The story
Gold was struck near the top of what's now Independence Pass on July 4, 1879 — hence the name — and a town grew at 10,900 feet around the Farwell Mine. At its 1882 peak, Independence held about 1,500 people, forty businesses, and three post offices' worth of competing town names.
The gold thinned within a few years, and Aspen's silver pulled workers down the valley. The end came theatrically: the brutal winter of 1899 cut the supply roads entirely, and the few dozen remaining residents dismantled their homes to build seventy-five pairs of skis, then rode them down-valley to Aspen in a group. It remains one of the West's great abandonment stories.
The Aspen Historical Society preserves what's left just below the pass summit — cabin ruins and the general store — with the Continental Divide for a backdrop.
What remains today
A cluster of log ruins and a restored store building on the tundra edge, interpreted with signs, just off Highway 82 below Independence Pass.
From the archives
Independence, Colorado. Ghost mining town during early blizzard
Independence, Colorado. Ghost mining town during early blizzard
Pine trees after early fall blizzard on Independence Pass, Colorado
Highway across the mountains during early fall blizzard near Independence Pass, Colorado
Source: Library of Congress digital collections.
Questions from the field
- Did Independence's residents really ski out?
- Yes — in the winter of 1899, after storms cut off supplies, the remaining residents built skis from their houses' lumber and skied as a group thirteen miles down to Aspen, effectively abandoning the town in a day.
- When can you visit Independence, Colorado?
- Only while Independence Pass is open, roughly Memorial Day to early November. The site sits just below the summit on the Aspen side.
From the field
The most valuable part of this record is the part only visitors can write.
Stamp your passport
Check in at Independence — GPS-verified visits earn an inked stamp.
File a field report
Road conditions, what's still standing, what's gone — your report joins the record.
Add photographs
Credited, dated, and preserved as part of Independence's permanent record.
No field reports yet — sign in to file the first.
Primary sources for this record
- — USGS GNIS feature 180342
- — Aspen Historical Society — Independence townsite
- — Colorado Encyclopedia — Independence Pass