THE SILVERTON STORY
by
MARY ANN OLSEN
I am indebted to the following for historical information andpictures:
Helen Fleming, Ross C. Beaber, former publisher of the SilvertonStandard, L. W. Parcell of the Grand Imperial Hotel, Herold A.Waddington, James R. Bell, and Fenrick Sutherland.
Copyright 1962
Mary Ann Olsen
All Rights Reserved
Printed by Beaber Printing Co., Cortez, Colorado
To
Ruby Hammand,
My Best Regards
Mary Ann Olsen
7-7-65
The Silverton Story
Silverton, Looking South Toward Durango
Silverton, with all its scenic splendor, nestles in a valley 9,302feet in altitude. It is surrounded by four mountain peaks, all ofwhich rise above timberline, and are usually snow covered the yeararound; Kendall Mountain to the East, Anvil Mountain to the West,Boulder Mountain to the North, and Sultan Mountain to the South.The highest of these peaks is Sultan, which rises to a dizzy height of13,336 feet. Opposite this is Kendall that juts skyward 4,000 feetabove the floor of the valley. Silverton is centered in the rugged,majestic San Juan Mountains, and nowhere in the nation is thereanother 100,000 square miles of such spectacularly scenic grandeur.
One evening, a group of men were in a saloon discussing thepossibilities of the San Juan. One fellow remarked, “We have silverby the ton”, and thus Silverton got its name. It is the only incorporatedtown in the county, and boasts not an acre of farm land.
Silverton was, at one time, named Baker’s Park after CharlesBaker who led a group of prospectors to this country in 1860 or1861. There is no record of any permanent locations made, or ofany quantity of mineral taken out, though there were indications ofprospecting being done. As you can imagine, Baker and his partyendured many hardships. Relics, broken wagon parts, and somediscarded camp equipment lead to the belief the party came by wayof Durango, thence to Cascade Creek along the route of our presenthighway. From there they went to the West of Spud Mountain andkept fairly high, crossing Coal Bank Hill and following around thehead of Lime Creek. After passing Lime Creek, they crossed thehills East of there and came down into the park by way of BearCreek. There is a place on Bear Creek which shows they let theirwagons down the hillside by means of a rope, as the stock was evidently2unable to hold the wagons under control.
Charles Baker had a narrow escape in 1862 near Eureka. Oneof the men organized a mutiny, crying out to hang Baker, claiminghe had deceived them. Baker heard of it and escaped, otherwisehe would have met his fate at the hands of his own men. In 1868,Baker again set out from Denver for Silverton, as he still believedgold was here, and arrived in the San Juan in 1871. He was killedin this vicinity by the Indians shortly thereafter.
Dempsey Reese, Miles T. Johnson, Adam French and ThomasBlair outfitted in Santa Fe and arrived in the San Juans in 1870. Theywere the first lode prospectors, as Baker and his party had beensearching for placer gold.
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