| *For more history of our area, check out the old newspaper pages. |
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| 1900 | 1900 Independent smelters were operating at Romley and Monarch
(Poncha Springs), which served the Eclipse Mine in the Monarch mining district. Most of the other smelters were operated as part of ASARCO or Guggenheim (after 1901). |
| 1901 | Ohio and Colorado Smelting and Refining Company, which operated the smelter, built the townsite of Kortz (Smeltertown) for its workers. Kortz was the name of one of the company's officers. On August 3, a flash flood in railroad gulch washed out bridges and nearly a mile of track on the Calumet Branch of the D&RG. Traffic on the branch had been light since 1899 when iron ore shipments from Calumet Mine to Colorado Coal and Iron Company (CC&I) ceased. The line was formally abandoned in 1922. |
| 1902 | Salida's beloved dog Loyal Duke, a favorite with railroad passengers and patrons of the Monte Cristo Hotel, died and was buried on Tenderfoot Mountain. |
| 1903 | 1903 Poncha Hot Springs Hotel burned a second time and this
time was not rebuilt. A health resort popularized by the scenic line train (D&RG), the town of Poncha declined. |
| 1904 | Monarch City post office closed. Suspension bridge over Arkansas River collapsed during a Memorial Day observance at Salida. At least 6 women and children died. |
| 1908 | The cornerstone was laid for the Carnegie Library
with funds raised by the Tuesday Evening Club of Salida. |
| Old Newspaper Articles from Chaffee County | |||||
| Mining | Railroad | Ranching | Industry | Wildlife | |
| Fire & Water | Governement | Recreation | People | Events | |