Elevation: 9,308
Population: 531
County: San Juan County seat the county’s
population is 558, just 27 more than the
population of the town
Established: 1874; incorporated 1876
Name: The town had several names early on, but
in 1875, the name Silverton was chosen in an
election because of the nearby silver mining in
the San Juan Mountains. According to the “The
Roads of Colorado” atlas, legend has it that the
town got its name when a miner said, “We may
not have gold, but we have silver by the ton.”
Town motto: The mining town that never quits
Brief history: Established in 1874, by 1875 the town
had a population of 100 and by 1876 had grown to
500 people. At one time, Blair Street had 40
saloons.
In 1882 a railroad route from Durango was built
through the town. From 1900 to 1912, mining was
at its peak, and the population of the county
reached as high as 5,000 during those years.
Mining had bust and boom cycles until the early
1990s, when the last mine in the region closed.
Tourism is now the town’s main industry, with
more than 250,000 people visiting each year.
Silverton has been designated a National
Historic Landmark.
Interesting facts: Silverton is the only
incorporated town in San Juan County, with 95
percent of the county on public lands. The town
is 12 blocks long and seven blocks wide, containing
much of the private land in the county.
In 1932, Silverton was snowed in for 32 days
straight.
The growing season lasts only about 14, days
so there is not one acre of agricultural land in the
county.
Sources: Silverton Magazine; Silverton Chamber of Commerce; San
Juan County Historical Society; U.S. Census Bureau, 2000; “The Roads
of Colorado”; USGS; “Colorado Place Names” by William Bright
REGIONAL NOTES
CLEAR CREEK COUNTY
County hopes to join RTD district
Clear Creek County commissioners have asked RTD to consider inclusion of the county in the transit agency’s taxing district.
If voters approve the county’s entry into the Regional Transportation District, residents would pay the 1 percent RTD sales tax and the district would supply bus service to Clear Creek in return.
“We realize that we are missing a considerable amount of the transit need in the county today, including commuters, recreational travelers and seniors’ needs,” the commissioners said in a recent letter to RTD. “Ultimately we believe that inclusion in RTD is the only way that we can successfully meet these needs.”
AURORA
Have a vine time at Pumpkinfest
Pumpkins will again fly through the air during the annual Pumpkinfest on Oct. 8 at DeLaney Farm, 170 S. Chambers Road. The festival, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., includes storytellers, craft activities, a hay- bale maze and a pumpkin-seed-spitting contest.
The most celebrated part of the festival is the Jack-O-Launch, where contestants use creatively decorated and kinetically powered catapults to launch gourds into the air. For more information, call 303-326-8615.
DENVER POST STAFF REPORTS
