Founded in 1880 in the Sawatch Mountain range, St. Elmo is at 9,961’ elevation. There were 150 patented mines in the area. The most successful was the Mary Murphy mine that yielded $60M in gold (and closed in 1922). At its peak in the 1890s, St. Elmo had 2,000 residents with a telegraph office, general store, town hall, 5 hotels, saloons/dance halls, newspaper office and school house. The population drastically declined once the mining industry shut down. And, the postal service was discontinued after 1952. Today, it is on the National Register of Historic Places.
There are still some inhabitants in St. Elmo and tourism now brings many people to the town. The General Store is open seasonally and sells vintage items plus tourist stuff.
Outside, we saw hummingbirds, chipmunks (that you can feed with seeds purchased a the General Store), and this cool sign.
With our doggie, Sadie (on an leash) we explored the town. Many buildings have plaques indicating the year they were constructed (most in the 1880s).
Some larger homes were at the end of town.
Continuing on the trail, we came to an abandoned mine and several buildings.
Returning to St. Elmo, we walked down to Chalk Creek (where Sadie immediately jumped in for a swim!) Very cold!
There is a guest house and cabins for rent here during the summer months.
We always enjoy seeing these old communities that tell the history of the west. This is the first ghost town we have visited in Colorado, but have been to others in AZ, NV, and CA. Old mining roads are now used by off-road vehicles in the area.
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