Mount Vernon, Colorado

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Mount Vernon is an extinct town from the former Jefferson Territory, the site of which is located in present-day Jefferson County, Colorado.

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Mount Vernon was founded in 1859 by Dr. Joseph Casto who followed the gold rush to Colorado in 1858. He did not find gold, but decided to establish a town between the mining camps and the city of Denver. With three other men, he founded the Denver, Auraria, and Colorado Wagon Company in December 1859. [1]

The Mount Vernon House in 2013 Mount Vernon House.JPG
The Mount Vernon House in 2013

After gold ore was discovered near Central City in 1859, a trail was established through Mount Vernon. It was a main route into the mountain. A toll road that passed through Mount Vernon and through Mount Vernon Canyon was built by the wagon company, and then purchased in 1880 by Jefferson County and no longer requiring a toll to use the road. The road became U.S. 40, and then Interstate 70. [1] [2]

At its height, there were about 200 people who lived in the town, but by 1885 it only had 50 residents. [2] One of the town's citizens was Robert Williamson Steele, the governor of Jefferson Territory, who often worked out of his Mount Vernon house. [1] The town had its own post office, two hotels, homes, and a store. [2] It was described as a "beautiful and romantic village... [with] a number of neat and tidy houses." [1] The town had a gypsum deposit and it had limestone and lime kilns. The town was abandoned over time. [2]

Its cemetery, which still exists on the Village Trail within the Jefferson County Open Space. With a grave stone dated 1860, it is one of the oldest cemeteries in the state. [2]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Ben Fogelberg; Steve Grinstead (2006). Walking Into Colorado's Past: 50 Front Range History Hikes. Big Earth Publishing. pp. 128–129. ISBN   978-1-56579-519-8.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Jessen, Kenneth (July 29, 2017). "Mount Vernon - an early Colorado town". Reporter-Herald. Retrieved June 11, 2018.

Further reading

39°41′26.58″N105°12′30.96″W / 39.6907167°N 105.2086000°W / 39.6907167; -105.2086000

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