An abandoned cabin at the Boston Mine ghost town. Monica Humphries/Insider The Boston Mine formed in the late 1800s when gold was found near Mayflower Gulch, Colorado. The gold was deemed impure, so settlers abandoned the mine and camp leaving behind a ghost town.
Today, the land is protected but $15 million to $50 million worth of gold might still be there. Soaring mountains surround a cluster of abandoned buildings in Summit County, Colorado. Decaying today, the structures were once home to miners who dreamed of gold in the late 1800s, according to Backpacker.
The Boston Mine ghost town on the Mayflower Gulch Trail in Colorado. Monica Humphries/InsiderSource: BackpackerThe abandoned buildings make up the Boston Mine ghost town, which sits in the V-shaped valley of the Mayflower Gulch. Two structures of the abandoned Boston Mine.
Monica Humphries/InsiderIn the late 1800s, miners were on the hunt for gold and silver across the West. A group discovered a vein of gold in the mountains surrounding the Mayflower Gulch and built mines, trams, homes, and a boarding house, according to Backpacker. A portrait of gold miners in Telluride, Colorado, in 1880.
(Boston miners not pictured. )Camerique/Getty ImagesSource: BackpackerBut as reported in Backpacker, the gold they mined had impurities and wasn’t profitable. The same source reports that miners abandoned the valley for more prosperous areas and left behind a ghost town.
Four abandoned buildings on the Mayflower Gulch trail. Monica Humphries/InsiderSource: BackpackerEarly one summer morning, I set out on Highway 91 heading toward Leadville, Colorado, to hike the Mayflower Gulch Trail and explore the abandoned buildings. A map of where the Mayflower Gulch Trail is located.
Monica Humphries/InsiderAfter an hour-and-a-half drive from Denver, I reached a parking lot. There, visitors have two options: they can either park and hike to the abandoned Boston Mine or drive along an old wagon road to the ghost town’s entrance. From the entrance to the Mayflower Gulch trail, I could spot a handful of abandoned houses.
Monica Humphries/InsiderUnsure if my Subaru could handle the road’s conditions, I opted to hike to the ghost town, which added an extra three miles to my six-mile hike. The trail has a variety of routes, and the main ghost town is a short hike from the upper parking lot. At the start of the trail, visitors have the choice to continue driving or start their hike.
Monica Humphries/InsiderAs I hiked up the wide, rocky path through spur and fir trees, I spotted my first sign of the region’s mining past: a wooden cabin along the old wagon road. This would be the first of nine structures I saw scattered along the trail. The first sign of the ghost town on the Mayflower Gulch Trail.
Monica Humphries/InsiderI peered inside the crumbling cabin and eyed what looked like a rusted oven, which would be decades old by this point, I thought. The rusted oven inside the first cabin on the Mayflower Gulch Trail. Monica Humphries/InsiderFarther up the trail, I spotted more ruins.
Slightly above eye level, there’s an abandoned structure that was part of the old mining process, according to Summit Daily. Called an ore chute, this was used to move the heavy rock into wagons. The wood structure was likely an old ore chute.
Monica Humphries/InsiderSource: Summit DailyDotted along the mountains are mine entrances, and sure enough, behind the structure was an opening. Today, the areas are often fenced off and unstable, so I admired this one from a distance and continued along the path. An arrow points to where miners would’ve entered the mine.
Monica Humphries/InsiderAfter hiking a little more than a mile, I reached the largest portion of the ghost town. In the vast expanse, I could spot three buildings at the base of the grand mountains. The entrance to the ghost town.
Monica Humphries/InsiderStanding amid the ruins, I had a nearly 360-degree view of mountains. To the south, north, and east were mountains reaching nearly 14,000 feet above sea level. To the west was a vast valley and a trailing creek.
The view of Mayflower Gulch as a cloud passes over the sun. Monica Humphries/InsiderAs for the abandoned buildings, there wasn’t much left from the mining camp. The first building I approached was by far the largest.
The largest abandoned cabin in the ghost town. Monica Humphries/InsiderAccording to Backpacker, the Boston Mine camp had a boarding house, where unmarried miners would have likely lived while working at the mine. This large building could’ve been that, and I imagined it’d be similar to hostels I’ve slept in — crowded and filled with just the necessities.
Though, I had no way of knowing for sure. A view of the Boston mine ghost town. Monica Humphries/InsiderSource: BackpackerAccording to Breckenridge History, the miners of Summit County walked from their homes to the mine each morning before 7 a.
m. I was hiking on a sunny day, and I couldn’t imagine trekking through the snow with a long day of work ahead. A stereograph of a miner carrying equipment while walking across a shallow creek in Colorado in 1874.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty ImagesI continued along the trail and spotted more empty, eerie buildings. I peeked inside one, where I saw insulation was peeling from the ceiling and floorboards that had chipped away over the years. The interior of one of the abandoned buildings.
Monica Humphries/InsiderUnsure if there were any more abandoned buildings along the trail, I kept hiking. I was glad I did. In the distance, I spotted another cabin and a narrow, tall building.
Arrows point to another cabin and ore shoot that are part of the ghost town. Monica Humphries/InsiderThe tall structure was likely another part of the mine. A view of the second ore cute I spotted at the abandoned Boston Mine.
Monica Humphries/InsiderI’ve seen plenty of abandoned cabins dating around the same time, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. The building was at least two stories tall, and I was impressed it was still standing all these years later. A side view of the building along the Mayflower Gulch Trail.
Monica Humphries/InsiderRead more: I hiked 8 miles to an eerie ghost town filled with crumbling homes and felt like I’d traveled back in timeFrom the building, a long cable stretched more than halfway up the mountain, which I imagine was part of the mining process. As I followed the cable, I spotted an entrance to another mine. An arrow points to the entrance of the mine.
Monica Humphries/InsiderAccording to Breckenridge History, these entrances would be used by workers who would enter the mine with their drill steels, hammers, and lunch, with their days illuminated only by candlelight. Miners would mine, muckers would shovel crushed rock into ore cars, and trammers would push the cars to the surface, the same source reported. Miners work at Little Giant Mine in the Pike National Forest in Colorado in the early 1900s.
(Boston Mine not pictured. )CORBIS/Corbis/Getty ImagesSource: Breckenridge HistoryAll around the narrow building I saw relics from the past. It made my morning feel more like a scavenger hunt than a hike.
A rusty relic along the trail. Monica Humphries/InsiderAlong one sloping hill, I noticed dozens, if not hundreds, of rusting cans. One area of the trail was filled with rusting cans.
Monica Humphries/InsiderOn another section of the trail, I spotted what appeared to be abandoned mining equipment with thick layers of rust. A relic from the old mine along the Mayflower Gulch trail. Monica Humphries/InsiderI later learned that some of the equipment could’ve been more recent.
According to Copper Colorado Condos, people returned to the area in the 1980s to try their luck again when the price of gold skyrocketed to $800 an ounce. A part of the abandoned mining camp along the Mayflower Gulch Trail. Monica Humphries/InsiderSource: Copper Colorado Condos The same source reports that the new residents stabilized the abandoned buildings and attempted to mine.
But like the original miners, they were unsuccessful. They, too, left behind a ghost town. A view through the window of one of the abandoned buildings.
Monica Humphries/InsiderSource: Copper Colorado CondosToday, the surrounding mountains still have deposits of gold, according to The Denver Post, and one expert estimated in 2009 that there’s anywhere between $15 million and $50 million worth of gold tucked away in the mountains. However, it would likely need to go through an expensive refining process to be of any value, according to Britannica. Stored in the mountains are millions of dollars worth of gold.
Monica Humphries/InsiderSource: The Denver Post, BritannicaBut the treasure will remain buried deep in the rock. Today, the ghost town and its gold are protected by Summit County. In 2009, the county expanded the trail and purchased an additional 129 acres of adjacent land, which included the tall building and surrounding mountainous area, according to The Denver Post.
The Mayflower Gulch Trail. Monica Humphries/InsiderSource: The Denver PostI wrapped up my hike by scarfing down a sandwich and admiring the abandoned buildings. While I didn’t strike gold, I did gain a new appreciation for the miners and their ambition.
I ate a quick bite and admired the ghost town before hiking back to my car. Monica Humphries/InsiderRead the original article on Insider.
From: insider
URL: https://www.insider.com/abandoned-boston-mine-ghost-town-colorado-photos-2022-10
