writing as Angela Raines
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| Image from Wikipedia |
Although there were people in the area in 1878, the town officially started in 1880. By the end, they say, according to Colorado.com "... the population rode the last train out of town and never came back." For a brief story, the following link will give you more detail. St. Elmo
In her book 'Colorado Ghost Towns and Mining Camps", Sandra Dallas has this to say about St. Elmo, "when the Alpine tunnel was under construction, St. Elmo, as the largest town in the area was the scene of raunchy Saturday night sprees. The town was always crowded, and accommodations were scarce. An 1880 traveler recalled he and his companions "put up with the best hotel the place could afford, which was, in fact, the only one, at three dollars per day ... When we ask about a bed and a room by ourselves, the landlord told us the best he could do was to give us a bed and draw a chalk mark around us for a room."
Accommodations were more abundant later in the year when the Denver Tribune reported three hotels, five restaurants, two sawmills, and several stores."
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| Image from Western Mining History.com |
Of course, you can't have a town without some controversy and in 1887 they had it when St. Elmo arranged to have the Republican Convention (county) held there.
Lest you forget, at almost 10,000 the winters could be a challenge as the following article shows.
I encourage you to learn more about this 'well-preserved' ghost town and its history. In my novel, "The Outlaw's Letter", my hero Grant travels through the area on his way to Virginia City in search of the man who can clear his name. Below is a brief excerpt:
Even for the noon hour, the town appeared rather boisterous. Grant
could hear the roar from where he stood about a half a mile away on
the mountainside. "You'd think such a new town would be a bit
quieter," he said as he prepared to mount up.
"You
might at that mister," came a voice off to Grant's right. "Most
folks come in from one of the trails."
Grant
stiffened. He cursed himself for not being more vigilant instead of
thinking about his wife. But then his wife wasn't like any other
woman he'd ever met. "There's a trail from the East?" Grant
asked to cover himself. That he was aware of such a trail was true,
but he'd hope to get into Virginia City, then out with little notice.
"Mister,
there's trails from the east, west, and south. Gettin' so a person
can't move through these here mountains without running into some
fools looking to get rich quick. You one o' them?"
"No,"
Grant assured the voice. "Heard of Virginia City and wondered if
it was anything like the ones in Nevada and Montana? Plus, it would
be the kind of town a man I grew up around would gravitate to."
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Doris Gardner-McCraw -
Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History
Colorado and Women's History
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