Crystal (also known as Crystal City) is a ghost town above Crystal River in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. It is located in the Elk Mountains along a 4-wheel-drive 4-wheel-drive road 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Marble and 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Crested Butte. Crystal is a mining camp established in 1880 and after several decades of strong existence, all abandoned in 1917. Many buildings still stand in Crystal, but some residents live there only in summer.
Video Crystal, Colorado
Histori
The miners found a promising silver deposit near the meetings of the North Fork and the South Fork of the Crystal River in 1880. Within months of mining operations in progress and a new mining camp has emerged. A year later, on July 8, 1881, Crystal City was founded. At the height of prosperity in the mid-1880s, Crystal had over 500 inhabitants, post office, newspaper ( Crystal River Current later replaced by The Silver Lance ), the pool hall swimming pool, Crystal Club (popular and exclusive men's club), salon, salon and hotel.
Some mines near Crystal proved productive, among the largest being the Black Queen, Lead King, and Sheep Mountain Tunnel. Silver, lead, and zinc are the main metals produced, but removing the ore from the valley is an ongoing problem. The closest train stations are in Crested Butte and Carbondale, 20 miles (32 km) and 34 miles (55 km) away, respectively. These routes come out of Crystal, in places, no more than just walkways. While work to improve the lane continued many years after Crystal's formation, the route has never been more than a narrow rail line for many years of mine shipped ore. As a result, most of the ore is brought to the station by jack cart with up to 100 mules.
The isolation of the Crystal hinders its success. The transport of ore to the depots in Crested Butte and Carbondale (via Marble) and the supply of basic necessities and letters to the Crystal is a challenge in the snow-free months and difficult to impossible during the winter. Thick snow and soluble snow bumps are obstacles and avalanches, rocky avalanches, and wet and slippery, dangerous and sometimes lethal streets. Transportation difficulties slashed profits and in 1889 Crystal decreased with winter population to less than 100.
The 1893 silver panic spelled the camp's fate. Most of the mines are closed, the population is shrinking. Owner of Mount Sheep & amp; Mining companies know that if the mine is to survive, efficiency is needed. They built the Sheep Mount power plant (known today as the Crystal Mill). The power plant uses the flow of Crystal River to light the air compressor. Compressed air is channeled into the mine to run pneumatic exercises. But even this innovation is not enough to save the mining operation. The crystals continued to decline and the population in 1915 was eight. In 1917, the mine closed or saw only sporadic activity, the Mount Sheep power plant was closed, and Crystal was largely emptied, its heyday behind it.
Maps Crystal, Colorado
Crystal Today
Crystals are emptied in winter but there are some summer occupants. The city sees visitors, mostly passing through to create in the area. The upper Crystal River Valley lies between two wilderness areas: the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Desert in the north and the Wilderness Ragged to the south. Photography, hiking, peaking, mountain biking, and driving four-wheel and off-highway vehicles are common. Fishing and hunting (deer and deer) are also popular.
Today Crystal is famous for being one of the most photographed historic sites in Colorado, Crystal Mill, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
Access Path To Crystal
Gunnison County Road 3 connects Crystal to Marble. Most of the road is a rocky rack road, suitable for four wheel drive only.
Forest Road 317 (a.k.a. Gothic Road) connects Crystal to Crested Butte via Schofield Pass. It crosses the Devils Punchbowl, considered to be among the most dangerous four wheel drive trails in the state.
See also
- List of ghost towns in Colorado
- Boomtown
Note
External links
- Crystal City, Marble Tourism Association
- On the wild road to Crystal Mill: Colorado photography gems, Sheets
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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