Ohio City, Colorado
History
The community came into being around placer gold mining in the 1860s, although the source of the nuggets remained elusive. In 1879, a prospector, miner, and assayer named Jacob Hess discovered silver in Ohio Creek, until then known as Gold Creek. Hess moved his camp to Ohio Creek and named his settlement Eagle City, and officially became its first settler. In 1881, Ohio City was surveyed and platted. The following year, the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad was built through the town. After the collapse of the silver market in 1893 the community dwindled in population, and by 1898, Ohio City was nearly deserted.
However, the source of the first gold nuggets, having been discovered in 1896, prompted the multiple lucrative excavations including the Willow Creek Mine, which still yields feldspar, quartz, muscovite mica, graphic granite, and flakes of salvageable gold. Opportunity Mine (GPS N38 30.676 / W106 39.995) is also a popular source for blue beryl, cleavelandite, black tourmaline, and pink lepidolite.
Mines
In 1898, the Cortland Mine in McIntyre Gulch was the only mine operating in the district. Three Harvard University students, the Carter brothers, surveyed land during the summers at the turn of the century. One brother, Carroll M. Carter, organized the Carter Mining Company.
Around the same time, E. M. Lamont organized the Raymond Consolidated Mines Company which mined locally.
From 1908-1912, the Colorado Smelting and Mining Company, headed by A. E. Reynolds, mined the Sacramento mine and the Silver Islet mine.
Climate
Climate type is dominated by the winter season, a long, bitterly cold period with short, clear days, relatively little precipitation mostly in the form of snow, and low humidity. The Köppen Climate Classification sub-type for this climate is "Dfc" (Continental Subarctic Climate).
| Climate data for Ohio City, Colorado | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −3 (26) |
−1 (31) |
6 (42) |
13 (56) |
19 (66) |
24 (76) |
27 (81) |
26 (79) |
22 (72) |
16 (61) |
7 (45) |
−1 (30) |
13 (55) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −22 (−7) |
−19 (−2) |
−12 (11) |
−6 (22) |
−2 (29) |
2 (36) |
6 (43) |
5 (41) |
0 (32) |
−6 (22) |
−12 (10) |
−19 (−3) |
−7 (19) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 20 (0.8) |
20 (0.8) |
18 (0.7) |
18 (0.7) |
20 (0.8) |
18 (0.7) |
38 (1.5) |
36 (1.4) |
25 (1) |
18 (0.7) |
15 (0.6) |
20 (0.8) |
260 (10.3) |
| Source: Weatherbase | |||||||||||||
See also
References
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ohio City, Colorado
- ^ "ZIP Code Lookup". United States Postal Service. January 2, 2007. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on December 14, 2006. Retrieved January 2, 2007.
- ^ Kappele, William; Warren, Gary (2017). Rockhounding Colorado. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 216–217. ISBN 9781493017393.
- ^ Crawford, R. (1916). Colorado Geological Survey: Boulder: Bulletin 10: Geology and Ore Deposits of the Gold Brick District: Colorado. Denver: Eames Brothers, State Printers. p. 12.
- ^ Crawford, R. (1916). Colorado Geological Survey: Boulder: Bulletin 10: Geology and Ore Deposits of the Gold Brick District: Colorado. Denver: Eames Brothers, State Printers. pp. 12–13.
- ^ Climate Summary for Ohio City, Colorado
- ^ "Weatherbase.com". Weatherbase. 2013. Retrieved on August 3, 2013.
External links
Media related to Ohio City, Colorado, at Wikimedia Commons
Municipalities and communities of Gunnison County, Colorado, United States | ||
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| Unincorporated communities | ||
| Ghost towns | ||