On these two pages the usual order of the “then” photo at the top of
the page and the “now” photo at the bottom of the page has not been
adhered to because of the size of the pictures. Eureka is at the top
of both pages and Animas Forks at the bottom. Evalyn Walsh McLean
testified in her book _Father Struck It Rich_ that she was born in
Denver on August 1, 1886 (see page 3). The local legend is quite
erroneous.
[Illustration: D.K.P., 1960]
_From Ouray_
[Illustration]
On the way over Red Mountain Pass two unusual ghost towns may be seen by
slight northerly detours from the Million Dollar Highway. Originally
known as the Rainbow Route, this highway was Otto Mears’ toll road from
Silverton to Ouray, and later the grade of his Silverton Railroad which
ran as far as Ironton.
Red Mountain began first as a mining district in 1831 and then blossomed
into two settlements, Red Mountain City and Red Mountain Town. There are
also three separate Red Mountains to add to the confusion. But Red
Mountain City, on the Silverton side of the pass, died an early death,
and Red Mountain Town dropped the “town” a few years later. This left
three mountains and a town with the identical name.
It was in the summer of 1881 that John Robinson and two companions found
the Guston mine, according to Ernest Ingersoll in the 1885 edition of
_Crest of the Continent_. The Guston’s ore was low grade, but did have
an excess of lead which was wanted by the Pueblo smelter. So the three
continued working it. In August of the next year Robinson was hunting
deer and carelessly picked up a small boulder. He was astonished at the
weight, broke it open, and found solid galena. This led to the discovery
of the Yankee Girl only a dozen feet below the surface.
A month later they sold their prospect hole for $125,000. The new owners
had to pack the ore on burros all the way to Silverton, and still the
ore yielded a profit of $50 a ton. The Yankee Girl’s final production
figures were around $5,000,000. But long before that, the mine caused a
rush, and the town of Red Mountain was platted in June of 1883. By 1800
it had a population of six hundred, a water works, school house, weekly
newspaper, saloons, business houses and shops—and dozens of stories of
fluke discoveries.
The most sensational of these discoveries was that of the National Belle
whose popularity and allure soon outshone that of the Yankee Girl. In
1883 some miners were working in an underground tunnel and accidentally
broke through the foot wall into a cavity. One man took a candle and
climbed down into an immense natural cavern. The flickering flame showed
up effulgent pockets of gold and silver galenas, chlorides and
carbonates—a veritable treasure cave. The National Belle became one of
the most celebrated mines of the San Juans with a long,
preciously-guarded life and production figures of close to $9,000,000.
Red Mountain was plagued by fires and was completely destroyed in June,
1895. It also changed its location once in 1886 to be close to the toll
road, later the railroad. When trains began to reach Red Mountain in
September, 1888, the depot had to be placed inside the wye because of
the narrowness of the site.
In 1960 only the dump and shaft house of the National Belle gave any
idea of the lively Red Mountain that once was—nonetheless a unique town
because of its National Belle....
Ironton was three miles below Red Mountain and was as far as the
Silverton Railroad could go because of the impossibility of laying rail
in the precipitous confines of Uncompahgre Canyon on its way to Ouray.
Ironton was founded in 1883 and platted in 1884 over a long oblong
running beside Red Mountain Creek. Its main business was freighting and
transportation for the many mines such as the Saratoga and Silver Belle,
dotting the mountainsides above it. This was especially true after the
Silverton Railroad began full operation in 1889. In 1890 its population
was three hundred and twenty-two, around half that of its neighbor, Red
Mountain.
As time went on, Ironton’s more salubrious location won out. Ten years
later Red Mountain had only thirty residents, and Ironton, seventy-one.
Gradually they both melted away, although Ironton did not completely die
until 1926 when the railroad track was removed.
In 1960 only ten or twelve houses remained. Two of them had been
renovated by employees of the wealthy Idarado Mining Company which has
consolidated all the mining activities of the Red Mountain district into
one big operation. In addition the company has driven a long tunnel
under the mountains to Pandora, close to Telluride. On the Red Mountain
side Idarado’s surface buildings are impressive enough to give hope that
Colorado will make a comeback as a mining state.
Ironton won a place in our collection because when the Silverton
Railroad was completed to this point, Otto Mears decided in celebration
upon a new and unique railroad pass for his friends—a silver engraved
watch fob.
[Illustration: Unknown, circa 1887; D.P.L.]