Photo by Denise Chambers/Weaver Multimedia Group, additional credit to the Colorado Tourism Office
Known around the world, the resort town of Aspen, Colorado, is a winter- and summer-lover’s playground. Nestled among the Rocky Mountains, Aspen offers a wealth of recommended attractions for outdoor enthusiasts and culture seekers, including both cross-country and downhill skiing. Aspen’s thriving community of 5,400 year-round residents takes great pride in maintaining its historic, Victorian charm for both themselves and the thousands of tourists who visit the resort town each year.
History
A small group of prospectors traveled over the Continental Divide from Leadville over a century ago to one of the favorite summer hunting grounds of the Ute Indians–the wilderness of the Roaring Fork River upper valley. There they discovered one of the richest silver lodes in the world. They originally named the camp Ute City, but by spring the name had been changed to Aspen.
Thousands of fortune seekers arrived by 1890 to stake their claims in this productive area. The world’s largest silver nugget, 1,840 pounds, was uncovered in the Molly Gibson Mine in 1893, only to be surpassed by an even larger one from the Smuggler Mine in 1894. At its height, Aspen had 12,000 residents, six newspapers, four schools, three banks, ten churches, a modern hospital, an opera house and a small but flourishing red-light district.
In the transitory world of mining settlements, Aspen residents strived for more permanence. As a result, some of Aspen’s historic, Victorian buildings are still in use today, including the Wheeler Opera House and the Hotel Jerome.
When the Sherman Silver Act was repealed and silver was demonetized, Aspen declined as a mining town. As the larger mines shut down, the local economy became more dependent upon ranching and farming. By the 1930′s, Aspen’s population had shrunk to approximately 700 people.
But investors soon discovered another of Aspen’s lures around 1936–snow! The Roaring Fork Valley seemed to provide the ideal location for a ski resort. A lodge and a boat tow were erected, and plans included building a complete resort, though these had to be canceled following the outbreak of World War II.
Coincidentally, it was the Army’s 10th Mountain Division in nearby Camp Hale, whose members knew ski resorts the world over, who claimed that they had never seen fine powder like Aspen’s. After the War, many of the early 10th Mountain Division’s soldiers, including Friedl Pfeifer, relocated to Aspen and began buying up mining claims and surface rights with the idea of building a ski area.
Soon after, the first chair lift, then the longest in the world, was constructed on Aspen Mountain. In 1950, Aspen hosted the World FIS Downhill Championships, realizing Friedl Pfiefer’s dream of a world-class ski resort.
Since that time–for over 50 years–skiing and culture have coursed through Aspen’s veins. What once began as a small Victorian mining town still maintains its charm as the world-class resort that it is today.
Content derived from the Aspen Chamber Resort Association Web site. Used by permission.
© 2000 Aspen Chamber Resort Association. All rights reserved.