CHAFFEE COUNTYCITIES, TOWNS
AND PLACES
|
| Place Name | Established | Comments |
| Alpine | 1877 | supply town, has small cemetery, abandoned |
| Alpine Tunnel |
RR tunnel, no longer used
|
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| Altman's Camp | aka Alton's Camp, on N fork of S Arkansas River | |
| Americas | N of Buena Vista on RR | |
| Antero Hotel | 1917 | built at Mt Princeton Hot Spgs, built 1917, torn down in 1950 |
| Arbourville | 1879 | aka Aberville and Arbor Villa, stagecoach stop on Monarch Pass Tollroad, renamed Conrow |
| Arkansas | had a post office, nothing further known | |
| Atlantic | 1882 | RR town on E side of Alpine Tunnel |
| Babcock | 1870s | silver camp on Altman Pass Road, NW of Garfield |
| Badger | 1896-1899 | originally in Chaffee County but due to a re-survey it ended up in Fremont County, 2 mi E of Whitehorn, PO was named Skinner, Ghost Town |
| Bale's City | 1878 | |
| Barre | N of Riverside | |
| Bath | had post office, nothing further known | |
| Beaver City | 1880s | located near mouth of Clear Creek |
| Bertschey's Gulch | mining camp near Cach Creek | |
| Brown's Canyon | 1882 | RR town between Salida and Buena Vista, aka Kraft |
| Buena Vista | 1879 | Replaced Granite as county seat in 1880, was later replaced by Salida as county seat in 1932. 2nd largest town in Chaffee County. |
| Bullion City | 1879 | mining camp |
| Cache Creek | 1860 | gold mining camp, 2.5 mi upstream from Granite, has cemetery, aka Cash Creek, no bldgs remain |
| Calumet | 1898 | Iron ore mining camp NE of Salida, serviced CF&I's Calumet Mine |
| Cameron | 1897-1902 | gold mining camp on N side of Cameron Mtn, nothing remains |
| Camp Austin | renamed Turret | |
| Camp Jeffery | 1882 | formerly Hancock, located on Railroad Gulch just W of Hematite. |
| Carmel | near Mt. Harvard | |
| Cascade | RR station near Babcock | |
| Centerville | 1880s | RR stop between Salida and Buena Vista |
| Chaffee City | 1880 | aka Monarch |
| Chalk Creek | 1880 | became Nathrop, stage and RR stop |
| Charcoal | NE of Nathrop | |
| Cleora | 1876-1885 | 1.5 mi SE of Salida on Arkansas River, named for Cleora Bale |
| Clifton Camp | aka Shavano | |
| Cochem | on S side of Cameron Mtn, aka Nelson | |
| Columbus | 1882-1887 | RR station near Columbus Mine and Babcock, 1.5 mi from mouth of Middle Fork River, destroyed in snow slide |
| Conrow | 1880s | formerly Arbourville |
| Cottonwood Springs | 6 miles W of Buena Vista | |
| Crazy Camp | aka Maysville and Marysville | |
| Cree's Camp | 3 miles N of Garfield at headwaters of Creek Creek | |
| Derry | W of Granite | |
| Divide | On Hwy 285 close to Park County Line | |
| Dolomite | had a post office, nothing further known | |
| Dora | had a post office, nothing further known | |
| Fisher | between Mt. Princeton Hot Springs and St. Elmo | |
| Florence | aka Winfield | |
| Foosel | 1879 | between Babcock and Maysville |
| Forest City | 1880 | renamed St. Elmo, now privately owned, tourist trap |
| Free Gold | had stamp mill, 1.5 mi S of Buena Vista | |
| Futurity | On FR 185, cabins have been restored for seasonal use | |
| Garfield | 1880 | formerly Junction City, on US 50 between Salida and Monarch Pass, most of town burned |
| Georgia Bar | 1860 | placer camp on Arkansas River |
| Gibson Gulch | mining camp near Cache Creek | |
| Gold Run | mining camp near Cache Creek | |
| Granite | 1860-present | 1 mi S of Lake/Chaffee border on US 24. Aka Granite City, formerly county seat of Lake Co and temporary county seat of Chaffee County, until 1880 when Buena Vista became the county seat. Founded in 1859 with discovery of placer gold. Violent town and center of Lake County Wars, where Judge Elias Dyer was murdered. |
| Grays | RR stop | |
| Green Gulch | small camp in Babcock area | |
| Hamilton | 1880s | mining camp for Hamilton Mining and Tunnel Company |
| Hancock | 1880 | near Alpine Tunnel, 5 mi S of St. Elmo. Railroad town near timberline for workers building the Denver, South Park & Pacific's Alpine Tunnel. Abandoned |
| Hangman Camp | near summit of Cottonwood Pass | |
| Harp | 1880s | N of Poncha Springs |
| Harrington | aka Hematite | |
| Hartsville | 1.5 miles from Monarch, cemetery with about a dozen graves | |
| Hartz | mining camp near Babcock | |
| Harvard City | 1874-1882 | gold camp and supply station near Cottonwood Pass |
| Hawkinsville | E of Arkansas River near Granite | |
| Haywood Hot Springs | 1870s | became Mt Princeton Hot Springs, first used by Indians, correct spelling is Heywood, also see Hortense |
| Hecla | ||
| Hecla Junction | RR stop | |
| Helena | 1860s | near Nathrop |
| Hematite | 1904 | formerly Venice and Harrington, mining camp located at FR185 and Railroad Gulch, had fluorite quarry |
| Heywood | aka Hortense | |
| Higgins | had post office - nothing further known | |
| Hortense | 1877- | RR stop that served Hortense Mine, at base of Chalk Cliffs, had hot springs, aka Heywood |
| Iron City | 1880 | smelter, survived 2 years only, townsite washed away when Iron City Reservoir gave way, below entrance to St. Elmo, cemetery |
| Jennings | mining camp near Babcock | |
| Junction City | became Garfield | |
| Keene | RR stop | |
| Kelley's Bar | 1860 | placer camp 4 miles below Granite |
| Klondike | see Minneapolis | |
| Kraft | 1882 | aka Browns Canyon |
| Krain | had post office - nothing further known | |
| Lake Creek | mining camp near Cache Creek | |
| Lost Canyon Placers | 1860s | mining camp 3.5 miles from Granite |
| Low Pass | E of Arkansas River near Granite | |
| Lucknow | aka Winfield | |
| Mahonville | had post office, stage stop on W side of Buena Vista, PO moved to Buena Vista in 1879 | |
| Manoa | 1897-1908 | gold mining camp, 1.5 miles E of Calumet, actually in Fremont Co, aka Paradise Camp, 2 structures remaining |
| Maysville | 1879-1893 | aka Marysville and Crazy Camp, eastern toll station for Monarch Pass, first known as the Feathers Ranch, founded in 1879 as a smelter town |
| Marysville | 1870s | aka Maysville and Crazy Camp |
| McGees | W of Buena Vista | |
| Mears Junction | 1880s | RR stop S of Poncha Springs |
| Melly/Meily | 1880s | in far NW county |
| Midway | RR stop between Buena Visat and Salida | |
| Minneapolis | 1897 | located 1 mi SE of Turret, aka South Turret, no bldgs remain, formerly Klondike |
| Monarch | 1878-1936 | fka Chaffee, Chaffee City, Camp Monarch, located 2 mi above Garfield along S Arkansas River |
| Mount Princeton Hot Springs | 1870s | formerly Haywood Hot Springs, first used by Indians |
| Murphy's Switch | see Romley | |
| Nathrop | 1880 | Aka Chalk Creek. Began 1.5 miles up valley from present site, moved to present location when Denver, South Park & Pacific RR arrived in 1880, named for Charles Nachtrieb who was murdered in 1881. |
| Nelson | 1897 | mining camp on S side of Cameron Mtn, aka Cochem |
| Neva | had post office - nothing further known | |
| Newett | onHwy 285/Trout Creek | |
| Nine Mile House | on Cottonwood Pass Trail | |
| Oregon Creek | near Cache Creek | |
| Otto | Between Poncha Springs and Mears Junction | |
| Paradise Camp | see Manoa | |
| Pine Creek | 1880s | RR stop N of Princeton |
| Princeton | RR stop NW of Buena Vista | |
| Poncha Springs | Indians 1st found 99 springs, Pike visited in 1807, supply center, RR stop and health center, PO est 1868 as South Arkansas, had several fires, bypassed by Salida because it banned camps for RR workers | |
| Ritchie's Patch | near Cache Creek | |
| Riverside | 1887 | RR stop 4 mi N of Buena Vista on Arkansas River |
| Rockdale | 1881 | 3 mi up Clear Creek Gulch from Vicksburg |
| Romley | mid 1870s | aka Murphy's Switch and Morley, near Mary Murphy Mine, burned in 1908, located 3 mi S of St. Elmo, abandoned |
| Salida | 1880 | Replaced Buena Vista as county seat in 1932, formerly South Arkansas, founded by RR |
| Schwanders | 1884-1924 | between Buena Vista and Nathrop, 4 mi N of Nathrop, buried by Silt deposits |
| Shavano | 1879 | aka Clifton Camp, silver camp located on North Fork of the South Arkansas River |
| Silverdale | near Vicksburg, Ghost Town | |
| Skinner | had post office - nothing further known | |
| South Arkansas | 1868 | became Poncha Springs |
| South Turret | 1897 | aka Minneapolis, Ghost Town |
| St. Elmo | 1880 | formerly Forest City, renamed after patron saint of sailors, mining camp, became ghost town in 1950s when last resident died, now privately owned tourist trap, cemetery located at Iron City |
| Stratton | 1880s | renamed Winfield |
| Suckerville | see Whitehorn | |
| Summit | 1880s | renamed Winfield |
| Sylvanite | had post office - nothing further known | |
| Turret | 1897-1939 | 13 mi N of Salida, minor gold camp, abandoned, named for nearby Turret Mtn, formerly Camp Austin, has small cemetery w/4 graves, including Louisa Austin, age 3 |
| Venice | aka Hematite | |
| Vicksburg | 1879 | minor gold camp, 17 mi W of Granite on Clear Creek |
| Whitehorn | 1897 | burned in 1902, originally in Chaffee Co, but due to resurvey it ended up in Fremont Co, formerly Suckerville |
| Wild Horse | RR stop N of Buena Vista | |
| Winfield | 1881 | 13 mi W of Granite on Clear Creek, mining camp formerly Summit, Summit Park, Stratton, and Strattonia, abandoned, formerly Florence and Lucknow |
| Yale | halfway between Buena Vista and Park County |
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