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Title: Crystal River Saga
The Lore of the Colorado Rockies
Author: Theresa V. Hermon Francis
Contributor: William Lamartine Francis
Release Date: September 18, 2018 [EBook #57923]
Language: English
Character set encoding: UTF-8
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PICTURE ON COVER—is part of one of the two remaining fire walls still left standing at the Old Marble Mill Site in Marble, Colo. Sheep Mountain can be seen through the door way and White House Mountain at right. Jeep tours can be taken to the tops of these peaks for very extensive sight-seeing trips. —Photo by Will L. Francis
by THERESA V. FRANCIS
Price $1.25
Come up a mile where the air is pure,
Where the skies are clear and blue;
Come up above the smoke and dust,
Where good health waits for you.
—Author Unknown
Western Slope of the Central COLORADO ROCKIES Showing in Particular the FISHING STREAMS and RECREATIONAL AREAS of Famous GUNNISON COUNTY Compiled by WILL L. FRANCIS
Probably no town in the world has experienced more dramatic changes in a lifetime, than has the quarry town of Marble, Colo. and one of the few living persons who knows the story of each phase of Marble’s history is Theresa Herman Francis. She and her husband, Bill, now spend only the summers (winters in Tucson, Ariz.) in the white and green house in Marble that was her year ’round home for 33 years.
One of the town’s active citizens during the 20’s and 30’s when the population of Marble numbered in the thousands, Theresa changed her life very little when Marble became a ghost town in 1945. Although living alone in town most of the time, she did not become a recluse, but remained the same cheerful, energetic, neighborly person she had always been. By hard work and ingenious use of materials familiar to her through the years of teaching arts and crafts in the Marble and other schools, she established an independent living for herself. By patiently and accurately answering dozens of questions thousands of times, and by friendly help to all of the people who stopped at her roadside stand every summer, Theresa has made many friends for herself and for Marble. By her enthusiasm for, and faith in the future of Marble, she has done more than any other person toward bringing her beloved town back to life.
Half in fun, half in tribute, Loey Rinquist of Aspen, Colo. once began a Christmas card to her, “Dear Mrs. Marble.” It is “Mrs. Marble” herself who has written the story of Marble for you. Her long teaching experience, and her years of answering questions for tourists, have prepared her to answer all of your questions, herein exactly as they have occurred.
This booklet will serve as guide, and be an interesting and accurate record of your trip through beautiful and historic Crystal River Valley.
Marian M. Paschal Marble and Fort Collins, Colo. La Paz, Bolivia, South America
CHAIR MOUNTAIN, CRYSTAL RIVER AND HIGHWAY—just above Hays Creek Falls, nine miles below Marble. Lower road was the Crystal River & San Juan railroad bed, converted to a road in 1945. The upper road (Bunker Hill road) was used for general transportation prior to this time. Beautiful Chair Mountain, covered with snow, can be seen in the background. —Photo courtesy John B. Schutte, Glenwood Spgs., Colo.
Author
THERESA V. FRANCIS
in association with
Will L. Francis
MARBLE via
Carbondale, Colorado
U. S. A.
COPYRIGHT © 1959
by
Theresa V. Francis and Will L. Francis
MARBLE via
CARBONDALE, COLORADO
1st Edition, 1959, 5,000 Copies
2nd Edition, 1962, 5,000 Copies
3rd Edition, 1966, 5,000 Copies
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in an article to be published in a magazine or newspaper.
HOME OF THE AUTHOR—She has lived in this house since coming to Marble in 1923. —Photo courtesy Glen L. Gebhardt, Denver, Colo.
Printed in the United States of America
POERTNER LITHOGRAPHING CO.
DENVER, COLO.
I came to Marble, Colo. in 1923 while it was still a very active thriving little city. My first husband, Theodore (Ted) A. Herman, worked in the marble mill almost twenty years: then after a few years sickness he died, and I remained a widow over eleven years, never leaving Marble except for brief visits with relatives. Many times during these winters I was the only person in town, yet I was never bored or afraid. The telephone company kept my phone in good working order and I received my mail three times a week. I had a good radio, loved to read, write letters, and do my pyro-plastic work to sell at the stand (Ken’s Pop Stand) during the summers. This stand was started by my grandson, Kenneth E. Herman, in 1948, as a nestegg for his college education. When I quit teaching school in 1952, we ran it together until 1956 when he graduated from South High School in Denver and felt he must find a more lucrative job. I have run it alone since.
In late 1956 I married again and now spend my summers in Marble and winters in Tucson, Ariz., where my husband is a Linotype operator on a Tucson daily paper. It is our earnest desire to spend the rest of our lives in Marble after he retires.
In attempting to compile a history of the Crystal River Valley I have accumulated such a vast amount of interesting material that it would be impossible to condense it into a booklet of 10,000 words. So I have decided to write a brief history of the various locales and answer the questions most often asked at the pop stand. Then after another year or two of research I’ll try to write a book containing a more detailed history and memoirs of the many interesting people who have lived in the valley, if I feel the public would like such a volume.
If this little booklet has given you some pleasure and knowledge of this marvelous valley, then it has accomplished its purpose and I am happy. I am sure that once you have visited this portion of the western slope and know its history you will love it as I do.
Theresa V. Francis
THE DEVIL’S PUNCH BOWLS—half way between Schofield and Crystal City. The road is to the right, high above these falls. —Photo courtesy Colin L. Moore, Gunnison, Colo.
One of the most beautiful rivers in Colorado has its source at Schofield Pass high above Elko Basin and Schofield Park. It is fed by melting snow and many crystal clear springs, hence the name Crystal River. And it does not belie its name, as, excepting a few weeks in the spring when melting snow along its lower tributaries gives it a roily turbulent appearance, it is truly crystal clear.
(Elevation Approximately 10,000 feet)
Schofield has been called “The flower garden of the Rockies” and rightly so. It is carpetted with multifarious species of flowers, ranging from the delicate snow flowers and Alpine mosses through several shades of Indian paint brushes, blue and purple lupines, and wild roses to the lusty sunflowers. It is especially beautiful in July and August when there are literally hundreds of acres of blue, purple, lavender, gold, and brown columbines.
In the early 1870s gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and galina were found in this region, so naturally a mining camp mushroomed over night into a village of 50 or 60 houses. These were the regular camp-style buildings with no foundations, resembling huge packing boxes. There was also a store, hotel, concentration mill, and several saloons. While its population sometimes soared into the thousands, it was a transit, moving people, living mostly in tents and always looking for better prospects.
Frank Hall’s “State of Colorado,” Vol. IV, page 150, date 1895, has this to say about this mining camp:
“Schofield was surveyed and platted August 24, 1879, by J. Evans for a company composed of Daniel Haines, S. H. Baker, B. F. Schofield (for whom it was named), H. G. Ferris, Wm. Agee, E. D. Baker, A. H. 10 Slossen, and G. Edwards. It is located on Rock Creek (now called Crystal River) between Elko Basin and Crystal City, eight miles northwest of Gothic, and some 40 miles west of Gunnison. It never was a camp of much importance, though a central station for a number of prospectors.”
General Grant is supposed to have ridden into Schofield on a white mule when he was campaigning for the U. S. presidency. Some of the prospectors tried to sell him some mining claims; being unsuccessful in that, they attempted to get him into a poker game and lose a claim to him so they could boast, “The President of the United States owns mining property in Schofield.” But they weren’t proficient enough in “stacking the cards” to deal him a winning hand. Wishing to show him the grandeur of the canyon they took him where he could look down into the Devil’s Punch Bowls and told him it was called the “SOB Canyon.” He agreed it was appropriately named but suggested a name that would be even harder to beat, “The Schultz Canyon.” Schultz being his political opponent at the time.
Schofield flourished for 12 or 14 years, then they decided the cost of transportation was far more than the mineral mined warranted, so in 1886 practically the entire town was moved down the valley four miles and Crystal City was started. Schofield became truly a “ghost town.”
It has always been easier to enter Schofield from Crested Butte than from Crystal, but now with the opening of a jeep road between Schofield and Crystal City all that has been changed and today a new Schofield is in the making. This time it is to be a 40-acre tract of modern buildings containing a 24-housing unit, a motel, and a store. None of the over-night constructed mining shacks this time, but modern log cabins built to withstand the elements at this nearly 10,000 foot elevation.
Leaving Schofield, the Crystal River goes through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. It runs down a ravine 50 feet below the road, over boulders, through crevices, always in a hurry, it plunges over a ledge into the Little Devils Punch Bowl, then it cascades over another ledge making an impressive waterfall as it drops into the Big Devils Punch Bowl many feet below, where it seethes and swirls trying to find a way out to go on down the canyon.
The trail above the river was used as a wagon road from the early 1880s to about 1917. John A. Williams drove a team of mules over it in 1911 hauling supplies for the Williams General 11 Store in Crystal. Anton Danni drove a supply wagon over it in 1916. The following item was taken from the Marble Booster newspaper, Aug. 12, 1916:
“Tom Boughton, John J. Walsh, D. E. Dever, and Chas. Sisteg, elected at a caucus to represent Marble as delegates to the Democratic County Convention which convened at Gunnison Monday, left here early last Sunday morning, via Crystal (Schofield Pass) driving (horses) most of the distance and enjoying a motor ride the rest of the way.”
These are the last authentic accounts of this wagon road being used I can find; so presume it was closed by rock slides shortly after this date. Over 40 years passed before this scenic part of Colorado was again made available to travel, mainly through the efforts of Gunnison County Commissioner Anton Danni and his road overseer who made several trips from Schofield to Crystal City, on foot, to see if it were possible, and feasible, to open a jeep road. They decided it was and on Aug. 5, 1958, after many months of hard work, the first jeeps came through from Crested Butte to Marble. In 1959 they hope to improve the road enough to permit passenger cars to come down; but no vehicle without a 4-wheel drive could make the trip up the canyon.
The first group to make the trip over the new road was composed of the following people:
| Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Cain | Almont, Colo. |
| Mr. and Mrs. Bart Cox | Almont, Colo. |
| Mr. and Mrs. John Ramsey | Almont, Colo. |
| Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Gauby | Santa Monica, Calif. |
| Mrs. Jane Schmidt | Almont, Colo. |
| Mrs. C. Haase | Almont, Colo. |
| Mr. and Mrs. I. Fifer | Lake Forest, Ill. |
| Mr. and Mrs. O. W. Shumate | Milwaukee, Wis. |
Leaving the punch bowls the river runs another mile and a half before the North Fork from Lead King Basin joins it. This tributary drains another scenic valley. Snowmass Peak (14,077 ft. El.), Maroon Peak (14,158 ft.) and Hagerman Peak can be seen in the background. Beautiful trails wind through the various draws leading to Geneva Lake and the Maroon Belles where fishing is at its best. This is also a highly mineralized valley: silver, copper, lead, and zinc predominating. The Copper King, 20th Century, Winchester, El Negroero and half of the Richardson, all located in this basin, belong to Lee Sperry of the Ragged Mountain district.
CRYSTAL CITY MAIN STREET—Crystal Club, printing office, and hotel are some of the buildings still standing. —Photo courtesy John B. Schutte, Glenwood Spgs., Colo.
(Elevation Approximately 9,000 Feet)
One half mile beyond the junction of the North Fork with the Crystal River it reaches the little hamlet of Crystal City, magnificently located in a small dale surrounded by several lofty peaks: Sheep Mountain, Mineral Point, Crystal Peak, Bear Mountain (the one covered with tall pines), White House, and Treasure Peaks. Crystal City was another typical mining town of 70 houses, several general stores, a school house (still standing), Crystal Club (still standing) and several other saloons, a newspaper—The Silver Lance followed by The Crystal River Current (still standing), a concentration mill and a smelter. The peak of its population was about 650 inhabitants (some say 2,000). While a railroad was never completed from Crested Butte, a telegraph line was installed. John Davisson, now of 855 Elm St., Grand Junction, Colo., patrolled this line on snowshoes as “trouble shooter” during the Winters of 1906-’07-’08.
The demonitization of silver in 1893 and the inability to get adequate means of transportation for lead, zinc, and other ores, the town of Crystal City was practically depopulated soon after the turn of the century until 1916. Then it again looked as if the prospectors’ dream might come true: the population again rose to several hundred; the Lead King mine, the Black Queen mine, and the Sheep Mountain tunnel were reopened; the smelter and concentration mill were reconditioned; a blacksmith shop, cook house, and bunk houses were located two miles above Crystal City on Rock Creek. But by the middle of 1917 everything again shut down and the people drifted away.
Aug. 25, 1917, Marble Booster newspaper:
“Crystal mines are in their infancy. It would take a million men a thousand years to exhaust the hills up that way of their silver, copper, lead and zinc.”
Many interesting stories are told of the early days in Crystal City by some of its first settlers. One told by F. W. (Dad) Reyland was that one wintery day when the snow had drifted above the doors of many of the buildings, they decided to liven things up a bit by having a dance. Now the dance hall was one of the buildings completely covered by snow. So they decided to tunnel in to the door, making niches in the sides of the tunnel in the snow every few feet in which to anchor candles to guide the guests to the dance hall. The dance was a huge success and stirred the town out of its boredom.
Another was told by one who was working in the Colorado Trading & Development Co. store at the time. During the winter months the mail was brought up from Marble by a carrier on snowshoes, who as a rule could get through with very little trouble. But once when a very deep feathery snow had fallen he was unable to get through for over a week. The egg supply at the store was exhausted; so they decided to send a man down to try to get some. He made it down all right but had to wait several days for the snow to crust over before coming back. Then he carried the case of eggs strapped on his shoulders the six miles back to Crystal City. In the meantime the price of eggs soared.
In 1938 Emmet S. Gould of Aspen came to Crystal City looking for ore to run through a recently purchased mill. He became interested at once in the area not only for its potential mineral wealth, but also its wild beauty. He bought several mining claims and city lots with their cabins.
DEADHORSE MILL—just below Crystal City. One of the earliest mills built on the Crystal River. —Photo courtesy John B. Schutte, Glenwood Springs, Colo.
SNOW BRIDGE—across the Crystal River below the Devil’s Punch Bowls. It usually melts by September, but has been known to stay the year ’round. It is caused by slides on each side of the Canyon. —Photo courtesy John B. Schutte, Glenwood Springs, Colo.
He made an effort to open the Lucky Boy and the Lead King mines, but unfortunate circumstances once again kept the mines from paying.
His daughters, Mrs. Dorothy Tidwell and Mrs. Helen Collins, and granddaughters, Maxine Fowler and Carolyn Lodge, all of California, still come with their families and friends, and make up a part of Crystal City’s 20 or 30 summer residents.
The Welcome J. Neals who also own mining claims and a house in Crystal City, come every year from Mooresville, Ind., and bring their friends and relatives for a delightful summer’s vacation where the weather is just right, the scenery unsurpassable, and the elusive trout waiting to match his skill against that of the tourist.
Dick CarScadden of Aspen spends his summers in Crystal City conducting tourists on hiking trips: the food and camping equipment being carried by huskies.
Just what the future holds for Crystal City, none can say. The people who own it prefer to keep it as it is, a cool, peaceful relaxing haven. But with the road over Schofield Pass connecting Crested Butte with Marble and Carbondale open, and with the known mineral deposits there, it may again become a thriving mining center.
The Crystal River continues on its way through its narrow canyon, sometimes on a level with the highway, sometimes hundreds of feet below it.
Half way between Crystal City and Marble the river passes Lizzard Lake, one of the most beautiful in Colorado. It is supposed to be the crater of an old volcano. It is quite shallow around the edges for several feet out, then drops abruptly to unknown depths. The Game & Fish Department keeps it well stocked with trout and even amateur fishermen can land their legal limit. This is one of the highly mineralized spots in the valley: gold, silver, copper, etc.
THEODORE (SGT.) JACKSON—ready to start on a pack-trip from Schofield Park into the high country. —Photo courtesy Theodore (Sgt.) Jackson, Delta, Colo.
DICK CarSCADDEN—packed and ready to start from Crystal City on one of his guided treks into the wilderness. —Photo courtesy Dick CarScadden, Aspen, Colo.
In a Lovely Glen, named for a Lovely White Calcium Carbonate—Marble
(Elevation 7,950 Feet)
The Crystal River next reaches the valley where the town of Marble is located. The Spanish explorers, Escalante and Dominquez, may have come into this territory in 1541, but they left no permanent records. The “Forty-Niners” were supposed to have come this far off their beaten trail on their way to California; gold pans and other mining equipment were found near Prospect Ranch by Bill Gant who trapped beaver in this valley in 1859. Benjamin Graham prospected in the Elk Mountains in the early 1860s. These early explorations are legendary and no accurate information is recorded.
Neither the Ute Indians who silently followed the trails of mountain sheep, elk, deer, and bear through the parks and meadows, green with succulent grasses and gay and fragrant with wild flowers, nor the early prospectors who tramped the mossy banks of the limpid streams, snaring the sunning trout from their pebbly beds, tracking the beaver and marten for their warm pelts, or roaming the mountain peaks in search of precious metals, realized that the white rock that stood out on precipitous mountain sides was more valuable than all the animal pelts and precious metals they sought.
George Yule, a prospector who came into Gunnison County in 1874, is supposed to have been the first white man to discover and assume the value of the white marble up Yule Creek which still bears his name. He was the first elected sheriff of Gunnison County, served two terms, 1878-’82. However he did not prove up on his claims, and they were taken over by Wm. Wood and W. D. Parry in 1882.
The first prospectors to attempt a permanent settlement in the valley were John Mobley and W. F. Mason who located their settlement east of Carbonate Creek and called it Clarence; and William Wood and W. D. Parry who made their camp near the mouth of Yule Creek and named it Marble. When the settlements reached a population large enough to warrant a post office, it was located west of Carbonate Creek, and Marble was the name chosen for it.
Sizable amounts of lead and zinc had been discovered in this treasure vault of the Rockies and the ore was being packed out on burros to Crested Butte. This being a very slow means of transportation as well as very expensive, attempts were made to locate a smelter nearer. Finally in 1897 the Hoffman Smelting & Reduction Co. built one just across the Crystal River south of Marble. It ran until 1900.
But the town of Marble did not boom until the value of marble was fully realized. The first quarry was opened on the east side of Yule Canyon in 1892 by J. C. Osgood and one block of marble was taken out at a cost of $1,700 to be sent to the World’s Columbian Exposition (1893) in Chicago. In 1895-97 some blocks were hauled to Carbondale to be shipped east by freight. But it was not until the beginning of the 1900s that the Yule Quarry was opened on the west side of the canyon. Besides the pure white marble there is a great amount of Colorado cloud marble (a smoky mottled grain), serpentine (mottled green), pink, blue, and black (mottled with white and green), found up this canyon.
About this same time two more quarries were opened on the east side of Yule Canyon: the Strauss, by a company of eastern stockholders who built the broad gauge Strauss railroad from Marble to the foot of their quarry on Treasure Mountain; and the White Marble Co. owned by the Mormon Church. While all the development work was completed, no commercial work was ever done by either company and the railroad was never used.
In 1905 a road was cut out on the west side of the canyon and Yule Quarry was started. At first they hauled the marble out on burro pack trains which unloaded their burden in Marble and proceeded seven miles to the Placita mines where they were loaded with coal to be delivered and used at the quarry. There were two of these trains, each composed of 40 burros; one was in the charge of Walter Webb, the other was handled by John Davisson.
Mr. Davisson told me of the above incident; also told another good tale about the early days in Marble. It seems they had a town marshal by the name of Schuyler Hodson who stood “ace-high” with the workmen. Whenever they imbibed a little too freely and became troublesome, he didn’t throw them in jail but tried to get them to go home peaceably and sober up. If they refused to do this, he would take off his badge and gun, and giving them a good thrashing until they agreed to do as he asked.
The following is a copy of a letter received from Mr. Davisson:
855 Elm Street, Grand Junction, Colo. Oct. 14, 1958
Dear Mrs. Francis,
In reply to yours of Oct. 10th. I had charge of the telegraph line from Crystal to Crested Butte from 1906 to 1908 inclusive.
I ran the jack train from 1905 until 1908. It might interest you to know I packed a 6-hole range to the top of Whitehouse Mountain; had two jacks, 2×6 timbers lashed to the saddles and the stove in between. It was a zigzag trail and it took three men to turn the jacks on each turn. They said it couldn’t be done, but we did it.
I am sending you a list of some of the old timers and what they did. You might want to use some of it. I have forgotten a lot of them; after all it was over fifty years ago.
| Joe Fausson | ran a saloon |
| Bob Aahern | ran a saloon |
| Frank Tracy | ran a saloon |
| Schuyler Hodson | ran a saloon and was town marshal |
| Dan Barnes | road overseer |
| Al Hodges | stage driver from Placita to Crystal |
| Henry Kirk | teamster, jack train owner |
| Charles Bemis | teamster, jack train owner |
| Jack Clayton | teamster |
| Dr. Fuller | Confederate Civil War veteran |
| Editor Evans | put out paper when sober |
| Jim Downing | hunter, kept lion and bear dogs |
| Frank Dickens | hunter, kept lion and bear dogs |
| Henry L. Johnson | photographer |
Hope this will help a little. Sorry I haven’t a picture of the jack trains.
Good Luck, (Signed) John E. Davisson
ALONG THE CRYSTAL RIVER—Scene two miles below Marble near the airport. —Photo courtesy John B. Schutte, Glenwood Spgs., Colo.
The broad (standard) gauge railroad was extended from Placita to Marble in 1906. The first train came up to Marble November 3, 1906. By this time they were using a donkey engine to bring the marble down from the quarry.
In 1908 Wm. McManus was brought in to assist Homer Harrington, general superintendent of construction, in installing a hydro-electric power house northeast of Marble. Three water pipelines were run into the plant: one from Crystal River, one from Yule Creek, and the other down Lost Trail Creek. They installed a transformer house half way up to the quarry to convert electricity from direct to alternating current. High tension lines were run to the mill and to the quarry, and all the company houses were wired for electricity. Upon the completion of all this, work was really in production.
It took the trained mind of an engineer, Commodore A. J. Mitchell, to see value in the calcium carbonate (marble) deposits that had taken eons to form and place in such a position that man could extract large blocks from their beds; it took the indominable courage and optimism of a man like Col. C. F. Meek to see the possibilities of developing an industry that would make Colorado famous; it took the foresight and energy of the promoter, the engineer, and the mechanic; it took the architect, Harry Bacon, to see the possibilities of erecting a monument of the translucent white marble from the Yule quarries to the memory of the great statesman, Abraham Lincoln.
During the years 1908-16 Marble was really a lively little city. It boasted five general stores, a drug store, a drygoods store, two hotels, two large school buildings, two barber shops, two weekly papers—The Marble City Times and The Marble Booster—picture show, Masonic Hall, two pool halls, and six saloons. I have talked to many of the really “old timers” about the probable population at that time, and the number varies from 1,500 to nearly 10,000. According to the “Company News” column printed each week in the Marble Booster newspaper the pay roll varied from 700 to 850 names. So taking into consideration the number of women and children who must have been here, the population could easily have been several thousand.
On the morning of March 20, 1912, a big snow slide came down Mill Mountain. As it occurred after the night shift had gone home and before the day shift had come to work, no lives were lost but the property damage was very heavy. The Marble Booster newspaper in writing about the slide had this to say:
21“While the slide was very bad, so well had the cleaning up and repair work been done, that within three days every worker was again plying his trade.”
The Marble Booster, Sept. 14, 1912:
BAD SMASH ON TROLLEY
Four Persons Meet Death as Result of Runaway Train on the HighlineFour persons met death as a result of an accident on the trolley line here last Friday a few minutes before noon.
The dead are:
- George Healy, motorman of the train.
- Robert P. Lytle, a brakeman.
- Atansio Negrete, a Mexican passenger.
- Mary Tonko, a Polish girl.
In some manner Healy, the motorman, lost control of a heavily loaded train at a point on the line near the old smelter, half a mile from the yard at the mill. Doubtless the airbrakes failed to work. Before the hand brakes could be set the train attained a frightful speed. W. C. Goodwin, a mill employee who was riding on the train, jumped and landed without a scratch. The others stayed on the train.
Just before reaching the bridge over the Crystal River two of the cars in the train left the track and smashed into a rock cliff at the side of the track. Lytle, the brakeman, was on one of these cars. He was thrown with terrible force into the face of the cliff and death was mercifully quick.
Healy, the motorman, stayed with the balance of the train, as did the Mexican and the little girl. The runaway cars held the track until the turn at the loading station in the yards, when everything turned over on the curve and smashed into splinters. Healy was caught beneath a huge block of marble and was crushed to death. He probably never knew what struck him. The Mexican was slammed onto the ground with such force that death was instantaneous. The little girl, eight years old, was alive when rescuers reached the scene and was hurried to the hospital. She died at six o’clock that evening.
Col. C. F. Meek owned controlling interest in the Colorado Yule Marble Co. composed of stockholders from Philadelphia and other eastern cities, and was the president and general manager. Knowing how to handle men as well as finances he was very popular with the company employees. Under his management orders came pouring in and soon Colorado Yule marble was being used all over the United States: From Houston, Tex. to Chicago, Ill.; from Washington, D. C., and New York City to Portland, Ore., Los Angeles and San Francisco, Calif.
INTERIOR OF QUARRY—One of the “rooms” with floor space—30,000 square feet—producing 3,000 cubic feet of marble per day. —Photo by Henry L. Johnson, Marble, Colo.
Col. Meek especially loved his home and family, and managed to spend much time with them regardless of other interests. In addition to being a good manager he was very liberal and considerate of his employees and the town in general. Although a Protestant himself he did donate two lots on Park Avenue to the Catholic Church and was donating marble with which to erect the building, the company employees were donating their labor. The corner stone was laid Oct. 12, 1912, and the church was named “Saint Columbus Catholic Church of Marble.” Father Carrigan of Glenwood Springs officiated at the dedication. Father was a personal friend of Col. Meek and was always entertained at his home on his visits to Marble. He often said the colonel was the best read man he ever knew, always being interested in literature, music, and art, and could converse intelligently on all subjects. The colonel was seriously injured August 10, 1912, on a runaway trolley car coming down from the quarry and died four days later. The new management, not being quite so liberal, would not donate the marble to complete the building so work stopped. After a few years a small wooden structure was built on the front half of the foundation, but green lumber was used and it was poorly constructed; so after a few years it sagged, was condemned, and taken down in 1924. But the marble foundation still stands, a memorial to one of the greatest philanthropists Marble ever had.
J. F. Manning was elected president and general manager of the company Oct. 1, 1913. While he was still eastern sales agent for the company he learned that a memorial to the memory of Abraham Lincoln was to be built in Washington, D. C., and went after the contract. This took considerable doing as samples of marble from all over the world were being sent to Washington.
“To determine the question, whether or not this marble was artistically superior to others, Secretary Garrison referred the matter to the National Fine Arts Commission, which on January 22, 1914 reported as following:
“‘The Commission of Fine Arts at their meeting held today, gave careful consideration to your letter of Jan. 17, 1914, requesting their advice upon certain questions arising in connection with the selection of marble suitable for the construction of the Lincoln Memorial. The Commission made a careful inspection of all samples submitted and have the honor to transmit the following:
“‘The artistic qualities of Colorado Yule marble as compared with others submitted, in the opinion of the Commission of Fine Arts, fit it pre-eminently for a structure of the character of the Lincoln Memorial.’”[1]
BLOCK OF MARBLE—for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier being brought down from the quarry on electric train Feb. 3, 1931. —Photo by Henry L. Johnson, Marble, Colo.
PILLARS AND BLOCKS—support pillars for crane tracks and blocks of marble left in the yard when Colorado Yule Marble Co., branch of Vermont Marble Co. ceased operations in 1942. —Photo courtesy John B. Schutte, Glenwood Spgs., Colo.
BLOCK OF MARBLE—for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier loaded on a flat car to be shipped east. This is the largest single block of marble ever quarried in the world. —Photo by Henry L. Johnson, Marble, Colo.
The contract for the Lincoln Memorial was obtained March 10, 1914, and was to be completed in two years. It was finished late in 1915, several months ahead of time. During this time several other large buildings were also completed. (See listing of buildings made of Colorado marble. pp. 46 & 47.)
The following information was obtained from “A Statement to the Stockholders of the Colorado Yule Marble Company by J. F. Manning”:
World conditions in 1916 coupled with the huge indebtedness accumulated when opening the quarry, building the mill, buying the necessary machinery, building and equipping the power house, extending the railroad from Placita to Marble, and the vast amount of accrued interest, put the company in very bad financial straits. Then World War I coming on, contracts could not be obtained, so the Colorado Yule Marble Co. went into the hands of a receiver July 16, 1916, and remained closed until April, 1922.
The property was then divided into four parts: the mill, the quarry, the power house, and the railroad. Eventually it was put up for sale and was bought by different parties all interested in one thing, forming one company and putting it on a paying basis. Through the efforts of Commodore A. J. Mitchell the Carrara Yule Marble Company was formed and work was resumed in 1922. On July 24, 1924 the Colorado Consolidated Yule Marble Co. (CCYMC) was formed and was again put up for sale.
On November 18, 1924, Mr. J. B. Jones of the Gray-Knox Marble Co. of Knoxville, Tenn., purchased the stock of the CCYMC and leased the Crystal River & San Juan Railroad with option to buy. Then the name was changed again; this time to Tennessee-Colorado Marble Co., and as such was operated until July 2, 1926, at which time arrangements were made to return the plant and properties to the CCYMC.
This reversion was brought about in a large measure due to the fact that the fabricating plant was partially destroyed by fire April 6, 1926. The loss in machinery and equipment in shops Nos. 3 and 4, and mill B, together with the building was appraised at sound value by disinterested engineers at approximately $531,000.00.
About half of the part destroyed was immediately rebuilt and operations to complete their contracts were resumed.
On December 20, 1927, a rental lease and purchase agreement was made between the company and Mr. Jacob F. Smith of New York and a little later he sold to the Vermont Marble Co. who (to this date, 1959) still own the quarry.
While the City of Marble never reached its former status, it was a thriving place, employing several hundred men and marble was once again being shipped to all parts of the United States.
The contract for the block of marble suitable for the tomb of the Unknown Soldier was obtained in 1930, and the largest block of marble (100 tons) ever quarried in the world was cut out early in 1931. It was moved out onto the floor of the quarry and sawed down to specifications, 56 tons plus one ton to be taken off in the finishing. It was lowered down the tramway guided by huge cranes, to the trolley track at the foot of the mountain. Then with one trolley in front (Elmer Bair, motorman) and another behind (Johnny Fenton, motorman) weighted and tied together, it was skidded on the rails down to the mill; taking three days to go the 3.9 miles, arriving at the mill February 3, 1931. Special night and day guards to prevent souvenir hunters from chipping it for momentoes, were stationed near the block the four days it was in the yard. Then it was placed on a flat car, crated, braced and started on its way to Proctor, Vermont. There it was trued to perfection with surveyor’s instruments and sent to Arlington Cemetery, Washington, D. C., where the company sculptors carved the designs on it.
The Vermont Marble Co.’s branch, Colorado Yule Marble Co., continued to operate both the quarry and the mill until the rumblings of World War II, 1941 were being heard. Some of the employees were going back to Europe, some were volunteering to go into the service here in the United States, all steel was going into defense, and contracts could not be obtained, so there was nothing to do but close down again.
August 9, 1941 was a hot sultry day, dark ominous clouds covered the heavens, and a few big drops of rain began to fall. There were several deafening claps of thunder and zigzagging streaks of lightning crossed the sky. Then it all seemed to pass away. I was going about my work as usual when one of my neighbors, Mrs. George T. Harris (nee Anna Reheuser) hurried through the back door. “Oh, Mrs. Herman,” she screamed, “the town is being washed away.”
“Oh, go on with you,” I answered, “it isn’t even raining.”
“I’m not joking, there’s been a cloudburst up Carbonate Creek and the whole town is being washed away.”
The cloud had burst about three miles up the canyon and the water had backed up behind some beaver dams and log jams which had been unable to withstand the pressure and it 28 had all come down at one time, cutting a swath a block wide through the entire town, north to south, to the Crystal River. The property damage was heavy, but no lives were lost.
Another cloudburst occurred July 31, 1945, in very much the same way and approximately at the same time of day. While this one did carry more water and spread over a greater area, the damage had been done four years previous, so we didn’t feel so badly about it.
The mill closed November 15, 1941, and the last payday at the quarry was January 15, 1942. The company had decided that this time instead of keeping caretakers here to look after their property, they would sell everything but the quarry, and when conditions warranted their reopening they would come with new buildings and new machinery and do things the modern way instead of as they were done when the quarry first opened in 1906.
The marble scattered along the right-of-way between Marble and Carbondale are not the result of railroad cars overturning, but were deliberately placed there as ballast to prevent the river undermining the tracks. They are mostly the trimmings cut from building blocks, and the larger pieces are rejects, pieces with fissures, points of flint, or streaks of lime in them.
The single grave two miles below Marble to the left going out, is that of John C. McKee who contracted pneumonia in Schofield. His friends, thinking he just had a severe cold, were attempting to take him on horseback to a doctor in Carbondale. There was no road between Marble and Carbondale at that time, just a horse trail. He died when nearing Marble. It being a hot day and realizing they couldn’t possibly reach Carbondale for two more days, they decided it best to bury him there.
The little cemetery farther down the road to the east was not there at that time. It was started much later. Many ask if there had been an epidemic here at one time: so many baby graves. No, according to the oldest residents of Marble there had never been an epidemic here to their knowledge. The many infant graves there belonged to foreigners who considered childbirth an every day occurrence and no necessity for calling a doctor. So the infant mortality was very high.
The huge piles of marble near town are not rejects, neither were they washed there by floods. Marble doesn’t wash; and the floods never came near them. They are the old stock yards where marble was stored until needed in the mill.
BEFORE—Colorado Yule Marble Mill as it was in 1942. It was 1,700 ft. long and from 100 to 150 ft. wide. At the time it was built (1906-08) it was the largest marble fabricating plant in the world, employing nearly 1,000 workers. —Photo by Henry L. Johnson, Marble, Colo.
AFTER—Old Mill Site as it is today after the huge building had been dismantled and torn down in 1943. The machinery had been sold to Morse Bros. Reconditioning Co., Denver, Colo., and the building to Holly Campbell, Grand Junction, Colo. —Photo courtesy John B. Schutte, Glenwood Springs, Colo.
The tall marble columns in the mill yard are not supports for the building, but were supports for the crane tracks used when moving large blocks.
Elmer Bair is another person who has great faith in the valley. He went to work for the Colorado Yule Marble Co. in 1927 as a sawyer; after six months he was given the job as motorman on one of the trolleys. He held this position for four years—excepting the winters of 1929 and 1930 when he carried the mail on snowshoes and skis up to the mines on Schofield Pass.
Quoting from a letter received from Elmer Bair:
“The year the company purchased the electric snowplow Bus Long was the motorman and he was afraid to come off the hill with the big plow so it was left standing on the side track until mid-winter and the road was snowed in. The company asked Pop Sampson to open the road. He took the car crew and 12 other men with shovels to go get it out. I was one of the 12. When we got there and shoveled out the plow and side track, Pop asked me if I would run the fan on the plow. Everyone was tense and excited. The motorman most of all. The plow had never been tried out and no one knew whether the brakes would hold or not; and the road between the quarry and the town was known to be the ‘steepest, slickest, smoothest railroad in the world.’ Captain Bill Hafner showed me an article in a magazine called Rock of Ages, published somewhere in the east, making that assertion.
“We got along pretty well until we got on top of the hill at the rotary station, the motors were warmed up, the brakes were hot, and everything in excellent shape if we had only kept coming down. But the hill looked pretty steep and the motorman welcomed a chance to relax; so we all went into the station, ate our lunch, and rested about an hour. The plow was chained to the rail and the brakes were set, so we were sure everything was alright. We stayed just long enough for those hot brakes and wheels to form ice and freeze hard. I started the fan and Long unchained the plow and started releasing the air a little at a time until the air was all gone or released, and there we stood on the brow of that steep hill. The grade immediately ahead was 17 per cent.
“Bus next applied one notch of electricity, or juice, as we called it. It just stood there and hummed. Then he gave it two notches, and it still hummed. He then applied three notches and it broke loose—all at once! And we were over the hill at a fast speed. Being excited the motorman applied all the brakes we had, and set all the wheels. We were in a dangerous runaway; the outfit completely out of control.
“There was only one door and that was on the uphill side. Pop gave orders to jump to save our lives, and he led the way. As one would get ready to jump—a tree, or a trolley pole, or a ledge would show up right in the face of the one trying to find a space wide enough to make a safe landing. The snow was deep and jumping at that rate of speed made some comical sights; some landing on others and rolling down the hill together. I, having a greater sense of humor than good common sense, was having the laugh of my life until only two of us remained.
31“Bus was like a chicken with its head off, running from his controls in front, to the door in the middle of the car. He, being the motorman naturally wanted to be the last man off. He yelled in my ear and said, ‘Hurry up and jump, so I can.’ I said, ‘Go ahead and jump. No-one is holding you.’ I was having too much fun to miss seeing him take his spill. Each jump was more comical on account of the increased speed.
“After I was left alone in this mad race that looked as if it might end in death, I began to see the more serious side of things and decided it was time for me to act in some way to save myself. The least I could do before making my exit would be to shut off the motor that ran the fan. After doing so the snow, not being able to go through the plow, began to pile up in front; within seconds the snow was piled high as the plow and the speed began to slacken off. No one but me, will ever know the feeling of comfort and relief that came over me.
“Then Sampson and the boys came running—some limping—down the track, expecting to find me and the plow piled at the bottom of the hill, instead there I sat with my feet hanging out the door, still laughing. They did not know that there had been a spell of soberness between then and the time they had left me.
“Bus Long was through being motorman and I was drafted to that position. After I quit in the fall of 1931, Frank Morse, who had been continuously with the company through all their operations, told me I was the only motorman who had run the trolley car any length of time without having at least one crackup in a runaway.
“When the big marble block for the tomb of the Unknown Soldier was taken out, there were two motormen who brought it down. I was the head motorman hooked to the front, and Johnny Fenton was hooked on the back with his motor.” (Signed) Elmer Bair
Elmer Bair left the company employment Sept. 30, 1931, and leased all the company’s range land and ran sheep in 1932. He purchased the Chidester, Cookman, Barnes, and Baroni places—approximately 1,000 acres—in 1935. And in 1952 he bought approximately 1,700 acres from the company and now runs 2,100 sheep in this area every summer.
Our tourists with very few exceptions are awed and thrilled by our magnificent scenery. George Rosenberg, managing editor of the Tucson Daily Citizen, Tucson, Ariz. is no exception. He and his family vacationed in Marble and Carbondale for the first time in 1958. His enthusiasm for Marble is recorded in a story with pictures, he published in the Citizen, Aug. 2, 1958, where he says:
“If you haven’t taken your vacation yet, and if you think you can talk the little monsters out of going back to Disneyland ... if either of these shoes fits, then take my advice ... head for the Hills of Marble.”
John Chapman, dramatic critic (New York Daily News), whose hobby is vacation travel, wandered through some ghost 32 towns in his native state of Colorado, took pictures, and wrote an article extolling the grandeur of the Crystal River Valley. This article together with colored pictures appeared in Sports Illustrated, Oct. 7, 1957.
Mrs. Robert J. Hall is another short story writer who visited in Marble in the fall of 1958. She wrote an article which appeared in the Weekly Star Farmer, Kansas City, Mo., Jan. 21, 1959, describing the beauty and resources of the Crystal River Valley in general and Marble in particular.
After the Vermont Marble Co. pulled out, things were rather dull for a few years, then it began to forge ahead as a tourist attraction. Good fishing and hunting, a delightful summer climate, and scenery that can not be duplicated, bring in more and more people every year and it is fast becoming one of the better resort sections of the western slope. It is often referred to as “The Swiss Alps of the United States.”
At present Beaver Lake Lodge and Cabins owned and operated by the Wade C. Loudermilks, formerly of Buckeye, Ariz., is the only tourist accommodation in Marble. But once a person stays in the clean, modern cabins or partakes of the delicious meals served in the lodge, he is sure to return again and again. Other popular services of the lodge are their horse and jeep tours (operated as an insured common carrier) to the various mountain tops of 12,000 feet or more, and the licensed guided pack trips into the wilderness areas.
ST. PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH—Marble, Colo., building moved from Aspen, Colo., in 1909. Bell and altar donated by Mrs. Mortimer Proctor of Proctor & Gamble Soap Co. Now used as a community church. Any denomination welcome to conduct services here. —Photo courtesy Glen L. Gebhardt, Denver, Colo.
The Loudermilks and the Frank Rehs, formerly of Washington, D. C., now of Glenwood Springs, Colo., are undertaking a vast land development (700 acres) two miles below Marble paralleling the Crystal River. This is primarily a subdivision for home sites, consisting of approximately 75 tracts that have been surveyed and filed with the Gunnison County recorder. Part of their program calls for an airstrip 5,200 feet long (3,800 feet now completed) and a small business district consisting of hangars, gas pumps, restaurant, curio shop, et cetera.
The Basic Chemical Corporation was organized by Carl Morse in the early 1950s. They bought the Old (Marble) Mill Site from Elmer Bair and installed a rock crusher, intending to make a number of products from the marble left there by the Vermont Co. These were to include marble chips for roofs, smaller pieces for macadam and cement work, chicken grits, dust for strengthening and whitening plaster, and fertilizer for sweeting sour ground.
This was not as successful as it was hoped it would be, and was leased to Vance Baker of Grand Junction in 1957. He now runs it during the summer months and confines most of the work to the making of marble chips. He expects to enlarge his operations to the point where he can cut and sell building blocks, using the trimmings for chips.
The Crystal River flows on down the valley another 3½ miles through Prospect Ranch, once a part of the Osgood Estate of Redstone, purchased from it by the Darien Brothers—Henry, James, and Gus. Now it is a popular summer resort, Prospect Ranch Cabins, owned by Jim and Gus Darien and run by the Gus Dariens of Carbondale.
Any article or series of articles treating of the advantages of the Crystal River Valley as a vacationing playground would not be complete without mentioning one of the prettiest camping and fishing spots in the state, Bogan Flats—located five miles below Marble. The Forestry Department supplies the tables, seats, fireplaces, and restrooms. There are many quiet nooks in the river where the ingenious trout lurks and seldom does any fisherman go away empty-handed.
Next, the river flows through Chair Mountain Ranch, also once a part of the Osgood Estate. The Earl Z. McCullys bought it from Mrs. Lucille Osgood McDonald in 1943, had it ready to open as a guest ranch in 1947, and ran it as such until the fall of 1952 when they sold it to the Ray Somers of Mountain View, Calif., and Mr. and Mrs. (formerly Mrs. Lola Kemp) C. H. Patterson of Farmington, N. Mex.
PERFECT MARBLE CORE—this speaks more eloquently for quality of marble produced up Yule Canyon than any words possibly could. In “pulling” cores they usually break at much shorter lengths. —Photo by Henry L. Johnson, Marble, Colo.
One evening several of us from this neighborhood were spending a social evening together discussing the various escapades pulled by dude guests. One in particular seemed especially amusing: When the McCullys were still running the ranch, a number of their guests wanted to go for a long horseback ride up in the mountains. “Should you become lost,” he told them, “just tie the reins, drop them on the horses’ necks, and give them their heads; they’ll come home all right.” Sure enough they became lost, so dismounted and did as Mr. McCully had instructed them to do. The horses returned to the ranch all right—riderless. It took the McCullys several hours to find the guests.
“Well, we shouldn’t laugh at dudes, no matter how green,” said Lola, “when we first bought the place we were the greenest dudes on the ranch. Didn’t even know which side of a horse to mount.”
However, they have learned, and Chair Mountain Ranch is now a very popular, well managed resort.
The river flows on to Cleveholm, the famous Redstone castle, built in 1903 by J. C. Osgood for his first wife, the “Lady Bountiful” of Redstone. Every Christmas all the children in the village were urged to write letters to Santa Claus. They were delivered to Mrs. Osgood and she personally saw to it that every child received what she or he asked for; not a cheap, shoddy toy, but the very best money could buy.
One Christmas the school was giving a program and Christmas tree, to which all the people in Redstone had been invited. Right at the height of the festivities the wax candles on the tree set fire to the cedar branches. Some of the men quickly grabbed the tree and threw it through one of the windows, thus averting what might have been a terrible catastrophe. The parents were very grateful for the presence of mind and quick action of the men; the children were very downcast that their carefully planned and often rehearsed program had been so rudely interrupted and their beautiful Christmas tree ruined.
The next year when Mr. Osgood had a firehouse built it was located on a lot adjoining the school house grounds.[2]
Cleveholm was patterned after an old English castle. It originally contained 26 rooms, each with an immense fireplace. The wall coverings, upholstering, and covers for the bookcases and reading tables in the library were hand-tooled elephant hide. Light green silk brocade was used for wall coverings, drapes, and upholstering in the music room. Dark maroon plush decorated the walls in the dining room, and all the wood work and furniture were mahogany. The parlor is an especially large room, two full stories high on the inside, and lavishly furnished. It also contained the famous Osgood coat-of-arms.
The tourist court across the river and highway from Cleveholm is Swiss Village Resort owned by the Olyn Parkers of Denton, Tex. It was originally the game-keeper’s house. They bought it in 1949 and have added cabins and improvements every year since then.
The Parkers had spent several summers in various parts of Colorado and had fallen in love with the majestic rugged scenery, the clear fresh air, and the peace and quiet found along the mountain streams away from the city. The idea of having a summer haven in Colorado grew on them until they began corresponding with real estate men in different sections of the state.
Irvin Jarvis, Glenwood Springs, Colo. wrote them that he believed he had just the place they were looking for—his summer home above Redstone. They were interested and arranged to meet him and his wife there on June 8, 1948. It was love at first sight, just the place they were looking for—a place away from the city, in the beautiful high mountain country, the sparkling Crystal River flowing just across the road, tall majestic evergreen trees and lovely aspen gracing the scenery, and many deer, elk, bear and other animals roaming the mountains. Needless to say they bought the place.
The house and barn are of Swiss architecture, built in 1901 and were originally a part of the John C. Osgood estate. The gamekeeper, William Keir, lived here with his family and looked after the private herds of deer, elk, and mountain sheep. Much of the high fence and original posts which enclosed many acres as pasture for these wild animals, are still standing.
Two of the Keir daughters visited the Parkers and related many interesting anecdotes concerning the early life of the game park. One deer they had tamed and named Dolly. She would 37 often jump the high fence and follow them to school. Then it would be their pleasant duty to skip school and take Dolly back home.
Quoting from a letter received from Mrs. Parker, Jan. 19, 1959:
“We started building cabins in 1949 and called our place Swiss Village Resort. Many nice guests came our way that first summer and stayed in our cabins. Since then many people—and they are such lovely people—have come our way and happy are the memories of their laughter ringing out over the place in summers and falls.
“We derive genuine pleasure in seeing our guests happy. Most of them are people who love a quiet vacation away from cities, close to nature. Many enjoy riding into the high country to see nature at its best. So very many enjoy fishing while others like to ride, hike, rest, or play games. All of them, the same as we, love to hear the early history of Redstone, which is most interesting.
“Fond are our memories of gatherings in the living room in front of a roaring fire in the huge fireplace listening to the guests tell of the big fish that got away, or the hunters tell of their day’s experiences in getting their elk, deer or bear.
“Our fondest wish is to keep Redstone and the surrounding area always a place where people like to return year after year, and that God will grant us many more years to live in this lovely spot.
“Yes, we love Redstone and to us the area in and near there is some of the most beautiful country we have ever seen. As we view the majestic, awe inspiring handiwork of God we feel very humble and grateful, and humbly say, ‘Thank you God, for the privilege of seeing and living in this lovely spot.’
“Most sincerely,” (Signed) Virginia Parker
SWISS VILLAGE RESORT—Lodge one mile above Redstone. It was originally the Osgood gamekeeper’s house. —Photo courtesy Mrs. Olyn Parker, Redstone, Colo.
OSGOOD MANOR—“Cleveholm” (across beautiful Crystal River from Swiss Village Resort) patterned after a castle in England. —Photo courtesy John B. Schutte, Glenwood Spgs., Colo.
of an Ideal Village for Miners
(Elevation Approximately 6,500 feet)
John C. Osgood came to Colorado in the early 1880s to make a thorough investigation of all the coal deposits in the state. Those up Coal Creek, a branch of the Crystal River, seemed especially favorable for his plan, and he was able to buy them from their original owners for a few hundred dollars. The dream he had of building a model village for miners in this valley did not materialize for almost twenty years. He organized the Colorado Fuel Co. and later acquired the Colorado Coal & Iron Co. and merged them into one—Colorado Fuel & Iron Co. (CF&I)—and was its first president. Then he set out to carry through his dream and built Redstone, a model village of 40 workmen’s cottages (each styled and painted differently), a modern 40-roomed inn, a school house, a club house, and a library; all electrically lighted and as modern as they could be made at that time.
Every workman was given the opportunity of joining the club and making use of the club rooms. Every member had his own locker and was urged to come there after work and bathe or shower, and change into clean clothes before appearing on the street. They elected their own officers and made their own rules; one of which was especially good—treating was not permissible.
The mines were up Coal Creek about 12 miles. There the miners had their own little village in which they took great pride, vieing with Redstone as to neatness and gardening.
All the buildings in this model village were constructed to last, nothing of the overnight box-car type. Yet all this came to an end in less than a decade. Rumor has it that Mr. Osgood became too ambitious: he tried to “buck” John D. Rockefeller and J. P. Morgan. He ran out of millions; they didn’t.
The scenic grandeur of the Crystal River cannot be excelled; sometimes narrow canyons, precipitous cliffs and steep waterfalls; sometimes broad valleys heavily wooded with stately ponderosa pine, Engelmann spruce, Colorado green spruce, blue spruce, Douglas fir, the narrow leaf cottonwood, and the quaking aspen; carpeted with waist high ferns, Oregon grapes, and kinnikinnick (sometimes called Indian tobacco) interspersed with brilliant flowers of every hue, and often rare plants found only in much warmer climes. The reason? Perhaps they are remnants of earlier geological ages; perchance the great combination and variety of rainfall, heat and cold, shade and sunshine, and slope exposure have their influences.
The natural resources are unsurpassable. It is an often stated fact that the Crystal River area from Schofield to Redstone bears the heaviest concentration of known minerals in the United States. Millions of dollars worth of coal deposits, undeveloped; billions of dollars worth of pure white marble waiting to be made into buildings, memorials, and statuaries; gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc deposits that haven’t been scratched. Yes, Mother Nature has been very generous in this fabulous valley.
In its Aug. 25, 1917 issue the Marble Booster had this to say just before it permanently closed its doors:
“Some day this valley will come into its own. Nature has certainly been very bountiful in its distribution of resources up and down the Crystal River Valley, but man has been lame, mighty lame, in developing the same. The right man may yet come along. Speed the day is our fervent wish.”
Perhaps this man has come along in the person of Frank E. Kistler who has purchased the Osgood Estate and is busily engaged restoring the property and making it into an all-year resort. He has added 36 rooms to the already 40-room inn, built a glass enclosed swimming pool, and constructed a children’s playground. He is selling home sites, erecting homes, building a ski course, golf course, tennis courts, and minor auxiliary recreational facilities.
Four miles below Redstone the Crystal River runs through a district that contains several hot mineral springs that have medicinal value comparable to any in the United States.
Soon the canyon widens, sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other, into fertile meadows especially adapted to raising strawberries, raspberries, cherries, and apples. A little farther on there are large ranches bordering it. These raise potatoes, oats, alfalfa, and hay; they all depend on the never failing Crystal River for irrigation. It also runs through several stock (sheep and cattle) ranches before it reaches the Roaring Fork River below Carbondale, then, on to join the Colorado River below Glenwood Springs, thence to the Pacific Ocean.
MT. SOPRIS—a majestic lone sentinel guarding the lower Crystal River Valley, as seen from the highway below Carbondale. —Photo courtesy John B. Schutte, Glenwood Spgs., Colo.
Theodore (Sgt.) Jackson of Paonia, Colo., owns a cabin in Schofield and keeps sixteen horses there during the summer for conducting tourist trips to many remote points in the mountains.
The Cristenson Brothers graze 1,500 sheep every summer in the mountain meadows high above Crystal City. They say this is the most ideal spot for sheep grazing they have ever seen.
Ward C. Canaday, at one time president of Willys-Overland Motors, owns several mining claims above Crystal and some buildings and lots in the village. He expects that someday they will warrant his holding them the past 20 years.
The Collins, Tidwells, and Fowlers are holding on to all their mining claims and town property in Crystal City. They say if they never realize all their investment, they will at least always have a wonderful place to spend their vacations.
The Welcome Joe Neals of Mooresville, Ind., also have faith that their investments in mining claims and property in Crystal will pay handsomely as well as give them a favorite vacationing spot.
Judge C. C. McWilliams, of Gunnison, Colo., and his son, Carvel of Cedarridge, Colo., still pay the taxes and do the assessment work on their silver and gold claims above Lizzard Lake. And it is well they should as there have been some very valuable specimens taken from them.
Jack Clemenson of Kansas City, Mo., has a cabin up Lost Trail Creek, three miles above Marble, in which he spends his summers. He is studying for the ministry and sometimes helps the young folks conduct services in St. Paul’s Episcopal (Community) Church during the summer.
Thano Johnson, artist and head of the art department in the Willoughby, Ohio, public schools, bought several lots and a house in Marble in 1945. He has improved the house by remodeling the inside, installing two huge fireplaces, and putting in several large plate-glass windows, until now it is one of the show places of Marble.
The Williams Brothers moved their general store from Crystal City to Marble in the early 1900s and ran it until 1942. John A. Williams had the post office in the back of the store for 20 years. He and his brother, C. Ambrose Williams, still come to Marble early in June every year and return to their winter home in Phoenix, Ariz., early in September.
Ted S. Wallace and Will L. Francis, employees of Tucson Newspapers, Inc., Tucson, Ariz., have investments in real estate here and expect someday to see Marble a strong tourist attraction.
Elmer Bair of Carbondale is probably the largest land owner in the valley, approximately 2,700 acres. He has been grazing sheep in this district for over 25 years and finds it a profitable investment. At present he runs 2,100 sheep in the Marble area every summer.
The Holy Cross Electric Assn., George Thurston general manager, had faith enough in the valley to extend a high tension electric line from Glenwood Springs to Redstone, and working with the Mountain States Tel. & Tel. Co. to install an all new electric and telephone line to Marble, thus giving first class service in both utilities to all in the valley.
Dr. and Mrs. Vanderbosch and the George Vanderweits, all of Denver, Colo., own a house in Marble that is in use most of the year by them or some of their friends.
Mr. and Mrs. John Reheuser of Denver own several lots in Marble that they have refused to sell since leaving here in 1942. They expect to build on them in the near future.
The Wade G. Loudermilks of Buckeye, Ariz., are disposing of all their holdings there and expect to invest everything in improving the Colorado property they own with the Frank Rehs, late of Washington, D. C., now of Glenwood Spgs. This is located at the Airport two miles below Marble and is ideal for summer vacation cottages.
Mrs. Marie Ramsey, Colorado Springs, Colo., has a summer cabin in Marble, and manages to make several trips there every summer.
Mr. and Mrs. Rome Isler own a house and a roadside stand, The Marble Trading Post, in Marble. They come up from Carbondale every spring before fishing season opens and stay until after hunting season in the fall.
The Hunters of Glenwood Springs and the Barnards of Fowler, Colo., own a cabin in Marble that they use as headquarters for their fishing trips in the summer and hunting in the fall.
Vance Baker of Glenwood Springs has investment in a marble crushing operation at the Old Mill Site in Marble. He expects to develop it into a paying industry in the near future.
The Leo Pascals of Fort Collins, Colo. and La Paz, Bolivia, South America, have a cabin in Marble that they expect to make more use of in the future than they have during the past two years while stationed in South America.
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Ganley of Buckeye, Ariz., maintain a summer home in Marble, although it is rather far to come for a short vacation. Their children insist they keep it so they can come for skiing in the winter.
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Lee of Denver and their four children, Edward, Nancy, Pat, and Judy, have a cabin in Marble where they spend much time horseback riding, hiking, picnicing and fishing every summer.
Mr. and Mrs. George T. (Anna) Harris own numerous lots and two cabins in Marble and several mining claims in the Crystal City area, that they feel confident will warrant their investment, and faith in the valley.
Mr. and Mrs. Ted S. (Marion) Wallace of Tucson, Ariz., have purchased several lots and a house in Marble. They expect to modernize it and spend part of their summers there away from the heat in Tucson.
Oscar McCullum, a government employee of Washington, D. C., has a summer cabin in Marble. While his work takes him to all parts of the world, he and his family manage to spend some time each year there. He says there’s no place like Marble for complete relaxation.
Gunnison County spends a considerable sum of money in this district every year keeping the seven miles of county road below Marble to the Pitkin County line in repair, and the 12 miles of new road above Marble to Schofield Pass in a passable condition. John Darien has been in charge of the road work the past 10 years and does a very commendable job.
The Ray Sommers of Mountain View, Calif., and the C. H. Pattersons of Farmington, New Mex., have heavy investments in Chair 43 Mountain Ranch Resort, six miles below Marble, and are sure they will be well repaid for their faith in the valley.
Mr. and Mrs. Olyn Parker, Denton, Texas, are another couple who have shown their faith in the valley by investing in Swiss Village Resort one mile above Redstone and are happy to see its increased popularity every summer.
Reese Lewellyn of Glenwood Springs has charge of the Mid Continent Coal & Coke Co. that is working the mines up Coal Creek and making coke in Redstone. They are using a fleet of large trucks to haul their products to the railroad at Carbondale. It is rumored that eventually the railroad will be extended to Redstone to accommodate this growing industry.
Frank E. Kistler has invested heavily in remodeling the castle and the inn in Redstone. He has purchased this part of the Osgood Estate and it will be second to none in the United States when he completes the redesigning and additions he has planned.
Ben Turner of Albuquerque, New Mex., is another artist who has chosen this valley as a setting for many of his pictures. He purchased a residence in Redstone several years ago, has remodeled it and added a large studio. He, his wife, and daughter now spend most of their time there.
The O. R. Whites of Tucson, Ariz., have sold their property there and have purchased a store and built a home in Redstone where they are now doing a nice mercantile business.
Some interesting, or at least amusing items taken from the Crystal River Current, Crystal City, Colo.:
Oct. 9, 1886
Bar silver $0.97 per oz.
Lead $4.50 per 100 lbs.
Our miners are wondering if James N. Bennett, our next County Commissioner, will do anything toward extending a wagon road up Crystal River next fall.
Bill Benton came over the divide from Crested Butte on Monday with 75 jacks loaded with hay for the J. C. Osgood Coal Co. Hay and grain are very scarce along the valley as the demand is greater than the supply.
Nov. 20, 1886
Sleighing is good over the divide and our roads could be kept open all winter if there were a few more sleighs on the road. At present there are six “fours” running between here and Crested Butte.
Nov. 27, 1886
WEDDING BELLS
The Phillips-Penny Marriage
About two weeks ago the friends of Mr. J. W. Phillips and Miss Olive Penny received cards to be present at their wedding to take place Thanksgiving Eve, at the residence of the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. H. D. Penny of Hot Springs, and the event had become the principal topic of conversation. It was thought us old bachelors never would get “over the fence,” but Mr. Phillips was the first to make the start.
All day Wednesday, despite the unfavorable weather, crowds could be seen going to the Springs from Carbondale, Satank, and up the river, and by dusk there were upwards of 30 present. At 8 o’clock 44 the bride and groom entered the room followed by Miss Alice Penny, sister of the bride, and T. A. Boughton, who acted as bridesmaid and groomsman, to where the Rev. J. Wallace Ohl, of Aspen, was in waiting with their friends who gathered around. After Mr. Ohl pronounced them man and wife according to the rights of the Episcopal Church, congratulations and hand shaking was in order.
The bride’s costume was a rich satin with lace trimmings and orange blossoms. Lying upon the table were numerous presents for the couple. Dancing was indulged in until morning, and all expressed themselves as having had a most enjoyable time.
Dec. 4, 1886
Quite a number of married ladies are leaving here at present for more comfortable winter quarters. Future Bill of Fare for our bereaved bachelors—bacon, beans, galvenized biscuits, and hunting case pies.
Dec. 11, 1886
Latest New York quotations:
Silver $1.00½ per oz.
Lead $4.50 per 100 lbs.
Dec. 18, 1886
Citizens around Glenwood Springs and Carbondale are all anxious to see the toll road built up the river as it would give them another outlet to Crested Butte and in fact all Gunnison County would be benefitted by the construction of the road.
Van Sycle & Co. are having their winter supplies packed up to their mine on Avalanche Creek from Carbondale. Their property is looking fine.
Dec. 25, 1886
Not over 10 inches of snow in camp. How’s that for the 25th of December?
Roads over the Pass (Schofield) are blocked for the season and snowshoe express is the only means of getting anything into this neck of the woods.
Jan. 15, 1887
About 18 inches of snow fell around camp during our last storm.
June 6, 1887
Wagons will go over the divide (Schofield Pass) next week as the snow has about all disappeared through the timber.
The Crystal and Prospect mail sack comes in chuck full these days, making quite a load to be packed over the divide on a man’s back.
June 18, 1887
The route down our valley from Crested Butte to Carbondale and Glenwood Springs is becoming quite popular for those traveling on horseback, as the distance is considerable shorter and can be made in about two days. If our wagon road were only completed there would be a large amount of freighting done on this road and it would not be long before the mail route would be extended down the valley.
June 25, 1887
The first team went over the divide (Schofield Pass) last Sunday. The range is now cleared of snow and we can expect to see considerable travel this season.
Ashby has opened up a good body of lead ore in the Crown Point on Crystal Mountain. He has been working this property since 1876.
A post office has been established at Carbondale and W. M. Dinkle appointed postmaster. This is quite a convenience to the rapidly growing town. The old Satank (sometimes called Yellow Dog) post office is now at Rockford about two miles farther down the valley.
Aug. 13, 1887
The Board of County Commissioners (Pitkin) met in special session Monday. $800.00 was set aside to build a road up the Crystal River.—Aspen Times.
Sept. 10, 1887
50 coke ovens are to be erected near Glenwood Springs. The coke is to be made from coal at Jerome Park.
Sept. 17, 1887
The citizens of Glenwood Springs contemplate holding a celebration upon the arrival of the railroads. The Denver & Rio Grande (D&RG) is expected to reach the Springs within the next two weeks, and the Midland will not be far behind.
Sept. 24, 1887
A most attractive feature of the Midland railroad exhibit at the Denver exposition are several marble specimens which they obtained from their claims on Yule Creek. They have been polished in square blocks. This exhibit will give visitors an opportunity to see the valuable resources of this district.
The wagon road up the Crystal River from Carbondale is progressing quite favorably and our citizens are in hopes it will be completed this fall.
Sept. 8, 1893
In the Little Jessie mine on Yule Creek, there is from four to six feet of lead ore exposd in the workings, which runs well in lead and silver. The ore body is opened up in two places and shows up well.
Dec. 1, 1893
While over the range they are struggling with from two to three feet of snow, here we are having pleasant weather and a scant two inches of snow, which is thawing.
Jan. 5, 1894
The bid on the mail route between Crested Butte and Gothic went for $276 per annum—just $23 per month—barely enough to pay for horse feed. Evidently some one wants to walk and live on mountain scenery. Speaking of mail contracts, Allan Hodges did not get his route by about $300. Some poor hayseed is badly stuck.
Jan. 12, 1894
The Club held a special meeting last night and unanimously decided to offer Corbett and Mitchell $75,000 each to have the fight come off at Marble. In addition to this they offered to give the contestants a free ride on Tucker’s bicycle line and a body guard to pass Cumming’s place; a free bath at the Hot Springs; free hot Scotch at Leggetts, and a marble monument to the one that gets killed.
Jan. 26, 1894
Marble failed to secure the Corbett-Mitchell fight.
Feb. 23, 1894
Bud Fisher had a hard trip to come from Crystal with the mail Wednesday. He had to leave his horse in the Canyon and walk to town. The boys from the Silver King shoveled the snow so as to get the horse out and brought him in about three o’clock.
March 16, 1894
The people of Carbondale are a little excited over the discovery of gold near there and up towards Mount Sopris. We understand that a large number of claims have already been staked and that some very promising rock is being shown around town.
April 4, 1894
A Coxey Army is talked of from Marble. A great interest is being taken by our people in the industrial army.
| Lincoln Memorial | Washington, D. C. |
| Tomb of the Unknown Soldier | Arlington Cemetery, Washington, D. C. |
| Custom Houses (both old and new) | Denver, Colo. |
| Annex to the State Capitol | Denver, Colo. |
| City & County Building | Denver, Colo. |
| Cheesman Memorial | Denver, Colo. |
| Post Office | Denver, Colo. |
| Colorado National Bank | Denver, Colo. |
| Broadway Bank, interior | Denver, Colo. |
| Union Depot | Denver, Colo. |
| Metropolitan Building, interior | Denver, Colo. |
| Barth Mausoleum | Denver, Colo. |
| Daniel & Fisher Building, interior | Denver, Colo. |
| Colorado State Museum | Denver, Colo. |
| Immaculate Conception Cathedral | Denver, Colo. |
| Post Office | Greeley, Colo. |
| Merritt Building | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Examiner Building | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Athletic Club | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Citizens National Bank, interior | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Merchants National Bank, interior | Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Sub-Treasury Building | San Francisco, Calif. |
| San Francisco City Hall | San Francisco, Calif. |
| Huntington Mausoleum | Pasadena, Calif. |
| Post Office | Pasadena, Calif. |
| Rosehill Mausoleum | Chicago, Ill. |
| Howard County Court House | St. Paul, Neb. |
| Court House | Greeley, Neb. |
| West Lawn Mausoleum | Omaha, Neb. |
| Lincoln High School | Lincoln, Neb. |
| Bancroft High School | Lincoln, Neb. |
| IOOF Building | Broken Arrow, Neb. |
| Brandeis Subway | Omaha, Neb. |
| First National Bank | Lincoln, Neb. |
| Union Pacific Building | Omaha, Neb. |
| Chapin Building | Lincoln, Neb. |
| Douglas County Court House | Omaha, Neb. |
| First National Exchange Bank | Sidney, Neb. |
| City Hall | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Court House | Youngstown, Ohio |
| Union National Bank, interior | Houston, Tex. |
| McKnight Building | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| New York Municipal Building | New York City, N. Y. |
| Adams Hotel | Phoenix, Ariz. |
| Mohave County Court House | Kingman, Ariz. |
| 47 | |
| Enid High School | Enid, Okla. |
| Tulsa High School | Tulsa, Okla. |
| Telephone Building | Chicago, Ill. |
| Wiedener Memorial | Cambridge, Mass. |
| First National Bank | Portland, Ore. |
| German-American Institute | St. Louis, Mo. |
| Citizens’ National Bank | Evansville, Ind. |
| Chambers Estate Building | Kansas City, Mo. |
| Montana Power House | Billing, Mont. |
| Lind Mausoleum | Plover, Iowa |
| Post Office | Pocatello, Idaho |
While reading the papers published in Crystal City and in Marble in the 1880s and 1890s I came across many intriguing names and thought a list of them might give you a little enjoyment.
The more familiar names were:
These were very important to someone at sometime, yet did very little production:
My special gratitude to the following persons who so graciously dug through old papers, pictures, and memories to find special facts:
End of Project Gutenberg's Crystal River Saga, by Theresa V. Hermon Francis
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