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Before the 1700's, the Telluride Valley served as the location of summer camps for area Ute tribes. From camps along the San Miguel River, the natives would hunt for elk, deer, and mountain sheep in the surrounding mountains. At the onset of winter, the Utes would return to the lowlands.
Spaniards established a new town site near what is now Santa Fe in the 1700s. The explorers, in search of an overland route to the Pacific coast, ventured into the lower Rocky Mountains, and named them the San Juans. The Spanish never settled in the San Juans because of the sometimes harsh and rugged winters. Fur trappers are thought to be the first Anglos in the San Juans, but with the demise of beaver populations due to over trapping, they soon started to move on as well.
The first mining claim was made by prospector John Fallon in Marshal Basin, and the Sheridan Mine proved to be fruitful. Soon after in 1880, the town of Columbia was established in the present day Telluride Valley. The U.S. Postal Service refused to grant the new town a post office due to the potential confusion with the established town of Columbia California. Consequently, the town's name changed to Telluride. Origins of the name Telluride are a bit unclear. Some speculate that the town's name is derived from the word "tellurium", a non metallic element often associated with deposits of gold-although, ironically, this mineral is not found here. Another theory is that the name comes from the common send-off at the time for those heading south, "To hell you ride!"
By 1890 the railroad had reached Telluride, and the town's population began to grow. Finnish, Swedish, Irish, French, Italian, German, Chinese immigrants helped make up Telluride's burgeoning population of 5,000 near the turn of the century. Such a vast amount of mining activity in the area resulted in a complex network of multi-level tunnels throughout the mountains of the east end of the valley. Mining was a hard life and many sought comfort in within the confines of Telluride. The town sported an opera house, theater, saloons, dance halls, and a thriving red light district. In response to the extreme working conditions, the miners formed unions and several notable strikes occurred.
With the price of silver crashing in 1893 and the subsequent fixing of the price of gold in World War I, Telluride's mining boom had started to come to an end. Many of the men in Telluride departed to join the armed forces or for one of the many industries supporting the war effort. As most of the mines had closed by the 1960s, the town's population dwindled to 600 and was well on its way to becoming a ghost town.
When a long time group of locals, led by Bill Mahoney Sr., and a forward thinking entrepreneur, Joe Zoline, joined forces in the early 70s, Telluride's were to soon make a turn for the better. A new ski area was took shape along the ridge coming off Gold Hill. By 1978 Telluride had come full circle. Colorado Natives Ron Allred and Jim Wells assumed control of the area, and helped turn Telluride into a world class ski resort.
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