in the United States. It lies on the boundary between Lake and Park counties between Leadville (west) and Fairplay (east). It also lies on th ...
is located east of Leadville. It can be traversed only on foot, an off-road motorcycle, or with a proper four-wheel drive
Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...
vehicle. It is typically passable only during the summer months.
Transportation
Leadville is served by Lake County Airport. However, there is no scheduled airline service available from this airport. The closest airports to provide scheduled services are Eagle County Regional Airport
Eagle County Regional Airport (Vail/Eagle Airport or the Eagle Vail Airport) is in Gypsum, Colorado, United States, 4 miles from Eagle and 37 miles from Vail. It covers and has one runway. The History Channel rated Eagle County Regional Airport ...
and Aspen/Pitkin County Airport, both away.
Highways
* US 24
U.S. Route 24 (US 24) is one of the original United States highways of 1926. It originally ran from Pontiac, Michigan, in the east to Kansas City, Missouri, in the west. Today, the highway's eastern terminus is in Independence Township, Mic ...
is an east–west highway running from Interstate 75
Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...
near Clarkston, Michigan
Clarkston is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. A northern suburb of Detroit, located about northwest of downtown Detroit, Clarkston is surrounded by Independence Township, but administered independently since its incorporation ...
, to Interstate 70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 in ...
near Minturn, Colorado
Minturn is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,027 at the 2010 United States Census.
Geography
Minturn is located in southeastern Eagle County on the Eagle River between the resort commun ...
. Its western terminus is located just north of Leadville. It is the main route to the Eagle-Vail valley to the northwest and Colorado Springs
Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
, to the southeast.
* State Highway 91 is a highway that connects Leadville with Interstate 70 near Copper Mountain. It is the quickest route to get from Leadville to Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
, away.
Railways
* In 1880, the Denver & Rio Grande Railway
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...
opened a narrow-gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard-gauge railway, standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum r ...
branch from Malta, to the west. Third rail was added in 1888, and from 1940 it was only standard gauge. The last were abandoned by Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
in 1998. This severed the connection between the Leadville, Colorado & Southern Railroad and the rest of the railroad system. The remaining three miles from Malta have not seen any traffic in many years.
** In the past, D&RG operated branch lines from Leadville to Oro City (1883-1941), Ibex/Chrysolite (1898-1944), Graham Park (1898-1941) and Fryer Hill (1881-1944). Another branch run over Fremont Pass as far as Robinson, Wheeler, and Dillon
Dillon may refer to:
People
*Dillon (surname)
* Dillon (given name)
* Dillon (singer) (born 1988), Brazilian singer
*Viscount Dillon, a title in the Peerage of Ireland
Places Canada
*Dillon, Saskatchewan
United States
*Dillon Beach, Californi ...
(1881/2-1923).
* The former Colorado & Southern Railway
The Colorado and Southern Railway was an American Class I railroad in the western United States that operated independently from 1898 to 1908, then as part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad until it was absorbed into the Burling ...
line from Leadville to Climax
Climax may refer to:
Language arts
* Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work
* Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance
Biology
* Climax community, a biological community th ...
is now operated as a tourist line by the Leadville, Colorado & Southern Railroad.
* In 2010, rail and coach commuter service was proposed between Minturn and Dotsero, in 2012 from Leadville to Vail
Vail is a home rule municipality in Eagle County, Colorado, United States. The population of the town was 4,835 in 2020. Home to Vail Ski Resort, the largest ski mountain in Colorado, the town is known for its hotels, dining, and for the numer ...
and Dotsero with intermediate stations at Minturn, Avon, Eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
and Gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywall. ...
.Eagle Valley Enterprise, February 1, 2012
See also
*
Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad
The Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad (later called the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway) was a historic narrow gauge railroad that operated in Colorado in the western United States in the late 19th century. The railroad opened up the ...
*
Leadville Historic District
The Leadville Historic District is in the mining town of Leadville, Colorado. The National Historic Landmark District includes 67 mines in the mining district east of the city up to the 12,000 foot (3658 m) level, and a defined portion of the vi ...
*
Leadville Mining District
The Leadville mining district, located in the Colorado Mineral Belt, was the most productive silver-mining district in the state of Colorado and hosts one of the largest lead-zinc-silver deposits in the world. Oro City, Colorado, Oro City, an ...
*
Mount Elbert
Mount Elbert is the highest summit of the Rocky Mountains, the highest point in the U.S. state of Colorado, and the second-highest summit in the contiguous United States (after Mount Whitney). The ultra-prominent fourteener is the highest peak ...
*
Mount Massive
Mount Massive is the second-highest summit of the Rocky Mountains of North America and the U.S. state of Colorado. The prominent fourteener of the Sawatch Range is located in the Mount Massive Wilderness of San Isabel National Forest, west ...
*
Twin Lakes, Colorado Twin Lakes is the name of multiple communities in the U.S. state of Colorado :
* Twin Lakes, Adams County, Colorado
* Twin Lakes, Lake County, Colorado
Twin Lakes is a pair of glacier-carved alpine lakes about south of historic Leadville, Colo ...
References
*"Leadville: The Struggle to Revive An American Town" by Gillian Klucas p. 21
*Conant Graff, Marshall. ''A History of Leadville, Colorado''. 1920.
*Scanlon, Gretchen. ''A History of Leadville Theatre: Opera Houses, Variety Acts and Burlesque Shows''. 2012.
*Kent, Lewis A. ''Leadville: The City. Mines and Bullion Product. Personal Histories of Prominent Citizens, Facts and Figures Never Before Given to the Public''. 1880.
*"Holliday Bound Over to Appear at the Criminal Court in the Sum of Eight Thousand Dollars." ''Leadville Daily Herald''. August 26, 1884. (p.4)
Further reading
* Plazak, Dan. ''A Hole in the Ground with a Liar at the Top'' . Includes a chapter on mining in early Leadville.
External links
City of Leadville official websiteCDOT map of LeadvilleVisit LeadvilleLeadville photos and information at Western Mining HistoryThe Mines and Minerals of Leadville Mineralogical Record, volume 16, May-June, 1985.
Temple Israel Synagogue and Museum
{{Authority control
Cities in Colorado {{Parent cat , child_level=county , type=
, metacategory =Cities in Colorado by county
, commonscat=Cities in Colorado , geogroup=y
, seealso=Colorado , main=List of cities in Colorado , child_no_parent=21452707 , parent_no_child=21452710
...
County seats in Colorado
Mining communities in Colorado
Populated places established in 1877
Cities in Lake County, Colorado
Colorado populated places on the Arkansas River
1877 establishments in Colorado