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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- Ouray (Colo.)
- Located in the Western Hotel Museum at Ouray, Colorado, this photograph shows a dining room reconstruction where meals would have been eaten and dances held.
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- Ouray (Colo.)
- Graphic frame for a lithographic photo print image of downtown Ouray, CO.
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- Ouray (Colo.)
- View of Ouray from a distance; the town is situated in a valley.
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- Ouray (Colo.)
- Distant photo of Main Street in Ouray; in center of the photo several large buildings on both sides of the street. Two dead looking trees are on the bottom left corner of the photo.
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- Ouray (Colo.)
- Photo of Storey Hotel with a snow covered mountain peak which overlooks the house to the right of the house two people are seated on a bench
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- Ouray (Colo.)
- Distant photo of Ouray: Main Street and downtown are visible [writing on back] addressed to Mrs. Vi Kennedy Garden Grove, Calif. postmarked Ouray, Colorado. May 5, 1981 with two cent and ten cent stamps.
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- Ouray (Colo.)
- Aerial photo of snow capped mountain peaks overlooking the town of Ouray. On the back of the post card is information about Switzerland of America Jeep rentals.
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- Ouray (Colo.)
- Aerial photo of Ouray facing the mountains in the background; tops of mountains are covered with snow.
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- Ouray (Colo.)
- Aerial photo of Ouray; snow capped mountain peak overlooking the town.
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- Ouray (Colo.)
- Aerial photo of Ouray; red cliffs/ mountains (with no snow) overlooking the town pine trees in the foreground.
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- Ouray (Colo.)
- An aerial view of Ouray, Colorado.
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- Ouray (Colo.) "Switzerland of America"
- Image of foreground spruce branches with an elevated view of Ouray, CO. beyond. Sunlight highlights the series of rocky slopes lining the valley. Trees fill the valley floor.