GC4RPKM Silverton Co
Type: Wherigo | Size: Micro | Difficulty: | Terrain:
By: kingbee @ | Hide Date: 12/03/2013 | Status: Available
Country: United States | State: Colorado
Coordinates: N37° 48.406 W107° 40.285 | Last updated: 08/30/2019 | Fav points: 0
                           

---

Lets take a tour of Silverton Co. Gold was discovered here in 1860, and after negotiations with the Ute Indians, the area was opened for settlement. The Town of Silverton was platted in 1874, and by 1875 the population had doubled. The Stony Pass wagon road became a toll road in 1879, and supplies came in over the Continental Divide from Del Norte. The greatest boom to the area was the construction of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (now known as the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad) in 1882. By that time, there were seven towns, including Animas Forks (now a well-visited ghost town in the summer months) and Howardsville, which was the first county seat on the Western Slope. Otto Mears, “Pathfinder of the San Juans,” built his famous “Rainbow Route,” one of three railroads that carried ore to the smelter in Silverton from the high camps. Mining reached its peak between 1900 and 1912, and the population of San Juan County peaked at 5,000, with Silverton as the metropolis of the district. Hundreds of millions of dollars of gold and silver were extracted from the mines. The last operating mine, Sunnyside Gold, closed in 1991.
Silverton’s main business section was built in the late 1800s. Unlike many other mining towns, Silverton never experienced a major fire, and most of the buildings are still standing. The “other side” of town was centered on Blair Street. At one time this notorious street was home to forty saloons and brothels. Almost half of these buildings are still standing today. Today’s business district (with its lodging, restaurants, shops, and galleries), is on Greene (main) Street and Notorious Blair Street, and the side streets between them. Check on the Business Directory for year-round Lodging, Dining, Shopping, and Services (for all other businesses) for more information.
Silverton is now the only town left in San Juan County. Its year-round population of 500 is supported by the tourism industry rather than by mining
upload herecartridge

Additional Waypoints

05/17/2019 By HikingSeal
I arrive just as a snow squall was ending. It left locals cleaning off the cars. Fortunately the sun was just coming out and there is a light breeze so it made for a pleasant walk around the town. Throughout the cartridge I felt like I was missing something, mainly the answers. But a little random guessing on the multiple-choice and use of Google on some of the others I was able to make it through the cartridge into the final which was damp going on wet not to mention full. Signed on stash note side of log. Thank you for showing me this cool little town.

Logged from Cachly
UTAG Member
Utah GeoTour Volunteer
Podcacher Club Member
Cachetur.no Ambassador and Contributor

11/27/2018 By R&B CO
Fun cache to wander around town. Wasn’t able to do Museum because it’s closed for season but was able to finish and find and sign the final. Cool spot for the final. TFTCj

07/29/2018 By norbert28
Thanks for the wherigo! Found with mom - jasperdakota

07/29/2018 By jasperdakota
Thanks for the wherigo! Enjoyed the walk around town. The log is getting full. Maybe the next finder can leave a new log.

07/05/2018 By texaslibra
We don't have very many whereigo's under our belt and we were winging our caching adventures so we didn't have this loaded on our gps. We downloaded the app and kept our fingers crossed it would lead us to the final. Enjoyed the walk around town and were able to find the final with only a few restarts of the app. Thanks for the history lesson and taking us to the final area. Everything is so pretty.

06/04/2018 By Mrs_HiDude
Enjoying time with extended family and friends. We stopped to enjoy some caches along the way. The fire in Durango kept us on the road a lot longer than planned. I hope everyone is OK. TFTC. SL.

Mrs_HiDude

06/04/2018 By CuteLilFuzzyMonkey
Fresh off of an amazing Giga trip, the fun wasn't over yet. We had one more little side run planned since we had time and we made the most of it. I would say I am cached out but I do not believe there is such a thing lmao. TFTC!