A Brief History of Silverton Book

The historic mining town of Silverton, Colorado, founded in 1874, lies in Bakers Park and is ringed by 12,000 and 13,000-foot peaks of the San Juan Mountains. However it was not the beautiful scenery but rather the highly mineralized veins that lay in the nearby mountains that attracted the early prospectors. The town really came into prominence with the arrival of the Denver & Rio Grand Railroad in July 1882. Three other narrow gauge lines were eventually built out of the city, which drew business to the town and helped Silverton reign as the largest town in the San Juans for nearly a century. When the silver bust of 1893 occured, Silverton was not greatly affected as vast amounts of gold had been discovered in the nearby mines. Mining continued to dominate the economy until the 1980s, but tourism is now the main economic factor for Silverton.Read More