Contention Mine. Located between Lake City and Lake San Cristobal, the Contention Mine was one of the earliest in San Juan County, dating to the 1870’s. Here, a group of miners have sacked some ore ready for the shipment.

Ocean Wave Smelter. One of Lake City’s several smelters, the Ocean Wave on the north end of town was built in 1877 for $42,000. The smelter, which was powered by water, had a capacity of 100 tons a day. This photograph was taken in 1911, thirty-one years after the smelter was built.

Lake City Founder. While building a primitive road from the supply camp of Saguache into the San Juan mining camps in 1874, Enos Hotchkiss and his men hit gold. This discovery led to the start of Lake City, a soon-to-be mining camp. Hotchkiss finished the road and later became one of the top ranchers in western Colorado, with a town named for him today.

Lake City-Uncompahgre Toll Gate, 1876. This private toll road ran from Lake City to Capitol City, then to Engineer Pass at nearly 13,000 feet. From there, it dropped into Ouray along the Uncompahgre River. The road had 16 bridges in the first two miles along Henson Creek and ran for 35 miles. Shown here is the toll gate just outside of Lake City.

Crooke Concentrator. The Crook Concentrating Works was six stories high, used 100,000 board feet of lumber, and was dedicated on July 4, 1876. The concentrator was located at Crooke Falls on the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. In 1876, it was one of the largest concentrators in the United States.

Sunday School. Students in Lake City escorted by parents line up for a photograph on Gunnison Avenue in 1876. The building on the left was one of the earliest schools in Lake City. On the right is Thomas Barnhouse’s photograph gallery.

Western Slope’s First Church, 1876. Built by Presbyterian minister George Farley and brother Alexander in 1876, this church still stands and continues in use today as the oldest church on Colorado’s Western Slope. Father Harley wrote about his ministerial travels outside of Lake City in the San Juan country in Pioneering the San Juan.

Lixivation Works. The Van Gieson Lixivation Works was built in 1876 for $35,000 near downtown Lake City. It processed sulfur ore from nearby mines. W.H. Van Gieson was the inventor of the brass cartridge shell. The works had a short life of three years.

Lake City, 1877. Taken from Neoga Mountain, this Thomas Barnhouse photograph shows Lake City at the peak of the building boom in 1877. The Lake Fork of the Gunnison River winds its way along the east side of Lake City.

G.S. Smith Express. A pack train laden with supplies prepares to leave G.S. Smith mercantile store on Silver Street in 1880. Smith owned the Palmetto mine just below Engineer Pass, where the supplies are headed.

Gunnison Avenue, Lake City. One of the major streets of Lake City in 1880, Gunnison Avenue was very wide to handle the many wagon trains coming into the mining camp. On the left is a high boardwalk, and on the right is the two-story Avenue Dining Hall.

Barnhouse Gallery. Thomas Barnhouse was from Western Virginia and a Civil War veteran. He was an undertaker and sheriff before arriving in 1876 in Lake City. There, he opened his photograph gallery on Silver Street and became the earliest photographer in Lake City history.

Crooke Smelter Blast Furnace. Built in 1878 and described as a “capacious brick building,” the blast furnace was a key feature of the Crooke Smelter and was equipped with a water jacket furnace, which produced 200-pound silver and lead ingots. The brick building was also used as a refuge for a possible Ute Indian attack,

Heading’ For The Hills. A pack train near Leadville laden with supplies heads for the San Juan country in the late 1870s. Before railroads, pack trains followed narrow and treacherous trails into the mining country.

The Colorado Cannibal. Alfred Packer and five other miners became lost during the early winter of 1874 heading for a mining strike near Breckenridge on Colorado’s Western Slope. Packer was the only one to arrive, appearing at the Los Pinos Indian Reservation in April. He was later convicted of five counts of manslaughter and sentenced to prison. Packer stayed alive in the mountains by eating parts of the five victims.

Packer Victims. The remains of Alfred Packer’s victims were exhumed in July 1989 just outside of Lake City. The bones were of Shannon Bell, George Noon, Israel Swan, Frank Miller, and George Humphrey. Prof. James Starrs, who exhumed the bodies, concluded all victims had been killed by blunt and sharp force, with scrapes to the bone indicating removal of flesh.

Merchandise Firm, 1876. The firm of Boot and Company originated in Mineral Point near the headwaters of the Uncompahgre River. Shortly after it began, the merchandise company expanded and opened a branch at Rose’s Cabin on the east side of Engineer Pass. Here, burros at Rose’s Cabin are packed up and ready to head into San Juan mining camps.

Miller Flats and “The Gate.” This 1850’s-era artist’s rendering is the earliest known picture of the famous “Gate” and Miller Flats, 16 miles north of Lake City. The Lake Fork of the Gunnison River winds its way through the Gate and Flat.

Ute-Ulay Mine, 1900. Discovered in 1871, the Ute-Ulay was Lake City’s greatest mine. The mine was named for the Ute Indians on whose land the miners were trespassing, as well as for Chief Our (“Ulay”). About 250 men worked at the mine, which eventually produced in excess of $14 million.

Henson, 1899. Henson began in the 1880’s as a home for Italian miners who worked at the nearby Ute-Ulay mine. The little settlement had a post office, store, several saloons, and a school. The school was used for community meetings and musical operas.

Capitol City Schoolhouse, 1883. Ten miles west of Lake City along Henson Creek, Capitol City grew up as a promising mining camp in 1876. The peak population was 300 and it served as a supply center for nearby mines. Here, the Capitol City Stage is in front of the school, with driver Ed Ewing pausing for a photograph with teacher and pupils at the turn of the 20th century.

Rose’s Cabin Restaurant. Four miles from the top of 12,856-foot-high Engineer Pass, Cordyon Rose established a boardinghouse and restaurant in the mid-1870’s as a halfway house between Lake City on one side of the pass and Silverton and Ouray on the other side.

Ute-Ulay Dam. Below the town of Henson, Henson Creek was dammed ion 1891 to provide water power via a 3,000-foot flume to the Ute-Ulay Mill. The cement dam is 50 feet high and was a wonder in the early days of mining.

Animas Forks. Located at 11,200 feet, Animas Forks was named for the two forks of the river that headed above the mining camp. Animas Forks had a 100-stamp mill to reduce its ore. The Gold Prince Mill measured 336 by 184 feet, and a 12,000-foot-long tram ran to it. The famed Silverton Northern narrow-gauge railroad took the Animas Forks ore down to Silverton.

Creede, 1892. Located 52 miles from Lake City over Slumgullion and Spring Creek Passes, Creede, near the headwaters of the Rio Grande, became one of Colorado’s greatest silver camps by the early 1890s. The booming mining camp surpassed 5,000 residents and turned out millions of dollars of silver before the Panic of 1893.

Picnic, 1878. Lake City women and children escorted by four men picnic on the banks of Henson Creek, one mile west of Lake City, on a beautiful summer day in 1878.

Capitol City Skiers, 1916. Ten miles up Henson Creek from Lake City, three skiers and two dogs prepare for a day on the slopes. From left to right are Billy the dog, school teacher Alice Kelley, Thornton and Miriam Witherite, and Joe the dog. The skis are nearly 10 feet long, as are the guide poles.

“Getting High” on the Lake Fork Bridge. A Denver & Rio Grande passenger train pauses for a photograph on top of the famed High Bridge across Lake Fork of the Gunnison River, six miles north of Lake City in 1892. The bridge was 800 feet long, and in the early years, nine-year-old Betty Steele was hired by the railroad to walk the tracks and pur water or sand on the wooden trestle to avoid a fire after the train had passed.

Sleighing Party, 1902. A sleighing party poses beside the Pastime Saloon on Silver Street. The woman in the sleigh on the left is Lulu Estes. In the other sleigh are, from left to right, William Keeler, Louise Mayer, and Edna Watson. Both sleighs are headed for Lake San Cristobal.

Rock Drilling, 1920s. Rock drilling was a much anticipated and highly competitive Fourth of July event in Lake City. Both money and pride were on the line, as miners from different camps competed against each other in single- and double-jack competition.

Lake City Baseball. The Montrose Reclamation All-Stars are playing the Lake City Blues on September 3, 1911, on the Ball Flats just east of Lake City. The All-Stars defeated the Blues 17-11.

Silver Street Transportation. A burro, or “Rocky Mountain canary,” provides slow transportation via sled for two Lake City men on Silver Street in 1882. In the background is a clothing store owned by Louise Kefka and a barbershop.

Hunting Party, 1910. A Lake City hunting party prepares to head out on a mountain lion-bear expedition from near Sherman on the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River. Both dogs and men are excited to challenge tough foes.