I had an amazing visit to Vindicator Valley and encourage you to also visit. However; be sure to call ahead to the main office (719-689-4220) to ensure no blasting is happening and you are ok to enter. Be sure that you obey all posted signs and enjoy. That being said; the “Vindicator Valley Trail” is one of the “Trails of Gold” outside of the town of Victor, CO. It is not a difficult trail but is distant from large cities. You can find lodging in Victor or Cripple Creek Colorado. Enjoy views of the Sangre de Cristo mountains and the countless abandoned mines, hoists, and buildings.
The Christmas Mine:
The first mine featured in the video is the Christmas mine. It was a privately held mine which began operations in the tum of the century. A portion of the claim was purchased by the Vindicator Consolidated Gold Mining Company in March of 1902. The Christmas Mine is reported to have produced gold valued at $1,335,000 or nearly 65,000 troy ounces during its life.... The shaft was reported to have eight levels with the lowest one at 605 feet below the surface (collar). The headframe was almost completely covered with development (or slack) rock from the Vindicator Mine until the 1980s when the frame we see today was exposed as the development rock was excavated and reprocessed.
The Theresa Mine:
The Theresa Gold Mining Company owned and operated this mine from 1895 until 1900. The company was purchased by the Golden Cycle Mining Company after the turn of the century. Subsequently, the property was sold to the Vindicator Consolidated Gold Mining Company in 1922, the Vindicator Consolidated Gold Mining Company was purchased by the United Gold Mines Company whose properties later became part of the Golden Cycle Mining Company. The property was operated through the years by various sets of lessees alternating with years of idleness. Much of the rock dump was removed for processing in 1946 at the Golden Cycle mill in Colorado Springs. In 1986, additional portions of the dump were removed for slack-heap leaching, the slopes graded and partially reclaimed. Production records indicate that the mine produced over $2,500,000 in gold ore which comes to over 120,000 troy ounces.
By 1920, the three-compartment Theresa shaft was 1620 feet deep and serviced by a Wellman, Seaver, Morgan double-drum steam hoist. Power was supplied by at least one 250 hp Babcock & Wilson water tube boiler. The four-post derrick type timber headframe stood over the shaft. Rock was transported through the shaft in mine cars on two small, double deck cages. The Theresa was idle from 1915 until a group of lessees took over and rehabilitated the mine in 1930. The group had to spile (a means of timbering to reinforce a tunnel) through waste filled stopes that had been mined into the shaft itself. The lessees retrofitted the steam hoist with a 75 hp, electric motor. Drill steels were sharpened in the Vindicator Mine shops and compressed air was supplied by the Teller County Air Company. The entire surface plant was destroyed by fire in 1934. The headframe was replaced with the present steel structure under the supervision of master mechanic, Bob Welsh. The plant was upgraded with a metal hoist house, a metal ore house incorporated into the headframe structure and a new change room. The shaft was equipped with a single but larger skip and a counterweight to provide balanced hoisting. Note that the overhead tramway is slightly inclined outward to the east, permitting cars of waste to roll out to be automatically dumped and then pulled back by a small hoist located in the ore house eliminating the need for one surface worker to do this work. Additional exploration carried out in 1961 failed to give promising results and, coupled with the closing of the Carlton Mill, led to the final closure of the Theresa Mine, in the 1980s, the Inactive Mined Land Reclamation Division stabilized the collar of the shaft, and in 1995, CC&V stabilized the ore bin foundation and added additional cribbing to the bank on the east of the headframe.
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Victor is a ghost city in Teller County, Colorado, United States. Gold was discovered in Victor in the late 19th century, an omen of the future of the town. With Cripple Creek, the mining district became the second largest gold mining district in the country and realized approximately $10 billion of mined gold in 2018 dollars. It reached its peak around the turn of the century when there were about 18,000 residents in the town (The population was 397 at the 2010 census.). Depleted ore in mines, labor strife and the exodus of miners during World War I caused a steep decline in the city's economy, from which it has never recovered.
Although the population of Victor may be low, the towns-people spirits are very high. The people I spoke to were very welcoming and knowledgeable about their hometown. So much so that I am returning this spring to have a tour by some of the people I met. I strongly suggest that you pay Victor a visit. In fact, they have several attractions, outside of the breathtaking views and well-preserved architecture. Some of my favorites include the Lowell Thomas Mining Museum, the cities walking tour, and the "Vindicator Valley Trail".
In addition to several standing attractions, they have all of the seasonal events you would come to expect from a small mountain town. One that stands out to me as particularly unique is the annual Gems and Rock show that takes place each June on the streets of Victor. There is something about visiting a historic mountain town to buy gems and minerals that makes me feel like a 1800's prospector. Even if momentarily, it's well worth a visit! You can plan your trip using this link: https://www.victorcolorado.com
Photos from the day:Music from the Video:
A piece of Colorado's forgotten history- Guiraud (now called Garo) was a small settlement near Fairplay. Today the Buffalo Peaks Ranch and the old General Store and Post Office which dates to the 1880's are all that marks the spot, The schoolhouse was moved to the South Park City Museum in South Park, Colorado. The now ghost town is five miles north of Hartsel and seven miles south of Fairplay on Colorados Highway 9.
Adolphe Guiraud & his wife Marie, we're the original settlers of the area. They were born in France and made there way to America through the port of New Orleans. They spent some time in Ohio and Kansas before settling in Garo, Colorado. They established the first homestead in South Park in 1863. The Guiraud Ranch still stands and is now called the "Buffalo Peaks Ranch". Adolphe is most known as the proprietor of the original general store, the "Guirauds General Store". However; he is less known for his ties to the American Confederacy. Adolphe Guiraud played a role in the failed Confederate incursion into Colorado Territory in 1864 when he allowed the nine remaining men of Company A, Well's Battalion, 3rd Texas Cavalry, Confederate Army to stay in July of '64. The nine men that made it to Guiraud's ranch were the remnants of fifty Confederate soldiers that set out from Texas, in June of that year. These men were under orders to disrupt the union's supply trains that ran through the Colorado territory. Their second order was to raise a Confederate army from the mining towns that surrounded Park County. Fortunately, the men disbanded from the Confederacy and became outlaws and bandits. They were dubbed "The Reynolds Gang" and in newspaper accounts of the day. On July 29th the Gang of men were cornered in Geneva Gulch near Grant, Colorado. One was killed, five were taken prisoner, and two died of bullet poisoning. The five who were captured were tried and convicted of rape and stagecoach robbery. Furthermore, they were convicted of treason for their involvement in the Confederate army. They were put to death on direct orders of Colonel John Chivington. Later that year in a related incident a man named "Chub" Newitt ran the General Store and Post Office at Garo. Chub was showing a customer some pistols at the store, he was shot with one, he died a short time later. Adolphe Guiraud died without being convicted or charged for aiding the Confederacy. His wife Marie, had a 34-year widowship and went on to become weathly. She grew the ranch from 640 achers to over 5,000 achers. She sold about 1,500 pounds of beef each year (which is about 1 millions dollar in todays money) Three years after her death she was recognized by the US Department of Agriculture in a release called, "The Importance of Women on ranches & Homesteads". Garo faded and died in the late 1920's and was abandoned except for the ranches that surround it by 1936.
South Park is a grassland flat within the Fairplay basin. Nestled in the Mosquito and Park Mountain Ranges, in central Colorado. The largest town in the basin is Old South Park City (A.K.A. South Park or Fairplay), with a population of only 681.
South Park is most known by an American cartoon created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Who grew up 100 miles away in, Littleton Colorado. The television show revolves around four boys—Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick—and their wacky adventures in and around the titular Colorado town. A lot like The Simpsons or Family Guy, South Park uses a very large ensemble cast of recurring characters and became infamous for its witty banter, dark humor, and surreal perspective. South Park debuted in August 1997 with great success, consistently earning the highest ratings of any basic cable program. Ratings have varied over the years but it remains one of Comedy Central's highest rated shows, and is slated to create new episodes through 2021. Thanks for visiting with us!
Mining came upon the remote Kitsault valley when the Dolly Varden mine opened in 1918. Thanks to heavy investment from the United States they were able to make Bunkhouses, stores and a ten-mile-long railway. The mine operated for only three years until it was held up in litigation. Eventually, the mining company was able to move past the litigation and went on to build the Lions Gate Bridge. Which ushered in another era for this sleepy little valley.
The town of Kitsault was established in 1979 as the home community to a molybdenum mine run by the Phelps Dodge Corporation of Chicago. The community was designed for over 1,200 residents and included a shopping mall, restaurant, swimming pool and bowling alley. In 1982, prices for molybdenum crashed and the entire community was evacuated after just 18 months of existence. In 2004, the ghost town was bought by Indian-American businessman Krishnan Suthanthiran for $5.7 million; he has spent $2 million maintaining the town. In the end, he would have spent over $20 million more to fully update the town. He has also since closed the town to the public. Krishnan had hoped to turn the town in to an intellectual utopia. In which you could only be invited to. In an effort to revitalize the ghost town, Kitsault has been proposed as a location for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal site. However; this offer has not yet been accepted. Please comment if you lived in Kitsault or have more information.
St. Elmo was first named Forest City but was later changed because of a California town with the same name. The name St. Elmo was chosen by Griffith Evans, one of the founding fathers, who was at the time reading the novel "St. Elmo".
At its peak in the 1890s, the town boasted a general store, telegraph office, town hall, Over 5 hotels, a handful of saloons, dancing halls, a newspaper office, and a schoolhouse. The Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad line ran through St. Elmo (Yes, it's the same South Park you are thinking of). There were 150 mines claimed within St. Elmo. The majority of the folks who lived in St. Elmo worked at the Mary Murphy, Teresa C., The Molly or the Pioneer Mines. The Mary Murphy Mine was the biggest and most productive mine in the area. While in operation, the Mary Murphy Mine recovered over $60,000,000 worth of gold. While the other local mines shut down, the Mary Murphy Mine continued to operate until the "gold standard" was implemented. Which collapsed the price of silver overnight. As a result. The Railroad was closed and eventually abandoned in 1922. Even after the world gave up on this town and its mines, people continued to harvest ore. This was done by hand and miners would haul individual mining carts down the mountain. Once the mining industry closed completely, St. Elmo drastically declined. Miners searched elsewhere for gold, rather than silver. The business district in St. Elmo closed down as well. Few people continued to live in the town. Postal service was discontinued in 1952 after the death of St. Elmo's postmaster. The current population is...three. Enjoy a few photos from our 2017 exploration: |
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