The
California Gold Rush that followed the 1848 discovery was credited as the
largest and most important event in the opening of the western frontier. The
California Gold Rush set the stage for many smaller rushes and booms throughout
the west.
In
addition to gold rushes, there were a series of silver rushes. Creede was the last silver boom town in
Colorado in the 19th century. The town leapt from a population of 600 in 1889 to more than 10,000 in December 1891. The Creede mines operated continuously from 1890 until 1985. They were served by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. Traveling by highway today, Creede is about 265 miles southwest of Denver and about 260 miles north of Albuquerque. Creede is located in southwest Colorado just north of the Rio Grande River and east of the San Juan Mountains.
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| Nicholas Creede |
A miner named Nicholas Creede was prospecting in what became
North Creede in 1890.
Supposedly, when he hit a rich strike he said. “Holy
Moses, I’ve struck it rich.”
That makes me laugh, but he was right. The Holy
Moses Mine became one of the most profitable in the region.
The
small boom of 1890 increased when Nicholas Creede sold the Holy Moses mine for $70,000
to three investors who were connected with the D&RG Railroad. Creede was to receive a stipend of $100 a month to continue prospecting plus one-third of all future finds. He then located the rich Amethyst vein which included several lucrative mines. His income was estimated at $1,000 per day in 1892.
News of the
big sale brought more people to Creede. At
the same time, the Sherman Silver Purchase Act was passed by Congress in 1890,
almost doubling the price of silver. You can understand why this brought increased numbers of
prospectors to the Rocky Mountains where there were known silver strikes.
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| Creede, Colorado, 1892 |
As
more people heard of the strike, a camp bloomed in lower East Willow
Canyon. Shacks, cabins and businesses began to be built. Some of those who came
were families with women and children as a part of camp life from its
beginning. The camp was first called Willow Camp, but in the fall of 1890 the
miners voted to change the name to Creede. The narrow canyon was soon
overflowing, so building was extended downstream and into Willow Canyon. This canyon
was slightly larger, so cabins, houses and businesses were built there, too. However, the tale is that town space
was at such a premium that buildings were even constructed on stilts in the
river.
The
year of 1892 was the biggest boom time in Creede’s history. By late spring, the
boom brought miners, businessmen and ordinary folks. But it also brought
in scoundrels – con men, gamblers, ladies of the night, gunslingers and others
who wanted to mine the miners rather than the hills.
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| Bob Ford |
Bob
Ford, infamous killer of Jesse James, found his way there and he soon became
the “camp boss” of all the shady businesses in town. A month later, Jefferson
Randolf (Soapy) Smith arrived with his soap game. Smith challenged Ford to be
the “camp boss” and Soapy won out. In June of 1892, Bob Ford was shot to death
in his tent saloon by Ed O’Kelley.
Because
of Bob Ford, Soapy Smith and all the saloons, gambling halls, gunfights and
undesirable people and incidents, Creede got the reputation as one of the
wildest boom towns in Colorado. Reportedly, at one time there were over forty saloons in Creede.
The
1892 Colorado Business Directory stated the population of Creede as around
6,000 and close to 10,000 in the mining district. The Creede Candle newspaper
reported that mine production was outstanding in 1892. The Amethyst Mine was
listed as the highest producer of ore and the second highest was the Last
Chance Mine.
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| Amethyst Band 1895 |
In
the first half of 1893, Creede was still booming. The boom and the excitement
came to a sudden end in August of 1893 when the U.S. Congress repealed the
Silver Purchase Act. When the government quit buying silver, the price of
silver crashed and silver mining in all the American West was halted. The boom
was over. All mines closed in Creede. Many miners left town, which caused many
businesses to close and owners to leave town.
Creede
was one of the few lucky silver mining towns that never became a ghost town.
Hundreds of little mining towns were abandoned in Colorado during the Crash.
Within a few months the larger mines in the Creede District reopened but with
much smaller crews and much lower wages. The town did not die, but it certainly
changed, and it has never come even close to the boom time population.
As
a mining town, Creede continued to experience boom and bust times. During the
boom times more people would live there, buildings would be built, schools,
churches and other groups would thrive. During bust times, many would leave
town, businesses would close and social groups would have fewer numbers. Of course, the price of silver was the determining factor.
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| Creede Mine 1895 |
At
the turn of the twentieth century, Creede experienced an economic upturn. In
1905 the Humphreys Mill and the Amethyst Mill were built. In 1930 the Emperius
Mining Company was founded by B.T. Poxson and Herman Emperius. By 1945 they
controlled most of the mines and purchased a mill just south of town.
In
the 1960s the Commodore Mine was still being worked by the Emperius Mining
Company. Homestake Mining Company came to Creede in that same decade and they
opened the Bulldog Mine, initiating what was to become the last silver boom in
Creede. In the 1970s the population was growing so fast that mobile homes had
to be brought in and almost every nook and cranny in town had a trailer in it. In
the 1980s the Commodore Mine ceased operation and in 1985 Homestakes’s Bulldog
Mine halted its mining, closed its doors and sold many of its buildings.
This hardy town lived through many disasters. In the 1918 flu epidemic, the only place to
put the ill was on the pool tables in the bars. In 1972, the train ceased to come
to Creede, usually the death knell to any community. One of the worst disasters
in the history of the town happened on June 5, 1892.
Around
6 o’clock in the morning a fire started in a saloon located at the north end.
In two and a half hours most of the wooden district had burned down. It
devastated the town, but had little effect on the mining. Although many of the
business people left town, many stayed and started rebuilding the next day.
This time, most of the businesses were built with brick which was made locally.
The main block of the Creede business district today is reported to look very
much like the rebuilt district looked after the fire.
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| Creede after the devastating 1892 fire |
In
the 1920s when automobiles became more affordable and popular, more tourists came to Creede. Many area
ranches offered beds and food and later became dude ranches with cabins
available. In town, accomodations were built for the
tourists.
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| Creede in 2005 |
While we're talking about Creede (segue here) my March 28 release is set in Creede,
Pauline Brubaker arrives in Creede, Colorado from Denver to
help care for her aunt while the aunt’s broken leg heals. Her aunt and uncle
are special favorites of Pauline’s. They’ve recently retired to Creede due to
her uncle’s heart problems. Pauline’s hesitant to give in to her attraction to
Creighton because she will only be in Creede the few weeks her aunt needs her help.
Her parents and her life are in Denver.
Creighton Reed makes amazing pieces of furniture. They sell
as fast as he can create them. Creighton meets Pauline when her aunt and the
sponsor of the Matchmaker Balls conspire to have them attend a dance together. He
is immediately attracted to Pauline but she gives mixed signals. Later a man
who claims to be her fiancé warns Creighton away from her. Creighton tells the
man he’ll believe Pauline’s engaged when she tells him.
Two fire bombs destroy Creighton’s workshop and his living
quarters in the back, and he’s almost trapped inside. Fortunately, he has
purchased a house in order to marry Pauline and had moved some of his things
there before the fire. Who sent firebombs into his workshop? The arsonist must be caught before Pauline,
her aunt and uncle, and Creighton are safe.
Sources:
https://www.creede.com/mineral-county/2-uncategorised/110-creede-125-years-of-history.html
By
Janis Jacobs, Creede Historical Society
Quite an inspiring story, Caroline, about a town that went through so many historic hardships and never became a ghost town like so many in Colorado did. Best of luck with your new release, Polka with Pauline.
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