St. Elmo, One of Colorado's Best Preserved Ghost Towns
St. Elmo, One of Colorado's Best Preserved Ghost Towns
$14.95
11” W x 8.5” H
Perfest Bound
56 Pages
Quality 80 Lb. Coated Paper
The author, Phil Aleo, has been to St. Elmo three times over the past 10 to 15 years. This last visit in July, 2020, was prompted by a 1896 model of the town preserved in the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum, located in Durango, Colorado. He drove to St. Elmo, some 220 miles to take dozens of photos showcasing the the town as it looks today.
10’s of thousands of visitors come to St. Elmo each year. When you see the archive photos in this book as well as the current day photos, you’ll undersatnd why.
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While Colorado has nearly 90 locations categorized as ghost towns, many of these have little left to see today. This is not true of St Elmo. When you approach St Elmo, it’s almost like stepping back in time. Many of the structures are still standing. St Elmo is located about 15 miles southwest of Buena Vista at an elevation of 9,961 feet.
What started out as a single prospector in 1871, grew to an estimated 2,000 souls in 1881, this increase, flooding the town between 1880 and 1881. In less than 6 months, St. Elmo boasted two saw-mills, a smelter and concentrator, 3 hotels, 5 restaurants and several stores. There was also a surveyor’s office, a jeweler, an assayer, attorney, drug store, meat market and several saloons. Every possible need for the time became available in St. Elmo including a feed store, a clothing store and a blacksmith, not to mention a city hall, post office, firehouse and 2 banks. Many of these individuals were temporary residents that lived in tents.
A number of factors added to the demise of St. Elmo. These are documented in the book. What is amazing is that most ghost towns have very little left to see, because of time and the elements. This is not true regarding St. Elmo. There are numerous buildings still standing throughout the town that once had a population of 2,000 people.
