Summit Historical Society to host tours of ghosts towns and old mining camps

The Summit Historical Society will continue to share the history of Summit County this summer at local events and through historic tours that take attendees on drives and hikes to ghost towns and old mining camps.

This summer, the Summit Historical Society will be at the Dillon Farmers Market and Silverthorne First Fridays to provide information on the Ute history in the area, mining and homesteaders, according to a news release.

The historical society will be at the Dillon Farmers Market on Buffalo Street from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday through Sept. 13 and at First Fridays held on the first of each month in Silverthorne from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

The first tour is scheduled for Saturday, June 29. While hiking to the Boston Mining Camp, Mike Tabb will share the rich history of the Tenmile Range’s silver mining towns of Kokomo, Recen and Robinson, according to the historical society. The hike to the Boston Mining Camp is an easy 1.8 miles up Mayflower Gulch, where the group will stop for lunch. 

Meet at Copper Mountain Far East Lot off Highway 91 no later than 8:45 a.m. Tickets should be reserved no later than Friday, June 28. It is limited to 25 guests. Attendees should wear comfortable shoes and bring their own water, lunch and camp chair.

Another tour is scheduled July 8, at 8:45 a.m. Ken Torrington will talk about life in the 1800s in the lost silver towns of Chihuahua, Argentine and the Pennsylvania Mine during a drive up Peru Creek Road near Montezuma, according to the historical society. The group will stop for lunch at one of the adits of the Pennsylvania Mine.

Restroom facilities are not available. Attendees will meet at the Peru Creek trailhead and should bring their own water, lunch and camp chair. Off-road vehicles are recommended, however, rides in four-wheel drive vehicles are available. Attendees are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes and layered clothing.

Tickets for the historic tours are $25 for Summit Historical Society members and $35 for non-members. For more information on the tours contact Summit Historical Society Office Manager Nicholas Bernhard at 970-468-2207.