History of Crested Butte, Colorado
The East River Valley where Crested Butte is located was once used as a summer residence by Ute Native Americans. However, they were quickly displaced when white explorers first entered the area. The first Caucasians to explore the valley were beaver trappers, followed by surveyors. Captain John Gunnison, after whom Gunnison County is named was one of the early explorers to enter the area.
In the 1860s and 1870s coal and silver mines began to open in the surrounding area and many little mining towns formed. However, when silver mining hit on hard times, many of these towns failed. Crested Butte was in a better position to survive because it served as a supply town to the surrounding area.
The other industry that supported Crested Butte was ranching.
When the coal mines closed, the town began to shrink, and eventually the local high school was closed. Students had to travel to Gunnison to go to high school. The town did not revive until a ski area was built on Crested Butte Mountain in the 1960s.
In 1993 the Crested Butte Academy opened in Crested Butte, bringing a private high school into town. In 1997, the Crested Butte Community School was opened, and Crested Butte finally had a public high school again.
US Energy Corp. owns mining rights for molybdenum on Mount Emmons ("Red Lady") near Crested Butte and as molybdenum prices rise, the town is fighting to prevent a molybdenum mine from being opened.
In 2004 Crested Butte Mountain Resort was sold to Tim and Dianne Mueller of Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow, VT.
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The Town of Crested Butte, fondly referred to as the Gateway to the Elk Mountains, sits at an elevation of 8,885 feet and is located 28 miles north of the City of Gunnison in the County of Gunnison. Crested Butte and the surrounding area was originally home to the Ute Indians. Placer miners were present in the area as early as the 1860’s. The Town of Crested Butte was named because in 1873 a geologist named Ferdinand Hayden was on expedition surveying the Elk Mountains and from the top of what is today knows as Teocalli Peak referred to present day Crested Butte Mountain and Gothic Mountain as “the crested buttes.” Howard F. Smith, the founding father of Crested Butte, laid out the Town by 1878. While Smith was originally attracted to the area because of the extensive coal deposits, he first built a smelter and sawmill to service the hard rock mining camps located in the surrounding areas. This established Crested Butte as a major supply center prior to becoming a long-term coal producer.
The Town of Crested Butte was incorporated on July 3, 1880 with a population of about 400 people. In addition, around 1000 miners resided in the surrounding areas. Smith served as the first mayor of Crested Butte and sold half of his interest in the Town and 1000 acres of coal land to the owner of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in an effort to persuade the extension of the railroad from Gunnison to Crested Butte. Smith’s tactics proved successful and the railroad arrived in Crested Butte on November 21, 1881. The arrival of the railroad ended Crested Butte’s isolation and facilitated the expansion of the coal industry and the simultaneous expansion of the Town. By 1882 Crested Butte was home to 1000 people and had five hotels, a bank, several saloons and restaurants, three livery stables, sawmills, doctors, lawyers and the Union Congregational Church, which still stands today and is Crested Butte’s oldest building. Residents got their water from a two-million gallon reservoir located above the Town and in 1882 a telephone line connected Crested Butte and Gunnison. In the early 1880’s Smith sold 320 acres of his coal land to Colorado Coal and Iron, which later became Colorado Fuel and Iron (CF&I), and by the mid-1880’s he departed.
Coal mining emerged in earnest in Crested Butte during the 1880’s and 1890’s. The early coal miners, and the majority of Crested Butte residents preceding 1895, were Anglo-Saxon from Wales, Scotland, Germany, Ireland and Cornwall. These immigrants were followed by Greeks, Italians and Southern Europeans from Slavic countries. By 1893 all of the silver mines in the area closed and while many other communities failed, Crested Butte survived because of coal mining and coke production. CF&I owned the Town’s coke ovens, where coal was burned to remove impurities producing a product called coke. The coke was shipped to Pueblo, Colorado where it was used in steel production. Crested Butte was a company town through and through, with CF&I as the Town’s largest employer and providing company housing.
The most significant mine in the 1880’s was called the Jokerville Mine. The CF&I owned Jokerville mine contained bituminous coal and directly below the mine lay coke ovens. On January 24, 1884 an explosion at the Jokerville mine occurred and the mine never re-opened. Some accounts say that 59 miners were killed in the Jokerville Mine disaster, while others say that 69 miners were killed. Later that same year, CF&I opened the Big Mine and by 1902 it was the third largest coal mine in Colorado and produced the highest quality coal in the state. Four hundred miners produced 1000 tons of coal daily. With improved machinery and electrification, production increased after 1930. The Big Mine operated for 58 years and not surprisingly, Crested Butte relied heavily on the Big Mine as a source of income. Other mines operated on and off in the surrounding areas, including Buckley, Robinson, Pueblo, Horace, Pershing and Peanut.
As is often the case in a company town, tension existed between the often-exploited miners and the Town’s employer. In 1891 the first major strike occurred over a cut in wages. A second major strike began in 1913 and lasted for 18 months, causing the mines to close until 1915. This strike finely ended, but with few concessions made to the miners. The final major strike occurred in 1927 over a 20% pay reduction. Again, this strike ended without the miners achieving their demands.
With the closing of the Big Mine in 1952 the era of coal came to an end in Crested Butte. Three major factors contributed to the closing of the Big Mine: Railroads were converting to diesel fuel; the CF&I steel mills in Pueblo found a closer and thus less expensive source of coke; and coal began being replaced by gas and electricity. In 1955 the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad removed their tracks and Crested Butte’s population and economy declined. Then, in 1960 Dick Eflin and Fred Rick from Kansas purchased a ranch northeast of the Town of Crested Butte and by the winter of 1962-63 had opened a ski area on Crested Butte Mountain with Colorado’s first gondola. This area grew into the present day resort Town of Mt. Crested Butte, home of Crested Butte Mountain Resort.
With the days of coal mining long since passed, Crested Butte and the surrounding area is now a year-round vacation destination. Know as “the wildflower capital of Colorado,” Crested Butte is not only a heritage tourism site, but a playground for people of all ages and interests, with endless opportunities ranging from snow sports to wildflower viewing, river running to rock climbing, hiking to biking, and festivals and events.
History of Gunnison County
Gunnison County is located on Colorado's Western Slope. Gunnison County is the area surrounding the current towns of Gunnison and Crested Butte. It is made up of alpine valleys, majestic 14,000-foot mountains and deep scenic canyons, including the rugged Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Several swift-flowing rivers and creeks pass through the area, which has allowed it to flourish.
The early inhabitants of the Gunnison county area were Ute Indian tribes. Colorado's Utes once consisted of seven bands with as many as 10,000 members. Spanish explorers passed through the area more than 400 years ago while searching for wealth and a route to California. They sold the Utes their first horses. The Utes were considered to be a relatively peaceful tribe and rarely caused the early white men any trouble.
In the early 1800's, mountain men and fur trappers moved into the area. Furs were never easy to obtain in the rugged Colorado Rockies and a drop in prices collapsed the area's fur trade in the 1840's.
In the early 1850's, the demand arose for a transcontinental railroad to join the East and West. Due to the ruggedness of the terrain in the Rockies, the best route was a subject of serious debate. In 1853, Congress passed a bill that called for four teams of Army engineers to survey a route. Captain John Gunnison of the Army Topographical Engineers was chosen to survey a central route. Gunnison was forty-one years old and had eleven years of wilderness surveying experience.
Gunnison's expedition left Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in June of 1853. On September 2, they crossed Cochetopa Pass. The team was encouraged by the expanse of open land they found beyond the pass--at least until they reached the Lake Fork canyon through which the Gunnison River passed. While looking for a way to bypass the huge crevice, they found a deeper crevice called Black Canyon with its 2,500-foot walls and turbulent, rushing water. The team decided to cross at Lake Fork and did so with great difficulty. The continuing rough terrain found west of Lake Fork convinced Gunnison that a railroad route through this area was impractical. Note: His opinion was later proven to be incorrect, as the D&RG railroad did build a route through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison in the 1880's.
Gunnison's expedition ran into disaster when Paiute Indians attacked the group in October 1853 in the Green River area of Utah. Gunnison and eight of his men were killed in the attack. The surviving members continued on and concluded the mission in 1854.
In the latter part of the 1850's miners began moving into the Gunnison county area in search of placer gold. Growing pressure from the increasing number of whites in the area created friction with the Utes and several miners were killed, which caused other whites to flee the area. Many small prospecting parties continued to work the area through the 1860's and 1870's. In 1870, coal was discovered near the present site of Schofield.
In 1873, Dr. John Parsons of Denver became convinced that the Gunnison area was rich in mineral wealth. In 1873, Parsons led a prospecting expedition of thirty men into the area. One of these men was Sylvester Richardson, a geologist, wanderer and dreamer, who saw the Gunnison area as a land of opportunity. He would later become the founder of the town of Gunnison.
In April of 1874, Richardson led a group of twenty settlers out of Denver and toward the Gunnison area. Strong snowstorms caused some members to abandon the journey and return to the comforts of Denver. The remaining members continued on to the present site of Gunnison and divided the land into lots. Some began building cabins. During the harsh winter of 1874-75, all of the original settlers except Richardson had either moved on to other areas or returned to Denver.
In 1875, Richardson returned to Denver to recruit more settlers. Only three retuned with him. Two of the three were the Outcalt brothers, John and William.
Colorado entered the Union in 1876 and Gunnison County was established. 1879 was a year of expansion for the area. Miners, speculators and adventurers began moving to Colorado in search of wealth.
By 1880, the cattle industry was established in the Gunnison Valley due to the difficulty of growing crops in an area that only received approximately eleven inches of rainfall per year, and had a short growing season due to its high elevation. To effectively farm the area, primarily to produce hay for local horse and cattle feed, the fields had to be cleared and leveled, and irrigation systems built to divert water from the rivers and creeks.
It was the railroads that enabled the Gunnison area to prosper in the late 1880's. Two narrow gauge railroads initially serviced the Gunnison area. The Denver and Rio Grande (later the D&RG Western) railroad entered Gunnison in 1881, and the Denver, South Park and Pacific (DSP&P) in 1882, although it quickly discontinued operations in the Gunnison area. The D&RGW narrow gauge railroad was the primary means of transportation, both for people and agricultural goods, as well as for minerals and coal, for approximately 70 years. After World War II ended, the railroad gradually declined as cars and trucks took their business. The D&RGW railroad ceased all operations in the Gunnison area in 1955.
Note: The D&RGW railroad tracks from Gunnison to Crested Butte ran through the Esty Ranch, and both the DSP&P and D&RGW railroad tracks from Gunnison to Salida ran through the LeValley Ranch.
John B. Outcalt and the Outcalt Homestead
John B. Outcalt and his brother William were from Brunswick, New Jersey. John Burdette Outcalt was born November 18, 1845 and was the eldest of six children. When he grew up he initially worked as a shipbuilder and carpenter in the East, but in 1870 decided to succumb to the lure of the West. He arrived in Denver with his tool chest in hand and twenty-seven cents in his pocket. John worked as a carpenter until joining the Richardson settlement in Gunnison Valley in 1875.
In 1875, John Outcalt and his brother homesteaded land three miles north of Gunnison along the southeast bank of the Gunnison River. John built an irrigation system and was soon raising fine crops of mountain meadow hay and various grains. Outcalt continued to expand his land holdings. In 1880, he filed the legal forms necessary to officially obtain title to the properties. In 1881, he convinced the Denver & Rio Grande railroad, which ran through his land, to build a loading spur on the northeast corner of his ranch. John paid for the rails and built the spur. He called it Hay Spur. Over 800 carloads of hay were shipped from Hay Spur each year, along with carloads of potatoes and other vegetables from ranches in the area, primarily to feed the mules and the miners in the Crested Butte area.
Due to his many accomplishments, John Outcalt became a legend in the Gunnison area. When John first arrived in Gunnison, he worked as a carpenter on the Los Pinos Indian reservation. The Indians recognized John as the most trusted white man of all who worked with the Ute Indians. Family legend indicates that his Ute friends saved his life several times. John may also have been good friends with the great Ute leader, Chief Ouray.
John's daughter, Vevarelle, was fond of saying that her father was one of the carpenters who built the famous spiral staircase in the upscale Brown Palace Hotel in Denver.
He was instrumental in the building of the Paragon School, which stands today on the grounds of the Gunnison Pioneer Society Museum on the east end of the town of Gunnison. In building the school, he used his shipbuilding skills to design an elaborate structure, complete with a room designed like a ship's wheelhouse. The school typically served fifteen to twenty students from local ranches, and originally stood on the east side of the Gunnison river a mile and a half northeast of the Outcalt homestead.
John married Florence A. Johnson (Flora) on Christmas Day in 1888 and together they raised four girls on the ranch. The girls were Ramona, born January 1, 1890; Fernzelle, born December 15, 1894; Delsie, born Oct 20, 1896; and Vevarelle, born September 16, 1902. Ramona was a victim of a flu epidemic and passed away in 1919. John passed away in 1927. When Flora passed away in 1936 during the Great Depression, the Outcalt ranch was divided among the surviving children.
Esty Ranch
With the passing of John and Flora Outcalt, their three surviving daughters inherited the lands that made up the Outcalt ranch. His youngest daughter, Vevarelle, inherited the heart of the ranch. Her sisters inherited the remainder, which they soon sold. Vevarelle was married to a man named Eugene Esty and the property then became known as the Esty Ranch. Vevarelle and Eugene raised three children named Richard, Bernard and Ramona.
Eugene and Vevarelle continued to raise hay and various grains on Esty Ranch. Eugene was a World War I veteran who experienced medical problems after the war and until his death in 1947. After his passing, Vevarelle continued to manage the ranch through a lot of hard times. She nonetheless prevailed and the ranch survived.
In 1955 after the decline of the railroads and the decline of the coal mines in the Crested Butte area, the D&RGW railroad tracks that ran through the property were torn up and removed. The original grade still exists and is used as a ranch road.
Vevarelle Esty
Vevarelle never married again and continued to manage the ranch. Following the spirit of her pioneer father, Vevarelle was politically active in causes that benefitted ranchers. If a bill was introduced that would adversely affect ranchers, she mobilized the ranchers to write their representatives and senators. In 1971, the Gunnison Chamber of Commerce named Vevarelle the Rancher of the year. In 1987, she travelled to Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea with other ranchers on a mission to convince Asian ranchers to buy U.S. grains and feed.
Veverelle managed the ranch until she sold it in 1994. She continued to live on the ranch property until shortly before her passing in 1999 at the age of 97.
Since 1994, Esty ranch has been in a constant state of upgrade and restoration. Several original late 1800's structures, including a blacksmith shop (shown above) and a horse barn and calving barn (see our Home Page), have been completely restored.