This is a list of some notable ghost towns in the U.S. State of Colorado. A ghost town is a former community that now has no year-round residents or less than 1% of its peak population. Colorado has over 1,500 ghost towns, although visible remains of only about 640 still exist. Due to incomplete records, no exhaustive list can be produced.
Colorado ghost towns were abandoned for a number of reasons:
Others were abandoned for more unusual reasons. Some were resort towns which never brought in enough tourists. At least seven former townsites are now underwater, caused by the creation of reservoirs; a few are covered in mining tailings, as noted below. Of the list below, some involve settlements with visible tangible remains such as structures or cemeteries, while the precise location of others is known only through maps and historic accounts.
This is a sortable table of some of the ghost towns in Colorado. Select the OpenStreetMap link in the box at right to view a map showing the location these towns.
Arapahoe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, its population was 655,070, making it the third-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Littleton, and the most populous city is Aurora. The county was named for the Arapaho Native American tribe, who once lived in the region.
Gold Hill is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population of the Gold Hill CDP was 218 at the United States Census 2020. The Boulder post office serves the area.
Franktown is an unincorporated town, a post office, and a census-designated place (CDP) located in and governed by Douglas County, Colorado, United States. The CDP is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Franktown post office has the ZIP Code 80116. At the United States Census 2020, the population of the Franktown CDP was 409.
The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the 38th State of Colorado.
The Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson was an extralegal and unrecognized United States territory that existed in the Pike's Peak mining region from October 24, 1859, until it yielded to the new Territory of Colorado on June 6, 1861. The Jefferson Territory, named for Founding Father and third United States president Thomas Jefferson, included land officially part of the Kansas Territory, the Nebraska Territory, the New Mexico Territory, the Utah Territory, and the Washington Territory, but the region was remote from the governments of those five territories.
Auraria was a small mining settlement in the Kansas Territory in the United States. Today it survives in its original location as a neighborhood of Denver, Colorado, south of the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River.
Arapahoe was one of the first settlements in what is now the U.S. state of Colorado. Nothing remains of the now deserted ghost town in Jefferson County, except a historical marker on the south side of 44th Avenue, between the towns of Golden and Wheat Ridge.
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.
Russell Gulch, is a former mining town, now largely a ghost town, in Gilpin County, Colorado, United States. Although the population was once much larger than today, and most of the larger commercial buildings stand empty, the town is not completely deserted.
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.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Colorado:
Mount Vernon is an extinct town from the former Jefferson Territory, the site of which is located in present-day Jefferson County, Colorado.
Henry Allen was an American pioneer and politician. He served in the United States Army before settling in Council Bluffs, where he was a postmaster. He was at the front of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush, arriving in Denver of the Kansas Territory in October 1858. He prospected for gold and was the first official postmaster of the Pikes Peak region. As a surveyor, he helped establish Auraria, Highland, which later came part of the city of Denver. He was a founder of a company that diverted water from the South Platte River through irrigation ditches. He held the first meeting in his cabin for what became the Auraria Masonic Lodge. He was a delegate from Auraria for the first Constitutional Convention of the Jefferson Territory. Allen and his wife lived in mining towns in Colorado, Idaho, and Montana. Due to poor health, Henry and Susan Allen moved to California, where Allen died in 1871.
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