Site search
sponsored by
News
Summit County was organized as one of the seventeen original Colorado counties by the First Territorial Legislature in November 1861. It was named for the many mountain summits in the county.
When first established its boundaries included an area stretching from the Continental Divide to the Utah board comprising the present-day counties of Summit, Grand, Routt, Moffat, Garfield, Eagle and Rio Blanco.
In 1874, Routt, Moffat, Grand and Rio Blanco counties were created and with the creation of Garfield and Eagle counties in 1883, Summit County arrived at its present boundaries.
The area’s modern history began with the White River and Middle Park Ute Indians who first traveled the region now known as Summit County. The area was part of the nomadic Indians’ summer hunting grounds.
The first white men to come through this area were known as "mountain men" who trapped in the high mountain lakes for beaver. The mountain men trapped in this territory from 1810 to around the 1840s.
The 1860's ushered in mining to the area following the Pike’s Peak Golf Rush which prompted thousands to come west and let to the formation of several mining town, several of which remain today.
Founded in 1873 (officially chartered in 1879) by Henry Recen, the Town of Frisco quickly developed thanks in part to the locale's many mines. By 1882 the permanent population reached 250 with two railroads, many businesses, hotels and saloons, not to mention "loads of mines." The mining boomed lasted until 1918.
Along with the rest of the country, Frisco was hit by the Depression; by 1930 Frisco's permanent population had dropped to only 18 people. Frisco was one of the few old mining towns to keep going. Many of the smaller, less accessible mining towns were deserted. Frisco persevered and by 1946 the population had increased to 50. Today it has more than 2,700 full-time residents.
The town of Dillon was established in the 1880s as a trading post, but was then located along the Blue River. The present day location is the result of Denver’s need for water. The entire town, including its cemetery, had to relocate to the northeastern shore of Dillon Reservoir which was completed in 1963 lake while the reservoir was completed in 1963.
General George E. Spencer formally created the Town of “Breckinridge” in November 1859 and named it after President James Buchanan's Vice President, John Cabell Breckinridge. The hope was to flatter the United States government into approving a post office, which apparently succeeded as the post office in Breckenridge became the first between the Continental Divide and Salt Lake City, Utah. At the outbreak of the Civil War Vice President Breckinridge resigned to become a Confederate Brigadier General and the little town of Breckinridge changed the spelling of its name to "Breckenridge."
During the mining boom, Breckenridge provided a variety of attractions. Saloons and dance halls and other false-fronted commercial stores, were found on Main and Ridge streets.
The late-1860s saw the introduction of large-scale hydraulic placer mining to the area and the days of the single gold prospector were over. In the late 1870s silver and lead led to a second boom. By 1882, Breckenridge secured the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad depot.
Breckenridge was home to a famous mountain evangelist, the Rev. John Lewis Dyer, known as the “Snowshoe Itinerant,” who hiked and skied through the mountains to deliver the gospel.
By the end of World War II the mining era in Summit County had largely come to a close and towns such as Breckenridge and Frisco became shadows of their former selves. But that change with the advent of “white gold.”
Keystone’s predecessor opened at the Black Ranch along the Snake River in 1941 allowing it to lay claim as the area’s first ski area, although it was many years later that the area became a true international resort. Arapahoe Basin opened in 1947 with a single chair lift after the Winter Sports Committee of Denver spent two years searching for a Front Range location for a ski area. Breckenridge opened in December 1961 and Copper Mountain in 1971.
It was the opening of the Eisenhower Tunnel 1973 on Interstate 70, which cut the travel time from Denver to less than 90 minutes, which fueled the Summit County white gold "rush."
When first established its boundaries included an area stretching from the Continental Divide to the Utah board comprising the present-day counties of Summit, Grand, Routt, Moffat, Garfield, Eagle and Rio Blanco.
In 1874, Routt, Moffat, Grand and Rio Blanco counties were created and with the creation of Garfield and Eagle counties in 1883, Summit County arrived at its present boundaries.
The area’s modern history began with the White River and Middle Park Ute Indians who first traveled the region now known as Summit County. The area was part of the nomadic Indians’ summer hunting grounds.
The first white men to come through this area were known as "mountain men" who trapped in the high mountain lakes for beaver. The mountain men trapped in this territory from 1810 to around the 1840s.
The 1860's ushered in mining to the area following the Pike’s Peak Golf Rush which prompted thousands to come west and let to the formation of several mining town, several of which remain today.
Founded in 1873 (officially chartered in 1879) by Henry Recen, the Town of Frisco quickly developed thanks in part to the locale's many mines. By 1882 the permanent population reached 250 with two railroads, many businesses, hotels and saloons, not to mention "loads of mines." The mining boomed lasted until 1918.
Along with the rest of the country, Frisco was hit by the Depression; by 1930 Frisco's permanent population had dropped to only 18 people. Frisco was one of the few old mining towns to keep going. Many of the smaller, less accessible mining towns were deserted. Frisco persevered and by 1946 the population had increased to 50. Today it has more than 2,700 full-time residents.
The town of Dillon was established in the 1880s as a trading post, but was then located along the Blue River. The present day location is the result of Denver’s need for water. The entire town, including its cemetery, had to relocate to the northeastern shore of Dillon Reservoir which was completed in 1963 lake while the reservoir was completed in 1963.
General George E. Spencer formally created the Town of “Breckinridge” in November 1859 and named it after President James Buchanan's Vice President, John Cabell Breckinridge. The hope was to flatter the United States government into approving a post office, which apparently succeeded as the post office in Breckenridge became the first between the Continental Divide and Salt Lake City, Utah. At the outbreak of the Civil War Vice President Breckinridge resigned to become a Confederate Brigadier General and the little town of Breckinridge changed the spelling of its name to "Breckenridge."
During the mining boom, Breckenridge provided a variety of attractions. Saloons and dance halls and other false-fronted commercial stores, were found on Main and Ridge streets.
The late-1860s saw the introduction of large-scale hydraulic placer mining to the area and the days of the single gold prospector were over. In the late 1870s silver and lead led to a second boom. By 1882, Breckenridge secured the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad depot.
Breckenridge was home to a famous mountain evangelist, the Rev. John Lewis Dyer, known as the “Snowshoe Itinerant,” who hiked and skied through the mountains to deliver the gospel.
By the end of World War II the mining era in Summit County had largely come to a close and towns such as Breckenridge and Frisco became shadows of their former selves. But that change with the advent of “white gold.”
Keystone’s predecessor opened at the Black Ranch along the Snake River in 1941 allowing it to lay claim as the area’s first ski area, although it was many years later that the area became a true international resort. Arapahoe Basin opened in 1947 with a single chair lift after the Winter Sports Committee of Denver spent two years searching for a Front Range location for a ski area. Breckenridge opened in December 1961 and Copper Mountain in 1971.
It was the opening of the Eisenhower Tunnel 1973 on Interstate 70, which cut the travel time from Denver to less than 90 minutes, which fueled the Summit County white gold "rush."
