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_Crystal River Saga_ LORE OF THE COLORADO ROCKIES

by THERESA V. FRANCIS

Price $1.25

CRYSTAL RIVER SAGA

_Come up a mile where the air is pure, Where the skies are clear and blue; Come up above the smoke and dust, Where good health waits for you._ --Author Unknown

INTRODUCING THE AUTHOR

Probably no town in the world has experienced more dramatic changes in a lifetime, than has the quarry town of Marble, Colo. and one of the few living persons who knows the story of each phase of Marble's history is Theresa Herman Francis. She and her husband, Bill, now spend only the summers (winters in Tucson, Ariz.) in the white and green house in Marble that was her year 'round home for 33 years.

One of the town's active citizens during the 20's and 30's when the population of Marble numbered in the thousands, Theresa changed her life very little when Marble became a ghost town in 1945. Although living alone in town most of the time, she did not become a recluse, but remained the same cheerful, energetic, neighborly person she had always been. By hard work and ingenious use of materials familiar to her through the years of teaching arts and crafts in the Marble and other schools, she established an independent living for herself. By patiently and accurately answering dozens of questions thousands of times, and by friendly help to all of the people who stopped at her roadside stand every summer, Theresa has made many friends for herself and for Marble. By her enthusiasm for, and faith in the future of Marble, she has done more than any other person toward bringing her beloved town back to life.

Half in fun, half in tribute, Loey Rinquist of Aspen, Colo. once began a Christmas card to her, "Dear Mrs. Marble." It is "Mrs. Marble" herself who has written the story of Marble for you. Her long teaching experience, and her years of answering questions for tourists, have prepared her to answer all of your questions, herein exactly as they have occurred.

This booklet will serve as guide, and be an interesting and accurate record of your trip through beautiful and historic Crystal River Valley.

Marian M. Paschal Marble and Fort Collins, Colo. La Paz, Bolivia, South America

_Crystal River Saga Lore of the Colorado Rockies_

_Author_ THERESA V. FRANCIS

_in association with_ Will L. Francis

MARBLE _via_ Carbondale, Colorado U. S. A.

COPYRIGHT © 1959 _by_ Theresa V. Francis _and_ Will L. Francis

MARBLE _via_ CARBONDALE, COLORADO

1st Edition, 1959, 5,000 Copies 2nd Edition, 1962, 5,000 Copies 3rd Edition, 1966, 5,000 Copies

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publishers, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in an article to be published in a magazine or newspaper.

Printed in the United States of America POERTNER LITHOGRAPHING CO. DENVER, COLO.

PRELUDE

I came to Marble, Colo. in 1923 while it was still a very active thriving little city. My first husband, Theodore (Ted) A. Herman, worked in the marble mill almost twenty years: then after a few years sickness he died, and I remained a widow over eleven years, never leaving Marble except for brief visits with relatives. Many times during these winters I was the only person in town, yet I was never bored or afraid. The telephone company kept my phone in good working order and I received my mail three times a week. I had a good radio, loved to read, write letters, and do my pyro-plastic work to sell at the stand (Ken's Pop Stand) during the summers. This stand was started by my grandson, Kenneth E. Herman, in 1948, as a nestegg for his college education. When I quit teaching school in 1952, we ran it together until 1956 when he graduated from South High School in Denver and felt he must find a more lucrative job. I have run it alone since.

In late 1956 I married again and now spend my summers in Marble and winters in Tucson, Ariz., where my husband is a Linotype operator on a Tucson daily paper. It is our earnest desire to spend the rest of our lives in Marble after he retires.

In attempting to compile a history of the Crystal River Valley I have accumulated such a vast amount of interesting material that it would be impossible to condense it into a booklet of 10,000 words. So I have decided to write a brief history of the various locales and answer the questions most often asked at the pop stand. Then after another year or two of research I'll try to write a book containing a more detailed history and memoirs of the many interesting people who have lived in the valley, if I feel the public would like such a volume.

If this little booklet has given you some pleasure and knowledge of this marvelous valley, then it has accomplished its purpose and I am happy. I am sure that once you have visited this portion of the western slope and know its history you will love it as I do.

Theresa V. Francis

_CRYSTAL RIVER SAGA_

One of the most beautiful rivers in Colorado has its source at Schofield Pass high above Elko Basin and Schofield Park. It is fed by melting snow and many crystal clear springs, hence the name Crystal River. And it does not belie its name, as, excepting a few weeks in the spring when melting snow along its lower tributaries gives it a roily turbulent appearance, it is truly crystal clear.

_SCHOFIELD_ _The Flower Garden of the Rockies_

(_Elevation Approximately 10,000 feet_)

Schofield has been called "The flower garden of the Rockies" and rightly so. It is carpetted with multifarious species of flowers, ranging from the delicate snow flowers and Alpine mosses through several shades of Indian paint brushes, blue and purple lupines, and wild roses to the lusty sunflowers. It is especially beautiful in July and August when there are literally hundreds of acres of blue, purple, lavender, gold, and brown columbines.

In the early 1870s gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and galina were found in this region, so naturally a mining camp mushroomed over night into a village of 50 or 60 houses. These were the regular camp-style buildings with no foundations, resembling huge packing boxes. There was also a store, hotel, concentration mill, and several saloons. While its population sometimes soared into the thousands, it was a transit, moving people, living mostly in tents and always looking for better prospects.

Frank Hall's "State of Colorado," Vol. IV, page 150, date 1895, has this to say about this mining camp:

"Schofield was surveyed and platted August 24, 1879, by J. Evans for a company composed of Daniel Haines, S. H. Baker, B. F. Schofield (for whom it was named), H. G. Ferris, Wm. Agee, E. D. Baker, A. H. Slossen, and G. Edwards. It is located on Rock Creek (now called Crystal River) between Elko Basin and Crystal City, eight miles northwest of Gothic, and some 40 miles west of Gunnison. It never was a camp of much importance, though a central station for a number of prospectors."

General Grant is supposed to have ridden into Schofield on a white mule when he was campaigning for the U. S. presidency. Some of the prospectors tried to sell him some mining claims; being unsuccessful in that, they attempted to get him into a poker game and lose a claim to him so they could boast, "The President of the United States owns mining property in Schofield." But they weren't proficient enough in "stacking the cards" to deal him a winning hand. Wishing to show him the grandeur of the canyon they took him where he could look down into the Devil's Punch Bowls and told him it was called the "SOB Canyon." He agreed it was appropriately named but suggested a name that would be even harder to beat, "The Schultz Canyon." Schultz being his political opponent at the time.

Schofield flourished for 12 or 14 years, then they decided the cost of transportation was far more than the mineral mined warranted, so in 1886 practically the entire town was moved down the valley four miles and Crystal City was started. Schofield became truly a "ghost town."

It has always been easier to enter Schofield from Crested Butte than from Crystal, but now with the opening of a jeep road between Schofield and Crystal City all that has been changed and today a new Schofield is in the making. This time it is to be a 40-acre tract of modern buildings containing a 24-housing unit, a motel, and a store. None of the over-night constructed mining shacks this time, but modern log cabins built to withstand the elements at this nearly 10,000 foot elevation.

Leaving Schofield, the Crystal River goes through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. It runs down a ravine 50 feet below the road, over boulders, through crevices, always in a hurry, it plunges over a ledge into the Little Devils Punch Bowl, then it cascades over another ledge making an impressive waterfall as it drops into the Big Devils Punch Bowl many feet below, where it seethes and swirls trying to find a way out to go on down the canyon.

The trail above the river was used as a wagon road from the early 1880s to about 1917. John A. Williams drove a team of mules over it in 1911 hauling supplies for the Williams General Store in Crystal. Anton Danni drove a supply wagon over it in 1916. The following item was taken from the _Marble Booster_ newspaper, Aug. 12, 1916:

"Tom Boughton, John J. Walsh, D. E. Dever, and Chas. Sisteg, elected at a caucus to represent Marble as delegates to the Democratic County Convention which convened at Gunnison Monday, left here early last Sunday morning, via Crystal (Schofield Pass) driving (horses) most of the distance and enjoying a motor ride the rest of the way."

These are the last authentic accounts of this wagon road being used I can find; so presume it was closed by rock slides shortly after this date. Over 40 years passed before this scenic part of Colorado was again made available to travel, mainly through the efforts of Gunnison County Commissioner Anton Danni and his road overseer who made several trips from Schofield to Crystal City, on foot, to see if it were possible, and feasible, to open a jeep road. They decided it was and on Aug. 5, 1958, after many months of hard work, the first jeeps came through from Crested Butte to Marble. In 1959 they hope to improve the road enough to permit passenger cars to come down; but no vehicle without a 4-wheel drive could make the trip up the canyon.

The first group to make the trip over the new road was composed of the following people:

Mr. and Mrs. W. P. Cain Almont, Colo. Mr. and Mrs. Bart Cox Almont, Colo. Mr. and Mrs. John Ramsey Almont, Colo. Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Gauby Santa Monica, Calif. Mrs. Jane Schmidt Almont, Colo. Mrs. C. Haase Almont, Colo. Mr. and Mrs. I. Fifer Lake Forest, Ill. Mr. and Mrs. O. W. Shumate Milwaukee, Wis.

Leaving the punch bowls the river runs another mile and a half before the North Fork from Lead King Basin joins it. This tributary drains another scenic valley. Snowmass Peak (14,077 ft. El.), Maroon Peak (14,158 ft.) and Hagerman Peak can be seen in the background. Beautiful trails wind through the various draws leading to Geneva Lake and the Maroon Belles where fishing is at its best. This is also a highly mineralized valley: silver, copper, lead, and zinc predominating. The Copper King, 20th Century, Winchester, El Negroero and half of the Richardson, all located in this basin, belong to Lee Sperry of the Ragged Mountain district.

_CRYSTAL, The Miners' Ideal Camp_

(_Elevation Approximately 9,000 Feet_)

One half mile beyond the junction of the North Fork with the Crystal River it reaches the little hamlet of Crystal City, magnificently located in a small dale surrounded by several lofty peaks: Sheep Mountain, Mineral Point, Crystal Peak, Bear Mountain (the one covered with tall pines), White House, and Treasure Peaks. Crystal City was another typical mining town of 70 houses, several general stores, a school house (still standing), Crystal Club (still standing) and several other saloons, a newspaper--_The Silver Lance_ followed by _The Crystal River Current_ (still standing), a concentration mill and a smelter. The peak of its population was about 650 inhabitants (some say 2,000). While a railroad was never completed from Crested Butte, a telegraph line was installed. John Davisson, now of 855 Elm St., Grand Junction, Colo., patrolled this line on snowshoes as "trouble shooter" during the Winters of 1906-'07-'08.

The demonitization of silver in 1893 and the inability to get adequate means of transportation for lead, zinc, and other ores, the town of Crystal City was practically depopulated soon after the turn of the century until 1916. Then it again looked as if the prospectors' dream might come true: the population again rose to several hundred; the Lead King mine, the Black Queen mine, and the Sheep Mountain tunnel were reopened; the smelter and concentration mill were reconditioned; a blacksmith shop, cook house, and bunk houses were located two miles above Crystal City on Rock Creek. But by the middle of 1917 everything again shut down and the people drifted away.

Aug. 25, 1917, _Marble Booster_ newspaper:

"Crystal mines are in their infancy. It would take a million men a thousand years to exhaust the hills up that way of their silver, copper, lead and zinc."

Many interesting stories are told of the early days in Crystal City by some of its first settlers. One told by F. W. (Dad) Reyland was that one wintery day when the snow had drifted above the doors of many of the buildings, they decided to liven things up a bit by having a dance. Now the dance hall was one of the buildings completely covered by snow. So they decided to tunnel in to the door, making niches in the sides of the tunnel in the snow every few feet in which to anchor candles to guide the guests to the dance hall. The dance was a huge success and stirred the town out of its boredom.

Another was told by one who was working in the Colorado Trading & Development Co. store at the time. During the winter months the mail was brought up from Marble by a carrier on snowshoes, who as a rule could get through with very little trouble. But once when a very deep feathery snow had fallen he was unable to get through for over a week. The egg supply at the store was exhausted; so they decided to send a man down to try to get some. He made it down all right but had to wait several days for the snow to crust over before coming back. Then he carried the case of eggs strapped on his shoulders the six miles back to Crystal City. In the meantime the price of eggs soared.

In 1938 Emmet S. Gould of Aspen came to Crystal City looking for ore to run through a recently purchased mill. He became interested at once in the area not only for its potential mineral wealth, but also its wild beauty. He bought several mining claims and city lots with their cabins.

He made an effort to open the Lucky Boy and the Lead King mines, but unfortunate circumstances once again kept the mines from paying.

His daughters, Mrs. Dorothy Tidwell and Mrs. Helen Collins, and granddaughters, Maxine Fowler and Carolyn Lodge, all of California, still come with their families and friends, and make up a part of Crystal City's 20 or 30 summer residents.

The Welcome J. Neals who also own mining claims and a house in Crystal City, come every year from Mooresville, Ind., and bring their friends and relatives for a delightful summer's vacation where the weather is just right, the scenery unsurpassable, and the elusive trout waiting to match his skill against that of the tourist.

Dick CarScadden of Aspen spends his summers in Crystal City conducting tourists on hiking trips: the food and camping equipment being carried by huskies.

Just what the future holds for Crystal City, none can say. The people who own it prefer to keep it as it is, a cool, peaceful relaxing haven. But with the road over Schofield Pass connecting Crested Butte with Marble and Carbondale open, and with the known mineral deposits there, it may again become a thriving mining center.

The Crystal River continues on its way through its narrow canyon, sometimes on a level with the highway, sometimes hundreds of feet below it.

Half way between Crystal City and Marble the river passes Lizzard Lake, one of the most beautiful in Colorado. It is supposed to be the crater of an old volcano. It is quite shallow around the edges for several feet out, then drops abruptly to unknown depths. The Game & Fish Department keeps it well stocked with trout and even amateur fishermen can land their legal limit. This is one of the highly mineralized spots in the valley: gold, silver, copper, etc.

_MARBLE, A Lovely Little Hamlet_

In a Lovely Glen, named for a Lovely White Calcium Carbonate--Marble (_Elevation 7,950 Feet_)

The Crystal River next reaches the valley where the town of Marble is located. The Spanish explorers, Escalante and Dominquez, may have come into this territory in 1541, but they left no permanent records. The "Forty-Niners" were supposed to have come this far off their beaten trail on their way to California; gold pans and other mining equipment were found near Prospect Ranch by Bill Gant who trapped beaver in this valley in 1859. Benjamin Graham prospected in the Elk Mountains in the early 1860s. These early explorations are legendary and no accurate information is recorded.

Neither the Ute Indians who silently followed the trails of mountain sheep, elk, deer, and bear through the parks and meadows, green with succulent grasses and gay and fragrant with wild flowers, nor the early prospectors who tramped the mossy banks of the limpid streams, snaring the sunning trout from their pebbly beds, tracking the beaver and marten for their warm pelts, or roaming the mountain peaks in search of precious metals, realized that the white rock that stood out on precipitous mountain sides was more valuable than all the animal pelts and precious metals they sought.

George Yule, a prospector who came into Gunnison County in 1874, is supposed to have been the first white man to discover and assume the value of the white marble up Yule Creek which still bears his name. He was the first elected sheriff of Gunnison County, served two terms, 1878-'82. However he did not prove up on his claims, and they were taken over by Wm. Wood and W. D. Parry in 1882.

The first prospectors to attempt a permanent settlement in the valley were John Mobley and W. F. Mason who located their settlement east of Carbonate Creek and called it Clarence; and William Wood and W. D. Parry who made their camp near the mouth of Yule Creek and named it Marble. When the settlements reached a population large enough to warrant a post office, it was located west of Carbonate Creek, and Marble was the name chosen for it.

Sizable amounts of lead and zinc had been discovered in this treasure vault of the Rockies and the ore was being packed out on burros to Crested Butte. This being a very slow means of transportation as well as very expensive, attempts were made to locate a smelter nearer. Finally in 1897 the Hoffman Smelting & Reduction Co. built one just across the Crystal River south of Marble. It ran until 1900.

But the town of Marble did not boom until the value of marble was fully realized. The first quarry was opened on the east side of Yule Canyon in 1892 by J. C. Osgood and one block of marble was taken out at a cost of $1,700 to be sent to the World's Columbian Exposition (1893) in Chicago. In 1895-97 some blocks were hauled to Carbondale to be shipped east by freight. But it was not until the beginning of the 1900s that the Yule Quarry was opened on the west side of the canyon. Besides the pure white marble there is a great amount of Colorado cloud marble (a smoky mottled grain), serpentine (mottled green), pink, blue, and black (mottled with white and green), found up this canyon.

About this same time two more quarries were opened on the east side of Yule Canyon: the Strauss, by a company of eastern stockholders who built the broad gauge Strauss railroad from Marble to the foot of their quarry on Treasure Mountain; and the White Marble Co. owned by the Mormon Church. While all the development work was completed, no commercial work was ever done by either company and the railroad was never used.