TOWN OF TELLURIDE

Telluride, an eight-block-wide and twelve-block-long historic mining town, is tucked into a box canyon in the San Juan Mountains. Hannah’s family started coming here when she was a pre-teen, and she first brought Lorand to this beautiful mountain town when they had been dating just a few months.

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Twelve to fifteen thousand years ago, glaciers carved this canyon and the mountains surrounding it. For centuries, the Ute Indians inhabited the region during the summer months. In 1873, the federal government forced the Utes to sell a large portion of the mountains around Telluride and cede all mineral rights. In 1881, the Utes were wrongfully forced out of the area altogether.

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In the mid-1870s, the San Juan Mountains lured fortune seekers with visions of silver and gold. The Sheridan Mine was the first in a string of local claims and a tent camp was established in the valley below. Originally called Columbia, the rowdy mining camp became a town in 1878, and changed its name to Telluride--possibly for the valuable tellurium gold ore mined in the mountains.

​With the coming of the railroad in 1890, this remote town flourished. A melting pot of immigrants seeking their fortunes turned Telluride into a thriving community of 5,000 and the focal point of many of the era’s formative events. Butch Cassidy started his bank-robbing spree on Telluride’s main street. Westinghouse and Tesla built the world’s first commercial alternating current (AC) power plant in Telluride, setting off the “battle of the currents.” 

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Prosperity abounded in Telluride, but oppressive management practices by the mine leadership placed Telluride at the center of a vicious, and often violent, struggle between labor and capital. In 1901, labor’s fight for $3 a day and an 8 hour work day culminated in workers taking over the mines and the Colorado Governor siding with the unions. Later strikes were met with less success, as anti-union sentiment grew.  

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As the economy shifted, and the mining boom collapsed, the town’s population gradually dwindled from thousands to hundreds. By the time the final mine shuttered in 1978, there were roughly 350 miles of mine tunnels in the mountains surrounding Telluride, and an estimated 7 million troy ounces of gold, as well as considerable silver, had been mined.

​In the 1970’s, Telluride reinvented itself, quickly becoming a beloved ski town and haven for all things outdoors and the arts. Filled with colorful Victorian-era homes, historic clapboard storefronts, boutiques, art galleries, eateries galore, and incredible access to the outdoors, Telluride is a magical place to spend your time. 

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From skiing, to hiking, to getting sneak peaks of the year’s top films at Film Festival each September - we’ve loved exploring Telluride together. We can’t wait to share it with all of you!