Mountains of Silver: Life in Colorado's Red Mountain Mining District

by P. David Smith

A little over a century ago, the Red Mountain Mining District in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado was the scene of a "silver rush" with an output of precious metals second in Colorado only to that of Leadville. In a period of less than twenty-five years, more than thirty million dollars in silver, lead, zinc, copper, and gold were taken from the rich deposits in the mines along Red Mountain Divide -- an amount roughly equivalent to a quarter billion of today's dollars. The histories of the communities that sprang into being with these mines, the railroads constructed to service them, and the men and women who lived, worked and died in them, are the threads deftly woven into the richly textured story of Mountains of Silver. It is a colorful and varied tapestry that depicts the lives of prospectors who made the first rich strikes; the land promoters, speculators, and road-and-railroad builders who capitalized on the frenzied rush to the area; and the motley collection of miners, lawyers, merchants, prostitutes, saloonkeepers, and freighters who attempted to profit from the boom.

Genres: History, Geology

236 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1994

Reviews

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The information and facts presented here were interesting, but the book as a whole suffered from the choice to present each topic as its own chapter. It was very difficult to keep track of the big picture when I had to continually flip around between chapters to understand the timeline. Additionally a readable map of the area would have been helpful! The author obviously loves this subject and that is great -- I just wish that the book had been organized differently.

[Rolf Kirby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up years ago in Leadville and finally got around to reading it. Mountains of Silver is a history of the Red Mountain Mining District, which was between Silverton and Ouray Colorado. The boom decade was the 1880s. There was so much silver mined that prices dropped somewhat in tandem with improvements in transportation. When prices were high the new mines had to use mule trains to get their rich ore down to a railhead for transport to smelters in Pueblo or Denver. But as improving trails then a road then finally the Silverton Railroad made it much cheaper to get the ore down the mountain, prices dropped too.
Towns in the district boomed and busted, or burned down over the years. Mining lasted off and on through WW II, and then subsided.
The author R. David Smith covers the geology, the mines and miners and townsfolk, the challenging and deadly winters, and the railroad all with a perfect amount of detail.

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. I think you have to be interested in this area to enjoy the book. It is very well written and researched.