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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- Towering giant of the Rockies
- The text notes, "Truly a mountain of rugged grandeur is this 14,150 foot peak of the San Juan Range near Ridgway, Ouray, and Telluride, Colorado. Mt. Sneffels, as seen from the highway over Dallas Divide."
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- Tram Line C. B. Mine, Ouray, Colo.
- A man is standing on a tram bucket in between 2 of the wooden towers holding up the cables. Below him lies a snowy field. A line of spruce trees lie beyond the line. Two mountain slopes can be seen in the distance.
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- Treasury Tunnel Mine (Ouray, Colo.)
- Photo of many structures a pile of wood is stacked in front of one of the structures in the foreground a lone mountain peak overlooks the mine
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- Treasury Tunnel Mine (Ouray, Colo.)
- Treasury Tunnel Mine, Ouray, Colorado.
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- Trout Lake (Telluride, Colo.)
- Trout Lake, Telluride, Colorado.
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- Trout Lake (Telluride, Colo.)
- Aerial view of lake. On the lower left side of the picture there are houses and roads. Mountain peaks are visible in the background.
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- Trout Lake (near Telluride, Colo.)
- View of lake with a long, thin boat in the water, two structures on the left and mountain peaks in the background. [The Center has two of this card -- duplicates. We scanned the front of the first card because it contained a caption, and the back of the duplicate card because it noted the publisher.]
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- Trout Lake (near Telluride, Colo.)
- Lake with a triangular structure on the left side, and people in the background. Mountains loom over the lake.
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- Trout Lake (near Telluride, Colo.)
- View of lake with a structure in the water connected to the shore in the background peaks with patches of snow writing on the front [also writing on the back] addressed to Mrs. James Thilson, Mancos Co. postmarked Telluride, Colorado. 1934 one cent stamp
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- Trout Lake (near Telluride, Colo.)
- Image of lake with building at left; a crowd of people stand at in foreground. Mountain peaks covered in snow loom in the background.
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- Trout Lake (near Telluride, Colo.), altitude 9803 feet
- Image of Trout Lake. Snow spotted mountain peaks in the background , their reflections in the water.