St. Elmo, Colorado

St. Elmo, Colorado

Infobox nrhp
name = St. Elmo
nrhp_type = hd



caption = An old shop on Main Street
location = coor dms|38|42|17|N|106|20|53|W|city
nearest_city = Nathrop, Colorado
elevation = 10,006
lat_degrees =
lat_minutes =
lat_seconds =
lat_direction =
long_degrees =
long_minutes =
long_seconds =
long_direction =
area =
built =
architect =
architecture =
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
mpsub =

St. Elmo is a ghost town located in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1880, St. Elmo lies in the heart of the Sawatch Range, 20 miles southwest of Buena Vista. To this day it is one of Colorado's most preserved ghost towns. Nearly 2,000 people settled in this town when mining for gold and silver became evident. The mining industry started to decline in the early 1920s, and in 1922 the train discontinued service. There are currently 8 year-round residents in this area.

History

St. Elmo was originally named "Forest City" but was later changed because of the multitude of towns with the same name. The name "St. Elmo" was chosen by Griffith Evans, one of the founding fathers, who was reading a novel with the same title. [ [http://www.legendsofamerica.com Legends of America - A Travel Site for the Nostalgic and Historic Minded ] ]

The town was at its pinnacle in the 1890s. St. Elmo had everything a town during the late 1800s needed. It included a telegraph office, general store, town hall, 5 hotels, saloons, dancing halls, a newspaper office, and a school house. The Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad line ran through St. Elmo. There were 150 patented mine claims within the area. The majority of the people who lived in St. Elmo worked at the Mary Murphy, Teresa C., The Molly or the Pioneer Mines. The Mary Murphy Mine was the largest and most successful mine in the area. The Mary Murphy Mine detained over $60,000,000 worth of gold while it was in use. While the other mines eventually shut down, the Mary Murphy Mine continued until the railroad shutdown in 1922. [ [http://www.narrowgauge.org/ncmap/jerry/St_Elmo.html St. Elmo, Colorado - A Photo Gallery ] ]

Once the mining industry shut down, St. Elmo drastically declined in population. Miners searched elsewhere for gold and silver and the business district in St. Elmo shut down as well. Few people continued to live in the town. Postal service discontinued in 1952 once St. Elmo's postman passed away.

t. Elmo today

Even though St. Elmo is considered a ghost town it is still inhabited. Tourism brings many people to the St. Elmo area every year. The old mining roads are now used as jeep and four-wheeler trails. There are also many good places to fish along Chalk Creek, which runs through St. Elmo. The general store is open during the summer, where tourists can rent four-wheelers and buy other items they have for sale. Many of the buildings are still intact. However, the town hall and a few other buildings were burnt down in 2002. The Buena Vista Historical Society is rebuilding the town hall to its original state.

Geography

The site is located at coor dms|38|42|17|N|106|20|53|W|city, at an elevation of 10,006 feet (3050 m) in Chaffee County, Colorado.

St. Elmo --- all pictures are June 2005















References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Elmo Everett Smith — (* 19. November 1909 in Grand Junction, Colorado; † 15. Juli 1968 in Albany, Oregon) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker und von 1956 bis 1957 der 27. Gouverneur von Oregon. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Frühe Jahre 2 Politischer Aufstieg …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Elmo Lincoln — (* 6. Februar 1889 in Rochester, Indiana, Vereinigte Staaten; † 27. Juni 1952 in Los Angeles, Kalifornien, eigentlich Otto Elmo Linkenhelt) war ein US amerikanischer Schauspieler. Leben Der ehemalige Schutzmann bewarb sich als Komparse bei… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Elmo Lincoln — (February 6, 1889 in Rochester, Indiana – June 27, 1952 in Los Angeles) was an American film actor.Born Otto Elmo Linkenhelt, the barrel chested actor is best known in his silent movie role as the first Tarzan in 1918 s Tarzan of the Apes (as an… …   Wikipedia

  • Elmo Smith — Elmo Everett Smith (* 19. November 1909 in Grand Junction, Colorado; † 15. Juli 1968 in Albany, Oregon) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker (Republikanische Partei) und von 1956 bis 1957 der 27. Gouverneur des Bundesstaates Oregon. Frühe Jahre… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Elmo Smith — Infobox Governor name= Elmo E. Smith width= 200 height= 255px caption= Gov. Elmo Smith order=27th office= Governor of Oregon term start= February 1, 1956 term end= January 14, 1957 lieutenant= predecessor= Paul L. Patterson successor= Robert D.… …   Wikipedia

  • Colorado College — This article is about the private institution in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For the public university, see University of Colorado System. Coordinates: 39°30′43″N 84°44′05″W / 39.511905°N 84.734 …   Wikipedia

  • St. Elmo — Para la localidad de Illinois, véase St. Elmo (Illinois) …   Wikipedia Español

  • Saint Elmo — (or St. Elmo) may refer to:People*Erasmus of Formiae (Saint Elmo), the patron saint of sailors *Peter Gonzalez, also known as Saint Elmo or Saint Telmo *St. Elmo Brady, the first African American to obtain a Ph.D.Places*Fort Saint Elmo, a… …   Wikipedia

  • Outline of Colorado — The Flag of t …   Wikipedia

  • Chaffee County, Colorado — Location in the state of Colorado …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”