inspired Creede: A Very Brief History by Janis Jacobs Creede Historical Society
Photo Courtesy of Creede Historical Society
Boom Town Creede
“Creede” is a name that has been drawing people to this area since 1890. Our town has gone from soaring heights to devastating lows followed by many ups and downs in its varied history. For one and a half years it was at its highest pinnacle as a boom town. For almost one hundred years it was primarily a mining town and it has had to reinvent itself in many ways since 1985 when its mining ended. But the town has always come out on top through all of its good times and challenging times. To tell about the history of the town, one must also tell about the mining and the effect it had, and still has, on the town – the two have always been intertwined. People were traveling through the Upper Rio Grande area for many years before Creede was founded. Native Americans traveled through here until the early 1870s. Then prospectors began heading toward the new mining towns of Lake City and Silverton. Prospectors looked for silver outcroppings wherever they were. Many other people came through here in the 1870’s and 1880’s. Some stayed and established ranches. The Hot Spring Hotel was built at Wagon Wheel Gap in the early 1870’s because of the interest in the curative waters. It was so popular that the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad extended their rails from Del Norte to the Gap in 1884. By this time, many other ranches had been set up, including Wason Ranch, the Texas Club (now Freemons), San Juan Ranch, Soward Ranch, Antelope Springs, Wetherill Ranch (now RC Ranch), Broadacres and many more. In late 1883, a small mining camp was set up at Sunnyside where Rat Creek and Miners Creek come together. Nothing big came of it, but the first recorded silver production in the
area was sent from here in 1884. The town of Creede actually started in East Willow Creek Canyon. Nicholas Creede had located the Holy Moses claim on Campbell Mountain in the fall of 1889. He traveled to Denver for the winter and when he returned in the spring of 1890, many followed him, having heard of his “big” strike. The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was passed by Congress in 1890 almost doubling the price of silver which increased the numbers of prospectors in the Rocky Mountains. As more people heard of the strike, a camp began to bloom in lower East Willow Canyon. Shacks, cabins and businesses began to be built. Some of those who came were families: women and children were a part of the camp life from its beginning. The camp was first called Willow Camp, but in the fall of 1890 the miners voted to change the name to Creede. The narrow canyon was soon overflowing, so building was extended downstream and into Willow Canyon. This canyon was slightly larger, so cabins, houses and businesses were built there, too. It was called Stringtown. In the summer of 1890, some of the business people decided to build downstream at the end of Willow Canyon and a large business district began to emerge. Shacks, cabins and houses were built at the south end of the business district and on the sides of the hills and on the mesas. This area had many names, but the most prominent became Jimtown. The small boom of 1890 was taken up a notch in the fall when Nicholas Creede sold the Holy Moses mine for the shocking sum of $70,000 to three investors who were connected with the D&RG Railroad. News of the big sale brought more people to Creede. In the spring of 1891, Stringtown and Jimtown were still cont’d >>>
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