Lulu City was a transient mining town in eastern
Grand County, Colorado
Grand County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 15,717. The county seat is Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado, Hot Sulphur Springs.
History
When Grand County was ...
, in the
Kawuneeche Valley
Kawuneeche Valley, also known as Kawuneeche or Coyote Valley, is a marshy valley of the Colorado River near its beginning. It is located on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The axis of the valley runs almost directly no ...
in what is now
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park is an American national park located approximately northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is situated between the towns of Estes Park to the east and ...
. The town appeared after
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 ...
was discovered in the area in 1879 by prospector Joe Shipler,
and was built primarily by the Middle Park and Grand River Land Improvement Company in 1880. The company was backed by Benjamin F. Burnett of
Fort Collins
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
and Fort Collins rancher William Baker. The town was named after Burnett's daughter.
By 1881, there were forty cabins and a number of business establishments. By this time it was apparent that the silver ore was of low grade, and that high transportation costs made mining in the area marginal, and the town began its decline. It was abandoned by 1885,
except by Shipler, who lived there for thirty years.
[
The settlement of Dutchtown was established in the ]Never Summer Mountains
The Never Summer Mountains are a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in north central Colorado in the United States consisting of seventeen named peaks. The range is located along the northwest border of Rocky Mountain National Park, forming t ...
to the west of town by outcasts from Lulu City.
The land was purchased from the estate of Hugh J. Harrison by the National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
in 1949. Three cabin ruins remain, along with remnants of other structures. The site was placed 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 ...
on September 14, 1977.
See also
*
References
National Register of Historic Places in Rocky Mountain National Park
Ghost towns in Colorado
Buildings and structures in Grand County, Colorado
Former populated places in Grand County, Colorado
Populated places on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado
1879 establishments in Colorado
Populated places established in 1879
1884 disestablishments in Colorado
Populated places disestablished in 1884
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