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)
Pages
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- Ouray After Cloud Burst II
- Postcard of Ouray after a cloud burst flood in 1909. The photograph shows rubble from the flood with buildings in the background.
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- Ouray Chalet (Colo.)
- Photograph of the Ouray Chalet with a list on the back of the postcard of the amenities provided by the motel.
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- Ouray Chalet Motel (Colo.)
- Ouray Chalet Motel; at time of manufacture contact was P. O. Box 544, Ouray, Colorado 81427. Photographic print of parking lot with late mid-century vehicles and antique sleigh in front of the building; mountainous cliff ledges in background.
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- Ouray Chalet Motel (Colo.)
- Photograph of the Ouray Chalet Motel. On the back of the postcard is a list of the motel amenities. Mailed to Mr. Harry Capley with a 6 cent Stone Mountain Memorial stamp.
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- Ouray Chief of the Utes
- Lithographic print of painted portrait of Chief Ouray (the Arrow) of the Uncompahgre Utes.
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- Ouray Colo. coming from the mines
- A colorized view of a train of pack burros on a trail with two men in the rear, one of them on horseback, leading another horse. Postmarked on March 5, 1912 in Ouray, and mailed to Mrs. and Mr. Robert Pickens in Montrose from Mrs. Minnie Wright and Flora.
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- Ouray Colo., after a rain. Amphitheater in background
- Ouray, Colorado, after a rain. Amphitheater in background. Black and white panorama photograph.
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- Ouray Colo., looking South
- Ouray, Colorado, looking south.
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- Ouray Colo., looking Southwest.
- Ouray, Colorado, looking southwest.
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- Ouray Colo.; looking north
- Aerial view looking north at Ouray , Colorado. Black and white.
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- Ouray Colorado, Twin Peaks and White House in distance
- Aerial view of Ouray, Colorado, with Twin Peaks and White House (mountain features) in distance. Printed in Germany. Not mailed.