"Set the WayBack machine, Sherman, to July 4, 1879. Today we'll see the Independence gold load discovery that started the town of Independence."
Welcome to the ghost town of Independence. This cache is a third of a mile walking tour of the remains of the town of Independence CO, taking you past five stops on a loop of the town before you reach the final cache. It takes a total of about 20 minutes to do this cache. The cache is only accessable when Indpendence Pass is open, which is usually Memorial weekend to the end of October. The final cache is located at N39 06.ABC W106 36.DEF, and the missing coordinates can be found on the signs located at each waypoint of the cache.
Gold was discovered on the mountain here on the north side of Highway 82 on July 4, 1879 making it the first settlement in the Roaring Fork Valley (Aspen was founded later that same year), and the only significant gold discovery in a very silver rich area. Since it was found on Independence Day, it was named the Independence Gold Load, and the town was also named for Independence day. The town went by several other names in its short history including Chipeta, Sparkhill, Farwell, Mammoth City, and Mount Hope. The names were from the different post offices of separate camps that then merged together into a single town, and Chiptea was the name of the wife of the chief of the Ute indians at the time.
The Farwell Mining Company was established in 1881 and bought up the mines in the area including the Independence No. 1, 2, & 3, Last Dollar, Legal Tender, Mammoth, Mount Hope, Champion, Sheba, Friday, and Dolly Varden mines. They also built a large lumber mill, and the Farwell stamp mill in 1881 at the west end of town which processed over 9,000 oz of gold by 1882 and housed 20 stamps. The construction of the town and all the mines had also resulted in the total deforestation of the hillsides around town.
The town boomed from a population of 150 in a tent city in 1879 to 300 in 1880, to 500 in 1881, and peaked at 1,500 in 1882. By 1882 the town had grown from a few tents to 90 timber building, 47 of which were businesses, including grocery/general stores, boarding houses and hotels, saloons, three post offices, a bank, seven restaurants, and a newspaper; the "Independence Miner". Independece Pass had also been improved from a mule track to a toll road with daily stage coaches to Aspen and Leadville. The town became an overnight stage stop.
However the gold veins were tapped out by 1883 and gold production dropped by 99%. In addition massive silver deposits were discovered in Aspen and miners were drawn to the good pay and the milder climate, as Independence is under heavy snow cover from October to May, even today. The population of Independence was down to 150 by 1888 when the Denver & Rio Grande and the Colorado Midland railroads reached Aspen, significantly reducing traffic over Independence Pass.
Finally in 1899, the town experience the worst winter to ever hit Colorado, even through today. The town was cut off from supplies and ran out of food after 7 heavy snowstorms. The 8th storm was the heaviest storm to ever hit and the remaining 75 residents cut 10 ft siding planks from their homes and evacuated by cross country skiing down to Aspen. It was nicknamed the "Hunter Pass Tenderfoot Snowshoe Club Race". One final resident remained in the town until 1912. The Farwell stamp mill was then torn down in the 1920s, although in town there is a wooden wheel from the mill that you'll pass by.
Conservation of the the town began in the 1930s when the Colorado Womens Club replanted the trees on the slopes above town to mitigate avalanche danger. In 1973 the town was listed in the register of National Historic Places, and in 1980 the Aspen Historical Society began preserving the town and are now the caretakers.
As you walk through town, please repect the site so that we can all continue to enjoy the remains of this once prosperous town.
Stage 1 - Town Overview: This is at the posted coordinates at the parking area. Looking at the plaque of the geology of the area, find the name of the geologic survey that first investigated the Apsen area in the 1870's. How many letters are in the name of the survey? This number is "B".
Stage 2 - Boarding Houses: You are now on main street, known as Aspen Avenue, and standing at one of the hotels that made up downtown. On the sign, there were five hotels on main street, but how many boarding houses were there? This number is "D".
Stage 3 - Business District: You're now in front of the last standing general store, which is also now the visitor's center. On the sign, how many grocery stores were in town? This number is "A". Also on this sign, how many barber shops were there? This number is "F".
Stage 4 - Miner's Cabins: You're looking at two miner cabins, one labeled site #7 and one labeled site #8. Find the cabin that is constructed with a flat dropped ceiling. Find the site number at this cabin. This number is "C". (The other cabin has a peaked ceiling).
Stage 5 - Tent City - In the tent city picture, count the number of tents in a row in the picture and subtract two. This number is "E".
Final - The final is along Aspen Avenue at N39 06.ABC W106 36.DEF at another building site where none of the building remains anymore.