Silver Cliff, Colorado

Silver Cliff was a famous silver-mining camp in central Custer County. The silver strike here was so rich that the population boomed and Silver Cliff became one of the largest towns in Colorado Territory for a while. Just before statehood, they even entertained the idea of making Silver Cliff the state capitol.

This was a rough and rowdy town in those days. Mining continued here long after the Gold Bugs succeeded in getting the United States to go off the silver standard and onto the gold standard (a political action that wiped out many silver millionaires and created many gold millionaires overnight - quite a few federal politicians made out very well on this one, too).

When General Palmer and Co. brought in the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, they did their usual thing: they bought cheap land just west of Silver Cliff and built their railhead there. Eventually, that forced nearly all business to relocate to Westcliffe onto land they bought from the railroad.

Sooner or later, though, the mines played out and cattle ranching took over as the primary industry in the area. At that point, Silver Cliff started to dwindle away, although the town is now seeing a resurgence of population as Custer County becomes more well-known for its spectacular scenery and laid-back lifestyle.

Today, Silver Cliff and Westcliffe are about the same in population, although Westcliffe is still the business center of the county and the government center, too. As usual, I drove around town taking photos of things that drew me, and things that draw me aren't necessarily representative of the entire town but they do tend to be somewhat historical in nature... or somehow otherwise important.