Vintage Thingie Thursday: A Colorado Ghost Town

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The State of Colorado has many ghost towns and places to explore. One of my very favorite is the little Town of St. Elmo that is nestled in the heart of the Fourteener Mountains.

You will still find many original buildings standing today.

The little town is full of character and charm. Walking down these streets in the early spring or summer is a real treat. There are not a lot of tourist during the off seasons, and it is nice to walk and hear the wind rustling in the aspens.

St. Elmo was originally settled in 1878 and was made official in the 1880's when gold and silver began to bring many people to the area. Though it was first called Forest City, the smallest town's name was changed when the post office objected because there were too many towns with the same name. The new name was derived by Griffith Evans, one of the founders, who was reading a romantic nineteenth-century novel by the same name.

In 1881 Anton Stark, a cattleman brought a herd to the railroad and was so taken with the town that he and his family quickly took up residence. Anton became a section boss for one of the local mines and his wife, Anna, ran a general store and the Home Comfort Hotel, which later became home to the post office and telegraph office.

The survival of the town was largely due to the Stark family and their descendents, who remained the sole year-round residents for many years. According to local legend, perhaps at least one of them, Annabelle Stark,still keeps a ghostly watch over the town.

Today, St. Elmo is one of the most preserved ghost towns in Colorado. It is a haven for hiking enthusiast, and ATV trails. In the fall, it is breathtaking to visit here when the aspen trees turn and litter the mountain sides with gold.

Renovations such as this old school house are underway thanks the the Historical Society of Buena Vista, which is the little town that sits at the base of these mountains.

The streets of this ghost town are literally crawling with folks in the summer time. The winding roads that lead into this small town are lined with trucks, trailers, and ATV as the off road trails around St. Elmo are some of the best in the Colorado mountains. 

Hope you enjoyed a glimpse of this vintage ghost town and some of the original structures that still stand today.

Happy Vintage Thingie Thursday and hope you have a wonderful week.