Tincup, or Tin Cup, originally named Virginia City, is an
unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
in
Gunnison County, Colorado
Gunnison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 16,918. The county seat is Gunnison, Colorado, Gunnison. The county was named for John W. Gunnison, a Unite ...
, United States. The community was once a prominent mining town, but is now a community of summer homes with a few year-round residents. Many historic buildings are still standing and kept up. The only businesses or services in Tincup are a small store and famous Frenchy's, open only during the summer months.
A post office named
Virginia, Colorado opened on July 22, 1879. The name was changed to
Tin Cup on February 28, 1880, and finally changed to Tincup on May 7, 1895. The Tincup post office closed on January 31, 1918.
History
In October 1859, prospector Jim Taylor panned some gold from Willow Creek, and carried it back to camp in a tin cup; he named the valley “Tin Cup Gulch.” For years the area was the site of seasonal
placer mining
Placer mining () is the mining of stream bed deposits for minerals. This may be done by open-pit mining or by various surface excavating equipment or tunneling equipment.
Placer mining is frequently used for precious metal deposits (particularly ...
, but no year-round communities were established, partly because of the danger of Native American hostilities.
In 1878, lode deposits were discovered in the area, and the town of Virginia City was laid out in March 1879. By the 1880 census, the town had a population of 1,495. As Virginia City, it was incorporated in August 1880, but confusion with
Virginia City, Nevada
Virginia City is a census-designated place (CDP) that is the county seat of Storey County, Nevada, United States, and the largest community in the county. The city is a part of the Reno, Nevada, Reno–Sparks, Nevada, Sparks Reno, NV Metropolitan ...
, and
Virginia City, Montana
Virginia City is a town in and the county seat of Madison County, Montana, United States. Virginia City was the territorial capital of Montana from 1865 to 1875. In 1961 the town and the surrounding area were designated a National Historic Landm ...
, caused the residents to change the name. The town was reincorporated in July 1882 as Tin Cup.
Early Tin Cup was a violent place. Town marshal Harry Rivers died in a gunfight in 1882, and marshal Andy Jameson was shot to death in 1883.
The town population declined when the mines were exhausted. The post office closed in 1918, and the last town election was held in 1918.
The
Boothill Cemetery is located just south of the town.
The
Great Divide passes through Tincup, creating Tincup Pass.
See also
*
List of ghost towns in Colorado
This is a list of some notable ghost towns in the U.S. State of Colorado. A ghost town is a former community that now has no year-round residents or less than 1% of its peak population. Colorado has over 1,500 ghost towns, although visible remai ...
*
Cumberland Pass
*
Blistered Horn Mill, Colorado
References
External links
''Tincup, Colorado'' includes photo gallery
Tincup
Unincorporated communities in Gunnison County, Colorado
Unincorporated communities in Colorado
Ghost towns in Colorado
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