Telluride, Colorado
Telluride is a town in San Miguel County in southwestern Colorado on the San Miguel River on the west side of the San Juan Mountains. Telluride sits in a box canyon. Steep forested mountains and cliffs surround it. Spectacular Bridal Veil Falls is at the head of the canyon. Numerous weathered ruins of old mining operations dot the hillsides.
Telluride and the area surrounding it has had a notable effect on pop culture. The town of Telluride has served as the backdrop for several television commercials, is home to an international film festival, and has been the subject of eponymous song by Tim McGraw.
Downtown Telluride. This file is licensed under GNU Free Documentation License. Check out more photos of all our featured destinations in our photo gallery.
Winter Break
Originally a mining town, Telluride is now a major ski resort. In the summer, there are festivals almost every weekend.
Hotels and Restaurants
Look for our full directory of hotels and restaurants, coming soon.
Clubs and Bars
Look for our full directory of clubs, coming soon.
Attractions and Events
- Telluride Film Festival
- Telluride Blues and Brews Festival
- Mushroom festival
- Nothing Day Festival
- Telluride Bluegrass Festival
Tourism
Coming soon.
Climate
Coming soon.
History and Development
Nestled at in the mountains at the head of the San Miguel River, for centuries the Ute Indians spent summer and fall in the valley hunting elk, deer and mountain sheep before gold was discovered and mining moved in.
In 1858 the first gold was discovered. John Fallon made the first claim to Marshal Basin above Telluride in 1875 and early settlement of Telluride occurred. The town itself was founded in 1878. Telluride was originally named "Columbia," but due to confusion with Columbia California, the name was changed by the post office in 1887. The town was named after an element called Tellurium, which was never actually found in the mountains of Telluride. Tellurium is a metalloid element that is associated with rich deposits of Gold and some Silver. An alternate theory for the naming of Telluride is that it is a contraction of "to-hell-you-ride." Telluride's mines were rich in zinc, iron, lead, copper, silver and, of course, gold.
Telluride began slowly because of its very isolated location. In 1881 a toll road was opened by Otto Mears which allowed wagons to go where only pack mules could go before. This increased the number of people who settled in Telluride, but it was still expensive to get gold rich ore out of the valley. In 1890 the first trains reached town which brought in more mines and brought out more ore.
In June of 1889, Butch Cassidy and his gang robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride. This was his first major recorded crime. He walked away from the bank with $24,580.
A little known fact is that just outside of Telluride, in Placerville, Uranium ore was discovered. In 1898 Marie Curie purchased ore from this location and is said to have visited the area.
Right around the century there were very serious labor disputes in the mines near Telluride. The Colorado National Guard was called out and there were deaths on both sides. Unions were formed as miners joined the Western Federation of Miners in 1896. 1899 brought big changes with most mines granting miners $3 a day for an 8 hour day’s work plus a boarding pay of $1 a day. This came at a time when workers were putting in 10-12 hour days and the mines ran round the clock. Work conditions were treacherous with mines over 12,000 ft and a lack of safety measures, not to mention nature’s wrath in the winter months. Even the boarding houses were precariously placed on the mountainsides.
Telluride's Mining days came to a close between 1953 and 1959 with the final closing of the Silver Bell mine. Families left town and it became a ghost town for nearly 20 years. The snow that once tormented the miners became the new gold for the town. The first ski lift was installed in 1974 by Joe Zoline. In 1978 the mountain was purchased by Ron Allred and his partner Jim Wells to form the Telluride Company.
This article has been modified from its original version (available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telluride%2C_Colorado) and is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. |
