Old town... ghost town...

I was always a fan of Central City and the surrounding area. It is close to Denver, cooler than downhills and a nice place to hike, recharge and relax. So last Saturday I drove there in the morning and started to walk up the hill.

 

As usual, the views from the top of the hill were just outstanding...

Walking there you need to keep in mind someone is watching you. The eyes are everywhere and the aspens are spying on you... or are they looking to the far away ridges where they would like to go? I have no idea but I always feel like being watched while hiking there ;)

In fact the aspens bark is very special there. It always amazes me with its look. Especially in the Fall time when the foliage doesn't get most of your attention anymore and you can see more of the trunks than in the Summer.

Just look at it! It is very artistic, isn't it? Who was the artist to create such a piece? ;)

The Fall is not as colorful and interesting as the Summer, but I really like the aspens silhouettes with deep blue sky background.

There are endless varieties of shapes and appearance. I don't recall if I spotted these two crossed trees before ;)

Eyes, eyes, eyes...  They are here and there are many... If this were a painting, I would say it belongs to Dali or Picasso... But... in fact it is just an old aspen, looking at you and, probably, asking what are you doing here, when a cold wind is blowing and when there's nothing to look at...

 

Surprisingly I found the snow was already covering most of the ground in the woods and the hiking wasn't as pleasant as before. So I decided to go somewhere else and drove the dirty road around the mountain and soon found myself in Nevadaville, a small town once blooming.

Whereas Blackhwak was the smelting and industrial center of the district, and Central City was the economic and social center, Nevadaville was the working class town where many of the district's miners lived. The town thrived into the 1890s but declined dramatically after 1900. By the way, the City Hall was also the Fire Department and the Jail downstairs. Isn't it a good example of multipurpose building? I believe today we call it a "business center".

   

Surviving a devastating fire in 1861 they abandoned the wood houses and started to build from the stone. Not many of them survived 150 years and now you can find just a few buildings still standing along the Main St. For example The old BonTon Saloon that looks just like it was built yesterday ;)

The Masonic Temple known as Nevada Lodge #4 was built in 1861 after the older lodge was destroyed by fire. The ground floor of the new Masonic Hall had rental space for shops (such as a meat market and a barbershop), and the upper story contains the 22 foot by 45 foot lodge room along with the Tiler's room and preparation room; the remainder of the second floor was for offices and sleeping quarters. Still there and still standing ;)

There were above 4000 residents in the late 1800's and only two still are living there today (yes, the building below is occupied now, I use the older picture I took in 2010 just for sake of blue sky and nicer surroundings). I met both of them and we had a nice chat. I learned a lot about the history of the place and mining in the area.

 

It is hard to believe this ghost town looked like that just over a hundred years ago...

You can see more old images and read the story here - WESTERN MINING HISTORY, Nevadaville, Colorado

The mines still can be seen on the other side of the creek. First (or the last, depending on the direction) you can observe the old copper mine with the tower still intact.

And some other structures down the road too. With so many mines dug there it's hard to say which is which unless you know the area better than your palm.

I was even granted permission to go behind the gates and see some mine buildings closely. Half of the town vouched for me! Such an accomplishment ;)

Walking along the road you soon find some old houses, overgrown by aspens and hardly recognizable (but still very picturesque).

 

If you continue further you can see the old building of Prize mine. Old structure, corrugated tin walls and roof... It looks abandoned and rustic... but also attractive. Lead, zinc and copper was mined there as well as some gold and silver.

 

While I was climbing on the pile of mine's dump to have a better view, something caught my attention. The rock was shiny and sent sparks in all directions reflecting the sun rays. Pyrite? Probably, but it looked like real gold and silver. I guess that was what they called fool's gold, so I left it there for some other fool to collect...

I slowly walked back to Nevadaville, looked across the creek to the old mine's equipment still there and... returned back to Denver. It was an amazing day. Mild and sunny, full of impressions and history. I think I need to come there again and explore the surroundings to learn more about the times when the area was filled with thousands of people and looked quite different.

Pictures were taken on November 26, 2022.