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Gillett, coldest little town in the District
Mel McFarland
Some might wonder about this spot. It is at almost 10,000 feet above sea level and one of the few relatively flat spots near the District. It looks like an ideal spot for a town.
That is what the Midland Terminal Railway thought in 1893 when it was laying out its line. The name comes from William K. Gillett, an official of the Santa Fe Railway, who at the time controlled the Colorado Midland, which was building the railroad south from Divide.
When the idea of the Midland Terminal came along, Gillett came to Colorado to direct the operation and stayed for quite a while. The town was to be the main yards and shops for the Midland Terminal.
If you are not familiar with Colo. 67, Gillett was where the road curves to the right and heads for Cripple Creek ,or you can turn left on CR 81 to Victor and Goldfield.
Several hundred people lived in Gillett, probably as far away as you could get, and still be in the District. The town even boasted of having electricity and a mill, but the big claim was a race track and the bull ring. This spot was the site of a famous bull fight but that is another story to be told later.
One of the significant buildings that remains is barely visible anymore. The Gillett Catholic Church is a pile of rocks north of the road junction, west of the highway.
I have mentioned significant buildings in the District and this is one of them. The rock building was built in 1897 when the town was at its peak. Father T. Volpe and a few volunteers built the small church, which could handle a couple dozen people.
When the town lost its people, the church was empty and eventually became a barn. The roof caved in, and little by little the walls crumbled.
The town had almost 600 residents from about 1898-1910. The mill never was successful, constantly either for sale or trying some "new" method to refine the ores.
The area has to be the coldest spot in the District. The railroad built facilities here but quickly decided not to try to keep their shops here. It was better in Cripple Creek or Divide.
The railroad finally gave up in about 1910, and little by little they tore down what had been built here. The water tank lasted the longest, but the water in it regularly froze in the winter.
Trains, right up until 1949 would stop in Gillett. The night ore train to Colorado City sometimes met the morning train to Cripple Creek here. There are stories of how the crews would hear mountain lions or even bear walking near the train as it sat.
The 1965 flood brought the water down from the reservoir above town to the east, which at one time was one of the area's exclusive resorts. You can see the results, giant boulders washed well into where the town sat, but it is hard to imagine what it looked like.
There still are towns in the area to talk about, and as you may remember, if you are following this series, most are not as easy to locate as Gillett.
Some might wonder about this spot. It is at almost 10,000 feet above sea level and one of the few relatively flat spots near the District. It looks like an ideal spot for a town.
That is what the Midland Terminal Railway thought in 1893 when it was laying out its line. The name comes from William K. Gillett, an official of the Santa Fe Railway, who at the time controlled the Colorado Midland, which was building the railroad south from Divide.
When the idea of the Midland Terminal came along, Gillett came to Colorado to direct the operation and stayed for quite a while. The town was to be the main yards and shops for the Midland Terminal.
If you are not familiar with Colo. 67, Gillett was where the road curves to the right and heads for Cripple Creek ,or you can turn left on CR 81 to Victor and Goldfield.
Several hundred people lived in Gillett, probably as far away as you could get, and still be in the District. The town even boasted of having electricity and a mill, but the big claim was a race track and the bull ring. This spot was the site of a famous bull fight but that is another story to be told later.
One of the significant buildings that remains is barely visible anymore. The Gillett Catholic Church is a pile of rocks north of the road junction, west of the highway.
I have mentioned significant buildings in the District and this is one of them. The rock building was built in 1897 when the town was at its peak. Father T. Volpe and a few volunteers built the small church, which could handle a couple dozen people.
When the town lost its people, the church was empty and eventually became a barn. The roof caved in, and little by little the walls crumbled.
The town had almost 600 residents from about 1898-1910. The mill never was successful, constantly either for sale or trying some "new" method to refine the ores.
The area has to be the coldest spot in the District. The railroad built facilities here but quickly decided not to try to keep their shops here. It was better in Cripple Creek or Divide.
The railroad finally gave up in about 1910, and little by little they tore down what had been built here. The water tank lasted the longest, but the water in it regularly froze in the winter.
Trains, right up until 1949 would stop in Gillett. The night ore train to Colorado City sometimes met the morning train to Cripple Creek here. There are stories of how the crews would hear mountain lions or even bear walking near the train as it sat.
The 1965 flood brought the water down from the reservoir above town to the east, which at one time was one of the area's exclusive resorts. You can see the results, giant boulders washed well into where the town sat, but it is hard to imagine what it looked like.
There still are towns in the area to talk about, and as you may remember, if you are following this series, most are not as easy to locate as Gillett.
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