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 Hot Water Indoor Plunge (Ouray, Colo.)
- Photograph of the building housing the Ouray Hot Water Indoor Plunge.
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- Ouray In Winter
- Panoramic winter view of Ouray looking south.
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- Ouray Lodge No. 492 B.O.P. Elks (Ouray, Colo.)
- Three real elk (bulls) on the steps of the Ouray BPOE. Two on the left are standing; the one on the far right is lying on the ground
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- Ouray Spring between Ouray and Montrose - Million Dollar Highway (Colo.)
- Ouray Spring between Ouray and Montrose - Million Dollar Highway. There is a very faded to sepia behind the black and white copy.
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- Ouray Springs, between Ouray and Montrose on the Million Dollar Highway, Colorado.
- A black and white photograph of a tipi in Ouray Springs. Trees and rocks can be seen in the background.
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- Ouray Toll Road and Mt. Abram (Colo.)
- Photo of road. On the left several horses are pulling a wagon. A snow-capped mountain peak overlooks the road. Writing on front of card on the right hand side; date on the lower left hand side is Oct.-10-1907
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- Ouray at Sundown
- A picture of Ouray as the sun is going down. Because it is a time-elapsed photograph, the lights of the cars on the road appear in sets of lines, the cars going towards the camera appearing white while those heading away are red. The mountains surrounding the town create a sharp contrast because of how dark they are in comparison with the lights below.
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- Ouray flood (Colo.)
- Ouray flood (Ouray, Colo.)
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- Ouray, Chief of the Utes, Colorado
- Ouray, Chief of the Utes, Colorado.
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- Ouray, Chief of the Utes.
- Ouray on a treaty mission to Washington was photographed with Tabeguache Ute Chiets Warency, Shavano, Ankotash & Guero. Eventually Ouray was recognized by the U. S. Government as the Chief of all Ute tribes. Kit Carson and Ouray were good friends and...
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- Ouray, Colo.
- Ouray, Colorado.
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- Ouray, Colo.
- Ouray, Colorado, b/w postcard, postmarked Dec. 2, 1907. Printed in Germany.