North Fork Ghost Town?

[Ghosttowns.com]

Originally posted by Brian Adkins


: I am trying to find information about a old mine and ghost town in colorado. Off of highway 50 from Salida, you take highway 240 NNW all the way up to North Fork Res. Island. Tucked way up in a horseshoe looking mountain range at 13,151 elevation. Shawnee Peak, Pomeroy MTN. and Calico MTN. When looking on the map you can see the horse shoe shape. This mine is if I had to guess it would be on the face of Pomeroy mountain. I have pictures of the mine and the entrance said established in 1879, but I am unable to find out what type of meneral they were mining or who started the mine. Down lower comming up higway 240 there is a national forest sign designating the ghost town and established it starting in 1879 but no one seems to know anything more than that. It borders Chaffee and Gunnision countys. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Ghosttowns.com]

Originally posted by Ted Foureagles


: Brian:



: You may be referring to the Billings Tunnel (also known as "Pride of the West Mine", a name shared with a more famous mine near Silverton) above Billings Lake. I undersand that there was once a two story hotel built at the entrance of the tunnel. The ruins of that, along with an old iron boiler tank are still visible. The entrance to the tunnel itself (which was never completed, and I assume was intended to carry ore to Chalk Creek) is an elegant arch of particularly fine work executed in native granite.

: I just bought 9 of the old mining claims in that bowl, including one on the SouthEast face that has a blacksmith shop built at the mouth of a tunnel. The original 1884 patents list the owners at the time as A.R. Mather & A. McComber. I have placed a message on the Mather family GenWeb list asking for information, but have yet to receive a response.

: So far, I've only seen the place in February after a challenging snowshoe hike from the Angel of Shavano campground. It was hard to tell much about the area while it was under 20' of snow, but I intend to go back up and live on the land this summer. If you happen to come back up and wish to share a campfire, look toward the south slope for an aging hippie in a rusty Jeep Wagoneer.



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: Brian writes:



: I am trying to find information about a old mine and ghost town in colorado. Off of highway 50 from Salida, you take highway 240 NNW all the way up to North Fork Res. Island. Tucked way up in a horseshoe looking mountain range at 13,151 elevation. Shawnee Peak, Pomeroy MTN. and Calico MTN. When looking on the map you can see the horse shoe shape. This mine is if I had to guess it would be on the face of Pomeroy mountain. I have pictures of the mine and the entrance said established in 1879, but I am unable to find out what type of meneral they were mining or who started the mine. Down lower comming up higway 240 there is a national forest sign designating the ghost town and established it starting in 1879 but no one seems to know anything more than that. It borders Chaffee and Gunnision countys. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.