History

The first residents of the Telluride area were Southern Utes.  The Utes were a nomadic people, moving with the seasons.  They spent their winters at lower altitudes, often in a desert setting.  But when the snow melted and the wildflowers began to bloom, the Utes were drawn to Telluride's beautiful valley just as our summer visitors are today.  The Utes set up portable housing on the Valley Floor and hunted, gathered and played from there.  As the white man moved west, the Utes left the Telluride area, moving to less desirable land.  The Southern Ute Museum is located just south of Montrose and has wonderful displays and videos about the Ute culture.  To learn more about their museum, please go to http://www.FriendsofUteMuseum.org/.

Like many towns in the American west, Telluride was established as a mining town.  The original site of the town was at Brown's Homestead halfway to Society Turn, not in the shady end of the canyon where it sits today.  Residents moved to the current site when selling women and liquor was outlawed.  The town of Telluride was founded in 1878 just three years after the discovery of gold in the mountains above Telluride.  The Telluride mines were a wealth of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc and the area boomed.  The town, complete with a railroad, served as a supply point for surrounding mining communities.

Telluride's high alpine terrain presented many challenges for miners, especially in the winters.  In overcoming these challenges, miners developed innovative technologies that helped them as well as our current generation to thrive.  The miners developed pulley systems to transport gear and injured miners down to town.  The technology developed for these pullies was later used in building ski lifts.  The need to power the mines led to the first successful use of alternating current electricity.  Telluride's Main Street was the first street in the world to have electric street lights.  Trudging around in the snow was difficult and some of the Swiss immigrant miners introduced the other men to the convenience of strapping boards to your feet and sliding down a hill instead of trudging through the snow.

During the Depression, the mining industry declined with less demand for mined materials.  The remaining townspeople chose to stay because of their love of the San Juan Mountains and their strong sense of community.  People had a lot of free time and they began exploring ways to play with it.  It occurred to several townspeople that skiing could be more than just a convenient form of transportation ... it was fun.  They began sliding around town on the streets, using whatever equipment they could make, find or purchase for a low cost.

As money began to flow back into the United States with an improved economy in the 50s and 60s, mining regained momentum in Telluride.  Those residents that had begun to ski during the Depression continued to do so.  As gear improved, skiers ventured farther and farther out into the mountains, hitting every peak they could. With no lifts, skiers earned their turns, hiking up and skiing down.  As the ski industry developed across Colorado, Telluride wanted their own resort.  There were several initial attempts at a resort which did not reach fruition.  In 1972, the Telluride Ski Resort opened, charging $10 per day to ski and eat lunch.  With the birth of the ski area and a decrease in the world's mining needs, the town of Telluride began to transform from a mining community into a modern day ski resort.  In 1973, summer festivals in Telluride began with the Bluegrass festival and the Film festival followed in the summer of 1974.  Telluride's primary industry became year round tourism.

Explore the area and you are sure to find remnants of Telluride's mining past.  Shacks, cables, train tracks and wheels still sit, tucked away in the forests and along some of the older backroads.  They are the evidence left behind of a local population that willingly chose to spend their winters at high altitude before Goretex and down jackets.  Please use common sense when encountering mining ruins and do not go in abandoned mines or let children play with old equipment.
 

To learn more about Telluride's history, visit the Telluride Historical Museum, located at 201 West Gregory by the bottom of Tomboy Road.  The museum offers interactive, family friendly tours and has a wonderful gift shop as well.  To learn more about the museum, please visit their website at www.telluridemuseum.org.