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 and 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. A free gondola connects the town with its companion town Mountain Village, Colorado on the other side of the ridge.

Nestled 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 the chemical element 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 1889, Butch Cassidy and his gang The Wild Bunch robbed the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride. This was his first major recorded crime. He exited the bank with $24,580.

Mining was Telluride’s only industry until 1972, when the first ski lift was installed by Telluride Ski Resort. As mining phased out and a new service industry phased in, the local population changed sharply. Mining families fled Telluride to settle in places like Moab, Utah, where uranium mining offered hope of continued employment. Mining families were replaced by what locals referred to as "hippies", young people with a 1960s world view that frequently clashed with the values of Telluride's old timers. These newcomers were characterized as being idle trust funders who were drawn to the town for a casual life style and outdoor excitements such as hang gliding, mountain climbing, and kayaking

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