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.), "Switzerland of America", Hanging Rock
- Photo of red Jeep driving underneath cliff town below on the right side small mountain peak overlooks the view [writing on back] addressed to Mrs. Betty Andrews Albuquerque, New Mexico postmarked Ouray, Colorado. Oct. 16, 1968 six cent stamp
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- Ouray (Colo.), Souvenir of the Rocky Mountains
- Aerial photo of Ouray, mountains surround the town. Note on card: addressed to Sarah, also note on the back addressed to Sarah in Jackson, Ohio. postmarked Jackson, Ohio Oct. 28 1905 one cent stamp
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- Ouray (Colo.), as seen from the famous Million Dollar Highway
- Distant photo of Ouray in a valley a main road running through the town [writing on back] addressed to Mrs. Mary Welks Denver, Colorado. postmarked Salida Colorado. Au. 17, 1951 one cent stamp
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- Ouray (Colo.), from Horse Thief Trail
- Aerial photo of Ouray; mountains with patches of snow overlook the town.
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- Ouray (Colo.), from Twin Peaks
- Aerial view of Ouray with partial covered mountains overlooking the town in a valley a road running out of town on the right side
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- Ouray (Colo.), from the Million Dollar Highway
- Distant photo of Ouray in a valley, showing the main road running through the town and another main to the right of the street running parallel.
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- Ouray (Colo.), in the Switzerland of America
- Aerial view of Ouray in a valley surrounded by snow capped mountains in the background.
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- Ouray (Colo.), looking north
- Image of Ouray, CO from a southern slope. The main street of town runs from bottom of the photo through the valley, curving left in parallel with the steep, shadowy slope on the left. A forest curves around this slope too, following river. The steep eastern cliffs appear in the background, pines lining ledges of rock.
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- Ouray (Colo.), looking north
- Image of Ouray, taken from the mountain slope south of town, looking north. The foreground shows spruce and sage overlooking the town; to the west (left) are red and white cliffs supporting the growth of evergreens along the ledges. Snow covered mountains lie in the background. The color appears to be hand painted over b/w photo.
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- Ouray (Colo.), looking north
- Litho-chrome print of a hand colored photo of Ouray; red and tan cliffs surround the valley town on both east and west sides. The town occupies most of the valley with a river along the foot of the western slope.
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- Ouray (Colo.), looking north
- Image of Ouray, CO taken from the southern ridge looking north. The main road lined with houses, shops and broad-leafed trees runs from the bottom outwards in the valley lined steep cliffs in the background. Rock strata are clearly visible with pines clinging to the wider ledges of the cliffs.