Chaffee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,476. The county seat is Salida.
Mount Antero, historically called Antero Peak, is the highest summit of the southern Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The prominent 14,269-foot (4349.21 m) fourteener is located in San Isabel National Forest, 12.2 miles (19.6 km) southwest by south of the Town of Buena Vista in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The mountain is named in honor of Chief Antero of the Uintah band of the Ute people.
Animas Forks is an extinct mining town located 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Silverton in San Juan County, Colorado, United States. The area is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. At an elevation of 11,185 feet (3,409 m), Animas Forks is one of the highest mining camps in North America.
Coalmont is an unincorporated community and U.S. Post Office in Jackson County, Colorado, United States. The town is named for the open-pit lignite coal mines in the area, from which coal was shipped out on the Union Pacific Railroad to the mainline at Laramie, Wyoming.
Nathrop is an unincorporated town, a post office, and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. The population was 288 at the 2020 census. The Nathrop post office has the ZIP code 81236.
Chalk Creek is a 27.3-mile-long (43.9 km) river flowing east from the Collegiate Peaks mountain range in Chaffee County, Colorado. Mount Antero borders the southern side of the river, while Mount Princeton borders the northern side. The headwaters of the river are located at the Continental Divide. The river empties into the Arkansas River at the town of Nathrop, Colorado.
Abbeyville is an extinct community located in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States.
Altman is an extinct mining town located in Teller County, Colorado, United States.
Querida is a ghost town in Custer County, Colorado, United States. The town was built to serve the surrounding silver mines, the most important of which was the Bassick mine.
Saint Elmo is a ghost town in Chaffee County, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1880, Saint Elmo lies in the heart of the Sawatch Range, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Buena Vista and sits at an elevation of 9,961 feet (3,036 m). Nearly 2,000 people settled in this town when mining for gold and silver started. The mining industry started to decline in the early 1920s, and in 1922 the railroad discontinued service. The community is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Saint Elmo Historic District. It is one of Colorado's best preserved ghost towns.
The Mary Murphy Mine was the principal gold mine of the Chalk Creek mining district of Chaffee County, Colorado, United States, near St. Elmo, Colorado. The Mary Murphy Mine operated continuously from 1870 to 1925, and produced 220 thousand ounces of gold, worth $4.4 million then, plus considerable silver, lead, and zinc. There were two aerial tramways connecting the mine to Romley, Colorado, and the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad.
Buckskin Joe is an extinct gold mining town located in Park County, Colorado, United States. The town was founded in 1860 as Laurette in what was then the Kansas Territory. The Territory of Colorado was created on February 28, 1861, and the Laurette post office opened on November 14, 1861. Laurette was elected the Park County seat on January 7, 1862. The post office name was changed to Buckskin on December 21, 1865, although the town was popularly known as Buckskin Joe. The county seat was moved to Fair Play in 1867, and the Buckskin post office closed on January 24, 1873.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Chaffee County, Colorado.
Saints John, originally called Coleyville and later Saint John, is a former silver-mining town in Summit County, Colorado. About a mile from the town of Montezuma, Saints John was the site of one of the first silver discoveries in Colorado. Although no longer a town, it still has several inhabitants.
Ironton is an extinct town located in Ouray County, Colorado, United States. It lay south of the present town of Ouray, adjacent to the sites Guston and Red Mountain Town, fellow ghost towns. During the 1880s and 1890s, Ironton formed part of the Red Mountain Pass mining district, the second largest silver mining district in Colorado. The Ironton post office operated from May 2, 1883, until August 2, 1920.
Adelaide is an extinct town located in Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The townsite is located at 38.5600°N 105.0908°W at an elevation of 6,949 feet (2,118 m). Previously known as Robinson, the former mining camp and railroad water is located along the Phantom Canyon Road. The Adelaide Bridge is located just north of the townsite.
Atchee is a ghost town in Garfield County, Colorado. It was originally a railroad village/company town owned by the Gilsonite Company that served as a shopping town on the narrow-gauge Uintah Railway. The railroad served mines in nearby Utah. At a point in time, the railroad was dismantled which led to a sharp population decline. By 1938, there were only 27 voters in the town and by 1940 only two voters remained.
Haybro,, is an extinct town in Routt County, Colorado, United States.
Baldwin is an extinct coal mining town located in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. The townsite is located at coordinates 38.7639°N 107.0478°W at an elevation of 8,767 feet (2,672 m).
