Ironton, Colorado
Ironton | |
|---|---|
Mining ghost town | |
 Ironton Ghost Town in 2014 | |
  Ironton Location within the state of Colorado | |
| Coordinates: 37°55′58″N 107°40′49″W / 37.93278°N 107.68028°WCoordinates: 37°55′58″N 107°40′49″W / 37.93278°N 107.68028°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado |
| County | Ouray |
| Elevation | 9,800 ft (3,000 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 0 |
| Time zone | UTC-7 (Mountain (MST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (MDT) |
| ZIP codes | 81432[1] |
| GNIS feature ID | 187227 [2] |
Ironton is a ghost town in Ouray County, Colorado, United States. It lay south of the present town of Ouray, adjacent to the sites Guston of Red Mountain Town, fellow ghost towns. During the 1880s and 1890s, Ironton formed part of the Red Mountain Pass mining district, the second largest silver mining district in Colorado.[3]
Description[]
Ironton (also formerly named "Copper Glen") was built on flatter ground than surrounding towns. Settled sporadically through the 1870s and 1880s, a major period of settlement that solidified Ironton as a community saw roughly 300 structures begin construction during a three-week span. It was a staging area for supplies coming from Ouray.[4] Ironton was a major transportation junction between Red Mountain Town and Ouray in addition to having some of its own mines. Ironton had a peak population of over 1000 and had two trains arriving daily from Silverton. There were many chain stores from the nearby cities of Ouray and Silverton on the Silverton Railroad. This narrow gauge railroad backed by noted financier Otto Mears reached Ironton in 1889.[5] Mears would later introduce toll roads to the area, resulting in the "Million Dollar Highway." The town lived into the first part of the 20th century but slowly faded as mining operations declined.[6] The final resident of the town, Milton Larson, appeared as a contestant on the July 1, 1963 episode of I've Got A Secret, with this as his secret. He died in the mid-1960s.[7] The town site is still occasionally visited by tourists.[8]
References[]
- ^ "Guston (historical), Ouray County, Colorado". CO HomeTownLocator. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- ^ "Ironton". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 13 October 1978. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- ^ "Red Mountain Town, CO Ghost Town – by Silverton". Uncover Colorado. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- ^ "Colorado Past". Retrieved 4 May 2011.
- ^ "Silverton Railroad". Legends of America. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
- ^ "Ghost towns". Retrieved 4 May 2011.
- ^ "Ironton Colorado Townsite - Ghost town". Archived from the original on 20 April 2012. Retrieved 2 Mar 2014.
- ^ "The Ghost Town of Ironton, Colorado". Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 2 Mar 2014.
Municipalities and communities of Ouray County, Colorado, United States | ||
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- Ghost towns in Colorado
- Former populated places in Ouray County, Colorado
- Colorado geography stubs
- United States ghost town stubs