Scattered across Colorado are the remains of well over 400 ghost towns.
These include all forms of settlements from mountain towns, to mining camps, and even supply posts.

These ghost towns revolved primarily around the economic gain associated with the mining industry. Most mining activity was directly tied to the recovery of gold and silver.

The onslaught of over a century’s worth of wind, avalanches, high-altitude sun, natural degradation and human intervention have turned multitudes of previously flourishing towns back to their original earthen landscape.
Technically, the transformation to a ghost town occurs at the moment a town is entirely abandoned.

Realistically, the transformation took place over a broader scope of time in keeping with the ebb and flow of opportunity and livelihood.
And yet, irregardless of the adverse living condition, abandoned towns were also known to have been repopulated as demand for certain metals increased and/or as advances in mining practices made recovery more feasible and profitable.

Historic tales of colorful characters help to paint a wild picture of what these rugged towns were like for everyday locals. Certainly, these places were not for the faint of heart.

Nor are they for the faint of heart today. For these places can speak to you in metaphors if you listen. What you hear may surprise you. From what I’ve gathered, ghost towns aren’t just places on a map. They are real places in you and me. Places that once contained hopes and dreams now emptied for any number of reasons. Quite possibly, the opportunity exists to visit, even take up residence, at these abandoned places. To see dreams and hopes long since forgotten come to life again.

It begins simply enough: just by taking the journey to see what’s still there, what remains.

John Forney
August 2006