inspired
Photo Courtesy of Creede Historical Society
cont’d >>> two in North Creede and three in lower Creede. Now there is a new school south of town. Creede men have been part of our armed services and served in all of our country’s wars in the 20th and 21st Centuries. Creede women have also served in the 21st Century. The town has lived through many disasters since 1900. We have experienced floods, fires, the 1918 flu epidemic (the only place to put the ill was on the pool tables in the bars), mine closings, and the loss of a train into town in 1972. From the beginning of the town, it has had many social groups and organizations. Among those still active are the Elks, the Masons and Ladies Aid, all of which were founded in the 1890s. Entertainment has abounded in Creede. Live theater has been here since 1890, involving traveling troupes, local school children or local people, until 1966, which was a time of a mining slump. The Creede Jaycees wanted to help the town and invited a group of Kansas University students to come to Creede and produce summer plays. Creede Repertory Theatre was born. Since the loss of mining in 1985, CRT has grown and has become a nationally known theater. It now plays a big “role” in drawing people to Creede. Fourth of July parades and mining competitions have been an important part of Creede’s history. Mining competitions started sometime in the early years. Miners vied against miners in hand competitions (single jack and double jack steeling) and hand mucking (shoveling dirt into ore buckets). Later machine drilling and mucking were added. Today the Days of ’92 and the Colorado State Mining Competitions are a featured part of our 4th of July celebrations. In the 1920’s and 1930’s the 4th included circuses and/or carnivals. In the
1930’s a Ferris wheel was part of the festivities. The Creede Museum was started in the 1940’s in a shed, moved to the Elks building in the 1950’s and to the abandoned depot in the 1960’s. The local historical society took over its operation in 1984 when the society was incorporated. The very unique Underground Fire Department and Underground Mining Museum were blasted out of the Willow Creek canyon walls just above the town by miners in the late 1980’s. From 1959 until the mid-1970’s raft races were held on the Rio Grande between Creede and South Fork. Participants came from all over and huge crowds of people came to follow the rafts and cheer them on. A small T-Bar ski tow opened up near McKinney Springs around 1960 and was enjoyed until the 1970’s. In the 1980’s a local ice hockey team played competitive games with surrounding town teams in the area. In recent years an ice skating rink has been built up the canyon and a yearly ice hockey tournament has been held. The town has also become known as an art community. Many artists have galleries in town. Books and articles in newspapers around the state have highlighted many of our artists. The people of Creede had to totally change the “persona” of the town after mining died. We still emphasize our mining history through the remains of mining, museums, literature and the mining competitions. Many come here because of the arts, the unique shops, the beautiful scenery, the various summer and winter sports and the friendly people. All of these help lure the visitors to Creede, many of whom end up staying and becoming a part of our current history. Creede is thriving! Come at any time of the year and join the locals in our little piece of paradise! t
SOURCES Feitz, Leland. A Quick History of Creede: Colorado Boom Town. Golden Bell Press, 1969. Harbert, Charles. Creede, Colorado History . . . . Vestige Press, 2010. Huston, Richard. A Silver Camp Called Creede: A Century of Mining. Western Reflections Publishing Company, 2005. LaFont, John. 58 Years Around Creede. Vantage Press, 1971. LaFont, John, The Homesteaders of the Upper Rio Grande. Oxmore Press, 1971. Mumey, Nolie. Creede: The History of a Colorado Silver Mining Town. 1949.
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