History of Aspen

In 1859 gold was discovered at Pike’s Peak and the Colorado region began to fill with miners. In 1879, settlers of European ancestry exploring for silver, crossed the mountains and found their way into the valleys below. They settled a town they named Ute City and wintered over to protect their mining claims. Quickly renamed the following spring to Aspen, the population was little more than 300 tough miners with big dreams. But during the next few years more silver was to be found in the hills surrounding the town than any other place in North American history. The population exploded to 12,000, second in Colorado only to Denver and the town established two railroads, a plethora of churches, brothels, an opera house and was the first town in Colorado to offer electricity to all its citizens. Not bad for a dinky little burg in the middle of some really tall hills. By 1891, Aspen was the nation's richest producer of silver and skiing was a necessary winter-time mode of transportation.

Many of the townsfolk were Swedes and they brought their culture of skinny sticks with them. Within a short time, most of the others had learned from the Swedes and were able to accomplish their daily chores with the aid of these simple wooden slats.  Colorado wasn’t alone in this and in fact California established ski clubs as early as 1861. Since most mining towns at altitude faced similar winter transportation challenges, they had similar responses and skiing quickly became as common as breathing. It was simply a necessity. Ultimately the pure pleasure of moving over snow with little boards on their feet began to take hold and people began to do it as much for fun, holding local races and challenges to see who would get home the fastest after working the mines. Realizing they weren’t alone, people began to get together from different mining camps and towns to hold ski meets with one of the earliest just over the hill in Crested Butte. 

Silver, snow and skiing began to define mountain life. But…

Things didn’t hold up. Just two years later in 1893, Congress switched the dollar to be backed by gold instead of silver and the value of the metal plummeted. Aspen’s raison d’être ceased to exist and its people saw little economic opportunity nor reason to stay.  Aspen went to sleep and there it stayed for more than forty years.

Some families stayed to mine, of course, hoping for resurgence in silver prices, others ranched and still more farmed. All the while, skiing was growing throughout the nation and still active throughout Colorado. Kids in Aspen would make skis from boards and curl them themselves. Even though the town was drowsy, the sport of skiing was flourishing and even better days were ahead, to say the least. World War II brought soldiers to Leadville to be trained for service in the 10th Mountain Division. While on weekend passes, the troops would ski over to Aspen for a bit of fun and many liked what they saw. They swore to themselves that if they lived through the coming assault on Europe, they would return to Aspen and create a truly fine skiing experience. They kept their promises to themselves and each other and the rest is history. If you would like to read a really good article on the development of Aspen and the culture of skiing, click here. 

The Aspen of today is very different from the rough and tumble mining days. But so many of the old buildings are intact and in service that our roots are deep and the sense of community and connection with the early miners remains strong. Their old shacks can still be seen on properties worth millions on the open market. In the meantime, Aspen has become famous throughout the world as the host of the Aspen Institute, Aspen Music Festival & School, the International Design Conference, the annual Food and Wine convention, and a plethora of medical, musical, artistic, business and networking conventions designed to make the world a little more livable.

With our inspiring landscapes coupled with wide opportunities for sports, culture, outstanding dining, social events and shopping, it is no surprise that Aspen’s resurgence has brought us full circle to the success our early settlers found. In so doing it brought along a new idea, the revitalization of mind, body and spirit. In the very heart of this welcoming town lies The Residence Hotel, ready to offer you the piece of mind and relaxation and rejuvenation for which you’ve been searching.