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November 01, 2004
Telluride has History
Rewind about 130 years and Telluride would seem like the last place on earth you'd like to golf or live. Indeed, dig into the historic town's past and you'll find that it may have been named from a send-off given to would-be porpectors venturing into the inhospitable mountain terrain. As fortune seekers would ride off, skeptics would shout, "To-hell-you-ride!"
Another opinion held that the town earned its name from a derivative of Tellurium, a non-metallic element associated with gold and silver mining.
Regardless, thanks to its location in a box canyon surrounded by the San Juan Mountains, Telluride, as it turns out, is considerably closer to heaven than it was originally made out to be by the naysayers.
Once the summer gathering place for the Utes, the Spanish explored in the late 1700s. Dissuaded by the altitiude and inclement winter weather, they passed through in a hurry, followed by fur trappers in the early 1880s.
It wasn't until the 1870s, when gold and silver were discovered in the San Juans, that this desolate mountain range was put on the map.
A new town called Columbia emerged and hopeful prospectors flocked there to make fortunes.
However, in 1880, the United States Postal Service refused to grant the town a branch office because the name was often confused with another gold mining town: Columbia, California.
Alas, Telluride was born and the rest is history-and what a history it is. The gold, silver, zinc, lead and copper mined from the mountains produced millions of dollars in ore extracted from the 350 miles of tunnels.
The town was so wealthy, even Butch Cassidy and his Hole-in-the-Wall-gang paid a visit. In 1889, the notorious outlaws rode off with $30,000 from the San Miguel National Bank in their very first bank robbery.
Today the wealth can be measured in the number of multi-million dollar homes, the magnificent golf course and the well-maintained ski area. Roughly 2,000 people call Telluride home year round.
Telluride has something to offer anyone. If your looking for a condo, a second home or land to build your new dream home, Telluride and Mountain Village are the places to invest in. The mountains completely shut you out from the rest of the world, which makes time go a little slower here. To find out how you can become a part of this magnificent valley, click on the link below.
Posted by Adam at November 1, 2004 12:20 PM