The Ghost Town of Independence
This was the first town in Pitkin County. A lode mine was discovered here on Independence Day. The town eventually grew to have 2,000 people in the 1880's. The most productive mines in the area were the Independence and Farwell and both were worked until 1900. There was another mini-boom around 1908 and even today, an occasional prospector is out and about in the summer months. At this altitude, its quite an effort to do anything, much less swing the 8 lb sledge hammers that the miners used to bore holes into the rock.
