1874 The town of Silverton is established,
which is now the oldest continuous settlement in the San Juans.
1874 Otto Mears begins building a network
of toll roads throughout the San Juan Mountains.
1880s Mining continues to be prosperous
in the San Juan mountains.
1881 The Utes reluctantly sign a treaty
that banishes them from Colorado forever. Most relocate to Utah.
1884 The toll road through Uncompahgre
Gorge is completed and is considered a major engineering feat.
1888 The Wetherill brothers come upon
ancient cliff dwellings near their ranch in Mancos.
1890s Virginia McClurg organizes a
lobby of women's clubs to save the cliff dwelling ruins at Mesa
Verde.
Late 1800s Telluride is known as “The
Golden Gem of the Silvery San Juans”.
1901 Union workers strike at Telluride's
Smuggler-Union mine and demand $3 for an eight-hour workday. Owners
refuse and instead hire non-union workers at that rate.
1901 Mining company guards kill three
union members at Telluride's Smuggler-Union mine.
1902 Smuggler-Union mine manager Arthur
Collins is assassinated, presumably by union members.
1903 Mine workers strike again. Colorado
Governor James Peabody sides with management and sends in the National
Guard to evict union members from the state. The union breaks.
1906 U.S. Congress passes a law creating
Mesa Verde National Park.
1910 Only 48 people remain in the formerly
prosperous mining town of Ironton.
1920 Ironton's post office closes and
the town becomes a ghost town.
HIGHLIGHTS
Silverton Courtesy, Library of Congress
1842 The town of Silverton is established, which is now the oldest continuous settlement in the San Juans.
Otto Mears Courtesy, Colorado Historical Society
1874 Otto Mears begins building a network of toll roads through the
San Juan Mountains.
Mill Courtesy, Library of Congress
1880s Mining continues to be prosperous in the San Juan mountains.
Telluride Courtesy, Colorado Historical Society
Late 1800s Telluride is known as “The Golden Gem of the Silvery San Juans”.
