The Early Days of Silverton: Colorado History a Gold-Rush Town

What drew people into the rugged San Juan Mountains, and what made them stay? After traveling repeatedly to Silverton and researching its past at the local Historical Society, author Lowell F. Volk set out to uncover the origins of one of Colorado's most storied mining towns.The Early Days of Silverton traces the region's history from Spanish explorers of the 1500s and 1600s, chasing legends of gold in Quivira and the Seven Cities of Cibola, through the era of fur trappers, and into the gold-rush years that shaped the town itself. Beginning in Baker's Park in 1860, Volk follows Charles Baker's early efforts to settle the area, the return of prospectors in 1867, and the rapid transformation of Ute land into a booming mining district.Richly illustrated with photographs and maps and grounded in letters, diaries, and treaties, this book brings to life the mines, railroads, and people who built Silverton-while revealing the cost of progress for those who were pushed aside. A compelling and accessible history for anyone fascinated by Colorado's frontier past.