Rosita was a silver mining town — now a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

— in Custer County,

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, United States. ''Rosita'' is

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for ''little rose''. Although the old town has almost entirely disappeared (the former post office building was for a time a restaurant), the surrounding area has been largely developed into semi-rural home sites. The town was used in the filming of the 1958 western movie '' Saddle the Wind''.

History

Rosita was founded in late 1872 by prospectors attracted by discoveries of silver. The town was composed of tents and log cabins, but soon had stores, carpenters, a hotel, saloon, blacksmith shop, and an assayer. By 1874 the town had more than a thousand residents and 400 buildings. A U.S. post office opened in 1874, and in September 1874 the Rosita ''Index'' began as a weekly newspaper. Rosita took the seat of Custer County away from Ula (now also a ghost town) in 1878. Despite some rich strikes in the Pocahantas and Humboldt mines, the silver veins around Rosita ran out of ore in a few years. In the early 1880s, Rosita was surpassed by the nearby mining towns of Querida and Silver Cliff. After a bitter four-year fight, Silver Cliff took the county seat from Rosita in the 1886 election, and Rosita declined further. The U.S. post office was closed in 1966. ZIP code 81252 now serves Rosita, but mail must be addressed to Westcliffe. Rosita gained brief publicity in 1875 when the Pocahontas Mining War occurred in October of that year. Two men from out of state, Walter Stuart and J. R. Boyd, came to Rosita, promising to establish a bank. They soon claimed ownership of the Pocahontas Mine. The mine was taken over and occupied by men hired by Boyd and Stuart, and who were led by a former Civil War officer and ex inmate, Major George W. Graham. Graham came to town vowing revenge on certain townspeople. He had escaped from the Colorado Territorial Prison in 1874 and was recaptured by several men near Rosita. On October 11, 1875, Graham shot Pringle in the foot. Early the next morning a mob of townsmen went to the Pocahontas Mine to confront Graham, who then begged to be let go. The men told Graham to turn and run, and as he did, the mob emptied their guns into his back. That same day a coroner's inquest showed he had taken 36 balls to his body. He was placed in a five dollar coffin and taken by wagon to be buried outside of town.Denver Daily ''Times'', October 22, 1875. p2. No one was ever charged with his murder.

Geography

Rosita is at an elevation of , at . The ruins of the town are located on the eastern flanks of the

Wet Mountain Valley The Wet Mountain Valley is a high elevation mountain valley mostly located in Custer County, Colorado, Custer County but extending southward into Huerfano County, Colorado, Huerfano County in south-central Colorado. Westcliffe, Colorado, Westclif ...

References

External links

Ghosttowns.com: ''Rosita''
{{Custer County, Colorado Ghost towns in Colorado Former populated places in Custer County, Colorado Populated places established in 1872 1872 establishments in Colorado Territory

History

Geography

See also

References

External links