Ohio City is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and a U.S. Post Office in Gunnison 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 the ...

, United States. The Ohio City Post Office has the ZIP Code 81237.

History

The community came into being around

placer gold 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 ...

mining in the 1860s, although the source of the nuggets remained elusive. In 1879, a prospector, miner, and assayer named Jacob Hess discovered silver in Ohio Creek, until then known as Gold Creek. Hess moved his camp to Ohio Creek and named his settlement Eagle City, and officially became its first settler. In 1881, Ohio City was surveyed and platted. The following year, the

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 t ...

was built through the town. After the collapse of the silver market in 1893 the community dwindled in population, and by 1898, Ohio City was nearly deserted. However, the source of the first gold nuggets, having been discovered in 1896, prompted the multiple lucrative excavations including the Willow Creek Mine, which still yields feldspar, quartz,

muscovite mica Muscovite (also known as common mica, isinglass, or potash mica) is a hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminium and potassium with formula K Al2(Al Si3 O10)( F,O H)2, or ( KF)2( Al2O3)3( SiO2)6( H2O). It has a highly perfect basal cleavage ...

, graphic granite, and flakes of salvageable gold. Opportunity Mine (GPS N38 30.676 / W106 39.995) is also a popular source for blue beryl,

cleavelandite Albite is a plagioclase feldspar mineral. It is the sodium endmember of the plagioclase solid solution series. It represents a plagioclase with less than 10% anorthite content. The pure albite endmember has the formula . It is a tectosilicate. I ...

, black

tourmaline Tourmaline ( ) is a crystalline Silicate mineral, silicate mineral group in which boron is compounded with elements such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, sodium, lithium, or potassium. Tourmaline is a gemstone and can be found in a wide variety o ...

, and pink

lepidolite Lepidolite is a lilac-gray or rose-colored member of the mica group of minerals with chemical formula . It is the most abundant lithium-bearing mineral and is a secondary source of this metal. It is the major source of the alkali metal rubidium. ...

Mines

In 1898, the Cortland Mine in McIntyre Gulch was the only mine operating in the district. Three

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

students, the Carter brothers, surveyed land during the summers at the turn of the century. One brother, Carroll M. Carter, organized the Carter Mining Company. Around the same time, E. M. Lamont organized the Raymond Consolidated Mines Company which mined locally. From 1908-1912, the Colorado Smelting and Mining Company, headed by A. E. Reynolds, mined the Sacramento mine and the Silver Islet mine.

Geography

Ohio City is located at (38.567764,-106.567211).

Climate

Climate type is dominated by the winter season, a long, bitterly cold period with short, clear days, relatively little precipitation mostly in the form of snow, and low humidity. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

sub-type for this climate is " Dfc" (Continental Subarctic Climate).Climate Summary for Ohio City, Colorado
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References

External links