Old Stage Road to Leadville Traditional Cache
Old Stage Road to Leadville
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This is a park and grab that is easier for north-bound traffic. South-bounders should heed caution for traffic. Unscrew capsule to log.
This cache is named for the historically significant roadway that can be seen to the east, past the river. The Old Stage Road was used from 1860 to 1880 as one of two main roadways into Leadville. The ride from Buena Vista to Leadville may have taken more than 26 hours and was subjected to many dangers. Leadville is known for its many silver and gold mines and the stage, at times, was used to transport out these treasures. Thus, there were many robberies along the route.
One story tells of Leadville Sheriff Kirkham, who was tired of all the stagecoach robberies, so he dressed up as a woman and rode the coach out of town. He caught the robber, but after shooting the fleeing robber in the back, he discovered that the robber was a woman dressed as a man. Also to his surprise he discovered the woman was his wife. Too ashamed to bury his wife in town, Sheriff Kirkham placed her grave on the edge of the stage road. You can see her grave marker, a small white tombstone, located on the east side of the Arkansas River just north of the turn off to Twin Lakes/Independance Pass.
The Old Stage Road was rendered obsolete after the transcontinental railroad came through Colorado.
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