Volume 5: Telluride/ Ouray/ Ophir
These mountain towns are gems in Southwest Colorado. Telluride and tiny Ophir are in San Miguel County, and Ouray, not far away if unimproved roads aren’t a barrier, is located in Ouray County. Telluride is the most populous (about two thousand residents) and best known of the three, home to a famous ski resort, many well-known music festivals, and exclusive luxury homes. Telluride’s colorful history as a hard-rock mining town where gold, silver, and tellurium were extracted beginning in 1878 changed dramatically in the 1970s when the Telluride Ski Resort opened. Telluride’s elevation is 8,750 feet above sea level, a bit higher than Ouray’s 7,792. (source) Fewer than 1,000 people call Ouray home, but each year many thousands of tourists visit the charming village, nicknamed the “Switzerland of America.” Like most mountain towns in the region, Ouray was founded on mining (gold, in this case), made accessible by the railroad, and popular with visitors. (source) Ophir, Colorado, is the highest in elevation of these three towns at 9,695 feet. Gold was discovered in 1875, and the town was founded in 1881, but the mines decreased until there was only one resident in 1970! Telluride’s popularity in recent has allowed a few hundred residents to call Ophir home. (source)
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- Camp Bird Mills, Ouray, Colorado
- Colorized aerial view of Camp Bird Mills, Ouray, Colorado. Printed in Germany. Postmarked in Ouray on August 11, 1907 with a one-cent stamp. Mailed to Mr. W. J. Poplin in Newmire, Colorado, from Lois Sankey at the Silver Pick.
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- Camp Bird Mine (Ouray, Colo.)
- View of the mine in a valley mountain peaks overlook the mine photo appears to be hand colored over a b/w photo.
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- Camp Bird Mine (Ouray, Colo.)
- Camp Bird Mine, Ouray, Colorado.
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- Camp Bird Mine (Ouray, Colo.)
- View of the mine in a valley partial view of a mountain peak on the upper right corner of the photo writing on front of photo on the back addressed to Mrs. L Wyman Silverton, Colorado. with postmark and one cent stamp
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- Camp Bird Mine looking toward Ouray, Colo
- Camp Bird Mine looking toward Ouray, Colorado.
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- Camp Bird Mine, Ouray, Colo.
- B/w close-up view of buildings at Camp Bird Mine, Ouray, Colorado, covered with snow. Printed in Germany. Postmarked at Camp Bird on July 24, 1909 with a one-cent stamp. Mailed to Mrs. Phillip Kinzel, San Francisco, from Frank and Mary.
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- Camp Bird Mine. Ouray, Colo.
- A painted photograph of Camp Bird Mine, in Ouray, Colorado. The mine can be seen with mountains surrounding it.
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- Camp Bird Road overlook (Ouray, Colo.)
- View of red Jeep above a very steep cliff that drops off a there is a dirt road on the right several people are next to the Jeep looking over the edge
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- Canyon Creek near Camp Bird Mine (Ouray, Colo.)
- A view of an overhanging rock on shelf road above Canyon Creek, near Camp Bird Mine (Ouray, Colo.)
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- Canyon in Ouray, Colorado.
- A black and white postcard with a green border around it of Canon at Ouray, Colorado. The canon can be seen with a horse drawn carriage going through it.
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- Canyon near Ouray, Colo..
- Color postcard depicting a four-horse team and red stagecoach with two men. Team and stagecoach are stopped on a dirt road. The dirt road enters a canyon with a sheer drop-off.
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- Cascade Falls (Ouray, Colo.)
- Cascade Falls, Ouray, Colorado.