Colorado Trivia & Tidbits - Page 21

Looking for Colorado trivia? Try our list Colorado little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

A French chef who came to Colorado in 1870 to mine gold ended up opening one of the state’s most famous hotels. Louis Dupuy came to Georgetown (pop. 1,088) seeking wealth in the gold mines, but an accident left him crippled. Residents took up a collection to help him, and he used the money to buy a bakery, which he turned into the Hotel de Paris in 1875. The hotel, one of the most luxurious in the state, featured a 3,000-book library. Today, it is a museum.

first appeared: 9/16/2001

The U.S. Army’s elite 10th Mountain Division trained at Camp Hale near Leadville (pop. 2,821) for World War II combat in the mountains of Italy. The camp is located in one of the most rugged areas the Defense Department could find. The soldiers trained at the camp—9,500 feet above sea level—and climbed the surrounding mountains, which peak at more than 12,000 feet.

first appeared: 9/9/2001

In a few short years, Horace Tabor went from being a grocer in Leadville (pop. 2,821) to the richest man in Colorado, thanks to his 1878 involvement in a mine that turned out to have the richest silver vein in the state.

first appeared: 9/2/2001

Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, near Estes Park (pop. 5,413), is the highest continuously paved road in North America. The road forms a loop through the park and peaks at 12,183 feet above sea level. Eleven miles of the road are above 11,000 feet.

first appeared: 9/2/2001

An 85-foot cottonwood tree in Delta (pop. 6,400) was the site of successful peace talks between the Ute Tribe and white settlers in the 1800s. Ute Chief Ouray and his braves met with settlers beneath the Ute Council Tree between 1852 and 1887. The tree, believed to be about 200 years old now, is the location for an annual Ute powwow.

first appeared: 8/26/2001

The silver mining town of Ute City was on the brink of disappearing in the 1930s, with a population of about 250. Development of downhill skiing in the late 1930s and early 1940s led to a boom in tourism, however, and Ute City is now known as Aspen (pop. 5,914).

first appeared: 8/19/2001

Telluride (pop. 2,221) is named for tellurium, a sulphurous compound uncovered in the 1870s by miners scouring the hills for gold.

first appeared: 8/19/2001

U.S. Highway 550 between Ouray (pop. 716) and Silverton (pop. 557) is called the “Million Dollar Highway” because its roadbed contains low-grade gold ore. It was built over Red Mountain Pass in the 1880s to carry ore out of Ouray.

first appeared: 8/12/2001

Colorado’s average altitude of 6,800 feet makes it the highest state in the nation. Elevations range from 3,350 feet above sea level at the bed of the lower Arkansas River to 14,431 feet at the peak of Mt. Elbert.

first appeared: 8/5/2001

The town of Dillon (pop. 802) has moved three times since it was founded in 1883 at the site of a trading post and stage stop on the Snake River. The town moved across the river to be closer to the railroad, then moved again to be between three rivers—the Snake, the Blue, and the Ten Mile. In 1961, Dillon moved again to avoid being flooded by the Dillon Reservoir. The town is now on the shore of the reservoir.

first appeared: 8/5/2001

A 22,000-foot tunnel was built through Seaton Mountain in 1910, both to drain water from rich gold mines between Idaho Springs (pop. 1,834) and Central City (pop. 335) and transport gold ore quickly and economically from the mines to the Argo Gold Mill at Idaho Springs. The tunnel is now closed, but the mill is open for tours.

first appeared: 7/29/2001

The country’s largest single-mountain ski area is found in Vail (pop. 3,659). The ski area offers more than six square miles of ski terrain covering more than 4,400 acres, including trails more than three miles long.

first appeared: 7/22/2001

French trappers of the 1830s named the Cache La Poudre River running through Fort Collins. Trappers in northern Colorado faced with a snowstorm in 1836 were forced to store or “cache” many of their supplies—primarily gunpowder—by burying them in the banks of a river. So they named the river “Cache La Poudre,” which means “store the powder.”

first appeared: 7/22/2001

Delta (pop. 3,789) has dubbed itself the “City of Murals” in honor of the large paintings that grace the sides of its buildings along Main Street. The murals, created by local artists, depict the area’s history, economy, and outdoor recreation.

first appeared: 7/15/2001

Jon Barnes’ “Ultimate Taxi,” a 1978 Checker Cab, is wired to give riders in Aspen, Colo., (pop. 5,049) a brief concert of recorded music complete with laser show, glittering disco ball, and fog machine. Barnes, whose clients have included actor Kevin Costner and former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, also has equipped his taxi with musical instruments and can record performances inside the vehicle—some of which he shares with visitors to his website, www.ultimatetaxi.com.

first appeared: 7/8/2001

Mesa Verde National Park, near Durango (pop. 13,923), preserves four-story dwellings, carved by ancient Pueblo people between A.D. 450 and 1300, into cliffs stretching 1,600 feet above the surrounding desert and river valley. The community is believed to have once been home to more than 5,000 people—all of whom apparently left the area within one generation for reasons unknown today.

first appeared: 7/1/2001

Visitors to Burlington (pop. 2,941) can ride on a National Historic Site—The Kit Carson County Carousel. Built in 1905 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Co. for an amusement park in Denver, the carousel was bought by Kit Carson County officials in 1928. The fully restored carousel features 46 hand-carved, detailed animals that move to accompaniment provided by a restored 1912 Wurlitzer organ.

first appeared: 6/24/2001

From the time gold was first discovered in Cripple Creek (pop. 1,500) in 1890 until the 1930s, the area around the town and nearby Victor (pop. 258) produced more wealth—in excess of $400 million—than any other gold-producing area its size in the world.

first appeared: 6/17/2001

Pueblo calls itself the “Home of Heroes” because it is the hometown of four living recipients of the Medal of Honor—the only such town in America.

first appeared: 6/17/2001

Sterling (pop. 10,535) calls itself the “City of Living Trees” because of the unique “sculptures” found throughout the community. About a dozen live trees have been carved by local artist Brad Rhea into various shapes, including giraffes, a golfer, and a clown.

first appeared: 6/10/2001

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