The history of Ouray, Colorado - "Gem of the Rockies" is a fascinating tale of the typical boom and bust cycles of all Colorado's mining towns. Silver brought the first prospectors to the beautiful valley, but gold kept Ouray from becoming a ghost town after the Silver Crash of 1893. The town rebounded due to demand for metal prices during World War I and II but it slipped into an economic depression after each war. Although tourism was always important, in the 1970's it became more vital to the economy, and the town has continued to grow and prosper since that time. The abandoned ghost towns and mining relics that litter the local hillsides can be seen by anyone traveling the jeep trails interlacing the local mountains, which contain some of the most amazing scenery in the world.

Ouray - A Quick History

Smith, P. David

FirstLight Publ.

America's first National Scenic Highway, this breathtaking seventy-mile section of the San Juan Skyway winds along former stage roads, railroad grades, and pack trails as it crosses the heights of the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado. Learn how the road was carved out of the cliffs, as well as the history of the ghost towns along the highway.

The Million Dollar Highway: Colorado's Most Spectacular Seventy Miles

Arts & Photography

Gregory, Marvin

Photography & Video

Western Reflections Pub Co

The History of "Ouray -- Gem of the Rockies" is a fascinating tale of the typical boom and bust cycles of all of Colorado's major mining towns. Silver brought the first prospectors to the beautiful valley, but gold kept Ouray from becoming a ghost town after the Silver Crash of 1893. The town rebounded because of the demand for metals during World War I and II but slipped into an economic depression after each war. Although tourism was always important, in the 1970s it became more vital to the economy, and the town has continued to grow and prosper since that time. The abandoned ghost towns and mining relics that litter the local hillsides can be seen by anyone traveling the jeep trails interlacing the local mountains.

A Quick History of Ouray

History

Americas

Western Reflections Publishing Company

Step back in time and see how prospectors, miners, merchants, investors, and families settled the mining towns in the gold and silver-rich San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado. Telluride, Ouray, and Silverton are well portrayed, as well as many of the smaller towns that are now just crumbling piles of stone and lumber. P. David Smith has also added lengthy captions that explain and point out the particulars of each photograph. This book will really give you an idea of the way it was over 100 years ago in the San Juan Mountains. Featuring more than 250 rare and historical photographs from the private collection of Ruth and Marvin Gregory, this book allows readers to venture into the mines, ride the railroads, and share the catastrophes and celebrations of yesterday s West. Including well-researched and illuminating narratives, Images of the San Juans Revised, is the true life story of an awe-inspiring area, its inhabitants, and an ever-enduring pioneer spirit.

Images of the San Juans

Western Reflections Publishing Co.

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.

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

Business & Money

Industries

The other half of the story is now complete. After documenting the story of Chief Ouray, P. David Smith collaborated with Cynthia Becker, who had already done extensive archival research in Washington, D.C., to write a compelling and factual book on the life and times of Ouray's beloved wife and trusted confidant, Chipeta. This is the first book dedicated entirely to telling the story of a beautiful and compassionate woman.

Chipeta: Queen of the Utes

Biographies & Memoirs

Becker, Cynthia S.

Community & Culture

Exploring the Historic San Juan Triangle is the revised, expanded, and updated version of Mountain Mysteries, tthe number one guide to the magnificent San Juan Mountains. New chapters on Telluride, Silverton, Ouray, and Lake City, as well as details on many existing and long-abandoned small communities, have been added. Whether it's hiking, jeeping, auto touring or just armchair reading, David Smith takes the reader on a grand tour of the resplendent San Juans. Filled with rare photographs, specially drawn maps, new trips, updated road tours, and scores of new information, Exploring the San Juan Triangle is truly The Number One Jeeping Guide of the San Juan Mountains!!

Exploring the Historic San Juan Triangle

Many Western history enthusiasts believe that Ouray was the greatest of all Indian chiefs. Unlike his contemporaries, he is remembered for his negotiating and peacekeeping skills rather than for any historic deed on the battlefield. Most who knew Ouray considered him to be a very extraordinary Indian--a man of keen perceptions and a talented diplomat.\nBut probably no other Indian chief was as enigmatic. Although most of his tribe were prepared to die for him, his own brother-in-law tried to kill him. He was chief of the Ute Nation, but he was neither a full-blooded Ute nor a chief elected by his own people--he was half Apache and was appointed chief by the U.S. government. In spite of high praises given him by various luminaries of his day, many insisted that Ouray was ordinary, at best. He was a tough and tenacious negotiator for his people, but he was also a friend of the whites and realized that if the Utes did not submit they would be destroyed.\nThis book explores Ouray's life and his people but makes no judgments. It lets the reader decide what historic status to accord this famous chief.

Ouray: Chief of the Utes

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Books by Smith, P. David