Capitol City, Colorado

Remains of the City

Capitol City is a ghost town in Hinsdale County, Colorado, on the Alpine Loop National Scenic Back Country Byway.

Capitol City was founded in 1877, originally named Galena City. At its peak, the city boasted around 800 citizens and its founders wished it had become the capital of Colorado. Today only the post office, a structure called "Lee's Smelter Stack", some rubble buildings, and a few brick kilns remain. There are private homes and private land surrounding the site.^[1]

History[]

As its name hints, Capitol City's founder wished for it to become the capital of Colorado. George Lee started the town in 1877, originally calling the site Galena City. At its peak, however, it only had a population of less than 1,000 people. In order to try and garner interest, he would later change the name to Capitol City as he had also dreamed of becoming the state's governor.

Lee built a beautiful home here with brick hauled from Pueblo at $1 per brick. It reportedly had a generous living room, theater with an orchestral pit and a few guest ballrooms. In addition to his house, he built the Henson Creek smelter and sawmill. The original 200-acre town site had everything needed, including a few hotels, restaurants, bars, a post office, schoolhouse, cabins, a sawmill and mining smelters. The richest year was in 1877, when the town boasted a population of 800. When the cost of silver dropped, so did the residents. Lawsuits and difficult transportation also sped up the town's downfall.^[1]

Geography[]

The city is located on Engineer Pass, a part of the Alpine 4×4 Loop. A national scenic byway. The town can be accessed via Lake City, which is situated 9mi (14.5km) to the East on CO-20. The site can be easily accessed by 2WD automobiles between June and November.^[1]