Boom, followed by bust in Pitkin County town
By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com
Both children of the Silver booms in West Slope Colorado, Ashcroft developed first, but was soon overshadowed by nearby Aspen, and relegated early to ghost town status. Even after WWII, when mining interest shifted to winter sports, Ashcroft sputtered while Aspen blossomed.In the spring of 1880 two prospectors, Charles B. Culver and W.F. Coxhead left the mining boomtown of Leadville in search of silver deposits in the Castle Creek Valley. Silver was found and Coxhead promoted their discovery with zeal back in Leadville. When he returned to "Castle Forks City," as it had been dubbed, he found that 23 other prospectors had joined "Crazy Culver." Together the men formed a Miners' Protective Association, built a courthouse and laid out the streets in Ashcroft in just two weeks. Each of their association's members paid $5, or one day's work, and $1, to draw for building lots. In all there were 97 members in the Ashcroft Miners' Protective Association, according to information from the Aspen Historical Society.
The town was renamed Ashcroft in 1882 after a rich ore strike was uncovered in Montezuma and Tam O'Shanter Mines. The mines were partially owned by H.A.W. Tabor of Leadville mining fame. Reportedly, Tabor and his second wife visited Ashcroft in 1883 and hosted a grand ball and banquet. Tabor also reportedly bought rounds of drinks for everyone in each of the town's 13 saloons, says Aspen Historical Society.
The same year that Tabor visited Ashcroft the town population had risen to around 2,000. Ashcroft was also home to two newspapers, a school, sawmills, a small smelter and 20 saloons. At this point in its history the town was larger than Aspen and closer to the railroad in Crested Butte.
By 1885 the town was home to between 2,000 and 3,500 people, had six hotels and 20 saloons. As quickly as the town went boom it went bust. The silver deposits that Culver and Coxhead initially discovered produced 14,000 ounces of silver to the ton at their onset. This production, however, was short-lived as the deposits were shallow. Though there were promises of a rail line to Crested Butte the promises never materialized and investors and workers were lured away to places such as Aspen. In 1884 another rich strike was discovered; this one, however, was in Aspen. This led to the end of the prosperity in Ashcroft as people began moving to Aspen.
By 1885 there were only 100 summer residents and $5.60 in the town coffers. By the turn of the 20th century, only a handful of aging, single men lived in Ashcroft. Though they all owned mining claims they spent most of their time fishing and hunting or reading and drinking in a local bar. The men traded stories for drinks and served as an informal employment agency, matching up men with the sporadic remaining work at the mines. Every four years the remaining citizens would hold municipal elections and choose officers from amongst themselves.
The town's last permanent resident, according to the lore, was Jack Leahy, and he died in 1939, making Ashcroft officially inhabited by only ghost at that time.
The 1930s saw a new flurry of interest in the village, with the burgeoning winter Olympics and winter sports that drew attention to Ashcroft. International sportsman Ted Ryan and his partner Billy Fiske, captain of America's gold medal Olympic bobsled team, built the Highland-Bavarian Lodge north of Ashcroft. They planned to build a European style ski resort complete with an aerial tramway leading up to Mount Hayden. World War II put an end to their plans as Fiske was killed in combat and Ryan ended up leasing Ashcroft to the U.S. Army for $1 a year.
During World War II, the Army's 10th Mountain Division used Ashcroft for mountaineering training, mostly during the summer of 1942. Following the war, most of the area's ski development occurred in Aspen and Ryan later deeded the site to the U.S. Forest Service.
In 1948 World War II veteran Stuart Mace, also a well known dog sledder, brought his family and dog sled operation to Ashcroft. In 1955 Mace and his Toklat huskies were featured in the television series Sgt. Preston of the Yukon, and the ghost town was fitted with false fronts to imitate a Canadian set for the filming of the series through 1958. Mace was given the use of 5 acres of land in exchange for caretaking what remaining holdings Highland-Bavarian had in the Ashcroft area. He devoted the remainder of his life to protecting the area from development and restoring the ecology. He was joined in that effort in 1974 by the Aspen Historical Society which helped Ashcroft make it to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
In September of 1941, Marion Post Wolcott, shooting photos for the eventually famous collection of Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-And-White Negatives, captured the ghost mining town of Ashcroft, Colorado, in these photos.
The town was renamed Ashcroft in 1882 after a rich ore strike was uncovered in Montezuma and Tam O'Shanter Mines. The mines were partially owned by H.A.W. Tabor of Leadville mining fame. Reportedly, Tabor and his second wife visited Ashcroft in 1883 and hosted a grand ball and banquet. Tabor also reportedly bought rounds of drinks for everyone in each of the town's 13 saloons, says Aspen Historical Society.
The same year that Tabor visited Ashcroft the town population had risen to around 2,000. Ashcroft was also home to two newspapers, a school, sawmills, a small smelter and 20 saloons. At this point in its history the town was larger than Aspen and closer to the railroad in Crested Butte.
By 1885 the town was home to between 2,000 and 3,500 people, had six hotels and 20 saloons. As quickly as the town went boom it went bust. The silver deposits that Culver and Coxhead initially discovered produced 14,000 ounces of silver to the ton at their onset. This production, however, was short-lived as the deposits were shallow. Though there were promises of a rail line to Crested Butte the promises never materialized and investors and workers were lured away to places such as Aspen. In 1884 another rich strike was discovered; this one, however, was in Aspen. This led to the end of the prosperity in Ashcroft as people began moving to Aspen.
By 1885 there were only 100 summer residents and $5.60 in the town coffers. By the turn of the 20th century, only a handful of aging, single men lived in Ashcroft. Though they all owned mining claims they spent most of their time fishing and hunting or reading and drinking in a local bar. The men traded stories for drinks and served as an informal employment agency, matching up men with the sporadic remaining work at the mines. Every four years the remaining citizens would hold municipal elections and choose officers from amongst themselves.
The town's last permanent resident, according to the lore, was Jack Leahy, and he died in 1939, making Ashcroft officially inhabited by only ghost at that time.
The 1930s saw a new flurry of interest in the village, with the burgeoning winter Olympics and winter sports that drew attention to Ashcroft. International sportsman Ted Ryan and his partner Billy Fiske, captain of America's gold medal Olympic bobsled team, built the Highland-Bavarian Lodge north of Ashcroft. They planned to build a European style ski resort complete with an aerial tramway leading up to Mount Hayden. World War II put an end to their plans as Fiske was killed in combat and Ryan ended up leasing Ashcroft to the U.S. Army for $1 a year.
During World War II, the Army's 10th Mountain Division used Ashcroft for mountaineering training, mostly during the summer of 1942. Following the war, most of the area's ski development occurred in Aspen and Ryan later deeded the site to the U.S. Forest Service.
In 1948 World War II veteran Stuart Mace, also a well known dog sledder, brought his family and dog sled operation to Ashcroft. In 1955 Mace and his Toklat huskies were featured in the television series Sgt. Preston of the Yukon, and the ghost town was fitted with false fronts to imitate a Canadian set for the filming of the series through 1958. Mace was given the use of 5 acres of land in exchange for caretaking what remaining holdings Highland-Bavarian had in the Ashcroft area. He devoted the remainder of his life to protecting the area from development and restoring the ecology. He was joined in that effort in 1974 by the Aspen Historical Society which helped Ashcroft make it to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Located 11 miles up Castle Creek Rd. from the roundabout at the west entrance to Aspen, the silver mining ghost town features the restored remains of several historic buildings, including a saloon, a post office, and the Bird House Hotel (formerly known as the Hotel View). "Guided tours and interpretive signage tell the stories of the former boom town nestled among spectacular alpine meadows at the headwaters of Castle Creek," says the Historic Society.
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