Nobody stayed all winter until '78-'79
By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com
Legend has it that a Lt. Howard (the same one that founded Howardsville, near Silverton) led the first mining party into explore the mineral veins at the foot of Ophir Needles. In fact, the stream tumbling down valley from there, eventually into the San Miguel River is known as Howard's Fork.
"The first legal claims were staked there in 1875 and from then on prospectors dribbled through and sometimes stopped there for a while," wrote Lambert Florin, in his book 'Ghost Towns of the West,' in 1970.
"Nobody stayed all winter at the near-timberline elevation until 1878-9 when 17 men did hole up there, working their claims whenever the weather allowed, which was seldom. Some burrowed under the banks of deep snow for some protection from the frigid blasts off the 14,000-foot peaks," Florin says.
"The next year the Osxeola mine was producing some gold and from others like the Gold King came sack after sack of rich ore. One batch of ten brought the owners $5,000. These miners were able to use arresters which, though crude, were effective when ore was rich enough. One enthusiastic Howards's Fork miner renaming the place Ophir after the fabled Arabian city so rich in Gold."
The Bible references the location of King Solomen's wealth as "the mines of Ophir," of course.
"About the time 500 prospectors were swarming around Ophir, working up thirsts that required five saloons to put down, carbonate fever struck," says Florin. "At Leadville where gold was growing scarce, miners discovered the heavy rocks they cursed as obstacles to gold mining were loaded with carbonate of lead, and with the lead inevitably came silver. This inspired many second thoughts about areas where others gold placers were exhausted, one of these being Rico, erstwhile heavy gold producer. Sure enough, the place was found to be 'rico' in silver. Since it was near Ophir, its miners were caught up in the prevailing excitement and left the camp almost deserted, a ghost town before it was fairly alive."
But, where Leadville's carbonate deposits were so extensive as to to create the greatest boom of its kind, those at Rico were disappointingly small and soon exhausted. So the tide turned and Ophir miners rushed back to their old claims," suggest Florin.
"With the building of smelters at Silverton, Ophir's miners sent their ore by burro trains over and through the mountains to the city of Sultan Mountain."
In the early 1890s, that changed with the coming of the railroad in the form of the Rio Grande Southern, though it did not quite make it all the way up the valley initially. And an offshoot town developed, thus requiring the distinction of "Old Ophir" and "Ophir Loop" where two cars of Ophir mine ore were loaded and shipped daily.
In the early 1890s, that changed with the coming of the railroad in the form of the Rio Grande Southern, though it did not quite make it all the way up the valley initially. And an offshoot town developed, thus requiring the distinction of "Old Ophir" and "Ophir Loop" where two cars of Ophir mine ore were loaded and shipped daily.
On the engineering marvel of the Loop itself, locals claimed you could fall off the train at the tracks at the top, but still stumble down the hill and catch the same train at the bottom of the loop.
With the train's accessibility, however, difficulties in mining, and just living life in the alpine, were not diminished.
The Daily Journal (Telluride), November 30, 1900, described this instance, leading with the following heads and nut graph:
The paper goes on to describe the following circumstances:
With the train's accessibility, however, difficulties in mining, and just living life in the alpine, were not diminished.
The Daily Journal (Telluride), November 30, 1900, described this instance, leading with the following heads and nut graph:
"OPHIR LOOP ALMOST WIPED OUT," and "Fire Unquestionably of Incendiary Origin Destroys
the Principal Buildings."
The paper goes on to describe the following circumstances:
"Of the half-dozen buildings perched about on the cliffs about the station at Ophir Loop the only building of any real value was the structure known as the Glendale hotel. This was quite a roomy, modern structure, built only a year or so ago, and quite well finished. Thursday morning it was completely destroyed with all its contents, and the landlady and her daughter barely escaped alive in their night clothes. Just across the
road, which is barely wide enough to allow the passage of a wagon, stood a small building used as a storage warehouse by Mr . Skillen, the Loop merchant. In this he had stored a car load of flour on the previous day. In a sort of basement a small quantity of giant powder was stored. As the building took
fire the powder exploded, hurling some of the timbers as far as 200 yards and utterly demolishing the store house. To this fortunate occurrence people who were there say is due the fact that every sign of a building at the Loop was not wiped out. A small building standing near the store house and used in
part as a barber shop was also burned. The high trestle of the railroad bridge was also damaged to some extent, but by shoveling of snow it was managed to save the structure before it was injured sufficiently to prevent the passage of trains. Across the creek fully 200 yards distant a freight car was also burned, the fire apparently having been started right under the center of the car. When the morning train came along from Rico, the engine went in on the side track and pulled out a string of several more cars which
were thereby saved from burning.
road, which is barely wide enough to allow the passage of a wagon, stood a small building used as a storage warehouse by Mr . Skillen, the Loop merchant. In this he had stored a car load of flour on the previous day. In a sort of basement a small quantity of giant powder was stored. As the building took
fire the powder exploded, hurling some of the timbers as far as 200 yards and utterly demolishing the store house. To this fortunate occurrence people who were there say is due the fact that every sign of a building at the Loop was not wiped out. A small building standing near the store house and used in
part as a barber shop was also burned. The high trestle of the railroad bridge was also damaged to some extent, but by shoveling of snow it was managed to save the structure before it was injured sufficiently to prevent the passage of trains. Across the creek fully 200 yards distant a freight car was also burned, the fire apparently having been started right under the center of the car. When the morning train came along from Rico, the engine went in on the side track and pulled out a string of several more cars which
were thereby saved from burning.
"There seems to be no doubt of the fire having been incendiary, and all sorts of rumors and suspicions were circulated yesterday among the excited villagers. The fire was discovered about 2 o clock Thursday morning. The hotel was owned and operated by N . Savignac, who only the previous day had installed a Mrs. Roberts as manageress, he coming to Telluride in the evening and stopping over night . A little daughter of Mrs . Roberts first discovered the house to be in flames
and barely got her mother out, nearer dead than alive from suffocation. Doctor Compton was called from Ophir and ministered to the injured woman. Yesterday morning it was reported that a human life had been lost in the fire, but later in the day this, was doubted. Some said there was no one in the house, but Mrs . Roberts and daughter and others, said a man had taken lodging there. Some bits of bone were picked out ot the smouldering coals which Doctor Compton said looked like a part of a human anatomy. When the
powder exploded, Spencer Reed , who was shoveling snow on the railroad trestle at some distance, was struck by a flying timber and quite seriously hurt. He was brought to Telluride on the morning train. Farther than this and the injury to Mrs . Roberts by inhaling smoke, no one was hurt. That the general store of Mr. Skillen was not consumed with its considerable stock is due solely to the blowing up of the store house. This, with the depot, which must have went too had the store gone, would have wiped the place out entirely. Except the small stream that winds through the deep canon out of reach of even a bucket line, there is no water, and all that could be done was to stand by and see the fire do its work. The building was partially insured and was the property of an honest, industrious man, who put his all into the purchase and had it only partly paid for. The insurance, it is understood, goes to the former owner who held a mortgage. While there seems no doubt of the fire having been maliciously kindled, people are at at a loss to identify the incendiary."
and barely got her mother out, nearer dead than alive from suffocation. Doctor Compton was called from Ophir and ministered to the injured woman. Yesterday morning it was reported that a human life had been lost in the fire, but later in the day this, was doubted. Some said there was no one in the house, but Mrs . Roberts and daughter and others, said a man had taken lodging there. Some bits of bone were picked out ot the smouldering coals which Doctor Compton said looked like a part of a human anatomy. When the
powder exploded, Spencer Reed , who was shoveling snow on the railroad trestle at some distance, was struck by a flying timber and quite seriously hurt. He was brought to Telluride on the morning train. Farther than this and the injury to Mrs . Roberts by inhaling smoke, no one was hurt. That the general store of Mr. Skillen was not consumed with its considerable stock is due solely to the blowing up of the store house. This, with the depot, which must have went too had the store gone, would have wiped the place out entirely. Except the small stream that winds through the deep canon out of reach of even a bucket line, there is no water, and all that could be done was to stand by and see the fire do its work. The building was partially insured and was the property of an honest, industrious man, who put his all into the purchase and had it only partly paid for. The insurance, it is understood, goes to the former owner who held a mortgage. While there seems no doubt of the fire having been maliciously kindled, people are at at a loss to identify the incendiary."
Historians note that though the train's presence improved isolation in the Alpine, it was still a rough go at times, exemplified by mail service.
"In the summer of 1879 "official" mail service from Silverton was established, Muriel Sibell Wolle relates that the service, though welcome, left something to be desired and cites some items from the Ouray Times, which had a correspondent at Ophir.
"The mail carrier from Silverton ... has robbed the mail and left the country. The mail bag cut open and with registered mail rifled has been found near Iron Springs." Another item. "No mail for weeks. The Kansas tenderfoot says he wouldn't carry the mail again for $5,000 after one trip." And — "No mail from Rico in ten days. The snow is nearly 10 feet deep and there are snow slides in every gulch ... the mail carrier nearly froze on his last trip."
At the base of the last switchback on the steep mule trail to Silverton that predates the train, mail carrier Swen Nelson, was buried by a snow slide and not exposed for two years.
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