Gold was first
discovered in the area up Buckskin Gulch. Buckskin Joe was the first
town site in the area. Many hard rock mines were opened on Mts.
Bross, Lincoln, and Democrat. In the early 1870’s the population of
the area referred to as the Mosquito Range Mining District was
approximately 10,000 people. The Boston Colorado Smelting Company
and the Fanny Barrett Smelting Company both set up smelting
operations. The camp around the smelters became very populated. On
December 2, 1873 a group of smelter employees petitioned the Park
County Commissioners for incorporation as a town. The Town of Alma,
named after the grocery store owner’s daughter, held its first
“Town” meeting on December 4, 1873.
The town meeting
minutes from that first meeting in 1873 until July, 1881 can be
found in Town Hall. The minutes are hand written in true calligraphy
style. W. C. Morgan served as the first mayor. One of the first
projects of the town was to build a calaboose (jail). The minutes
reflect the personality of the inhabitants.
The Alma Town Hall
is listed on both the State Historical Register and the Park County
Historical Register. It is the restored building that once served as
the Alma School. The original Alma School, which was located on the
corner of Park Hill & Main St. burned at 4:00 pm on May 15th,
1928. Construction on the new school was begun that summer and for
the most part was finished by the time school began that fall. The
mission style building originally consisted of two rooms upstairs
and the bell tower. The north and south additions were added around
1930. All of the original lumber in the building is local pine and
was milled at the Miller Lumber Company of Alma. Even the tongue &
groove flooring was milled in Alma. The oak flooring was added in
1948. In 1962 the Fairplay high school was built. The school
district closed the Alma school and all Alma children were bussed to
Fairplay. The Town purchased the building from the District in 1967
for $1.00. It was remolded starting in the 1980’s and currently
serves as the Town Offices, the Marshal Department, the Library, and
the Town Community Center. It is a true example of preservation with
a purpose.
The Alma Community
Church, affectionately referred to as the Stone Church, was built in
the summer of 1936 primarily using volunteer labor. It has always
been a community owned non-denominational religious and community
center. All money and materials for construction were donated. The
entire basement was dug in the first week of construction. The
inside consists of an auditorium, stage area with a baptismal unit,
and four small classrooms. Unfortunately, very little maintenance
has been done over the years and the church had fallen into great
disrepair. In 2005 the renovation was completed thanks to a grant
from the Colorado State Historical Society.
The Alma Ladies Aid
Hall has been a structure of many uses. Built in the 1870’s, it
originally served as an office/scale house for the Boston Colorado
Smelting Company. During war times, groups of women, under the
auspice of the Confederate Ladies Aid Society, came together to
support the war effort making bandages, sewing clothes and whatever
else they could do. It has since been used as a theater, a dance
hall, church services, box suppers and general refuge for lost
souls. It is the hope of the current administration to restore it as
a theater and community center.
The Schwartz Hotel,
built in the 1890’s, was originally a boarding house. One of the
owner operators was Mrs. Schwartz, thus the name. The foundation is
that of a casual stone foundation typical of the period. The
original structure housed 8 bedrooms. A covered walkway extended
north from the building to the out houses. All evidence points to
the fact that the building has always been yellow. It is currently
owned by Rita and Carle Zimmerman. They offer it to artists, music
groups, and others as a large group retreat/conference center.
The Paris mill,
currently owned by the Chiwawa Mining Co., was originally built in
1895 to mill ore mined at the Paris Mine on Mount Bross which was
opened in 1883. In 1898 a tramway was constructed with a hauling
capacity of 50 ton from the mine to the mill. The mill ran
sporadically from 1896 to 1935. After 1935 the mill ran for
promotional reasons with no true ore production. The mill is
equipped with a stamp mill, a ball mill, and a rod mill. The Paris
mill was placed on Colorado Preservation, Inc.’s most endangered
places list in 2004.
The current
population of Alma is around 235. It is a tight knit community with
most of the citizens commuting to Summit County for employment. In
1996 a group of “Placer Valley
Moms” took it upon themselves to seek funding from Great Outdoors
Colorado, GOCO, to build a play ground for the children. When I
started working for the Town in 1997 my first direction was to find
monies for a basketball court and public bathroom. The entire
population of children at that time was eleven. The older three held
a bake sale and raised about $86. I could not find anyone who would
grant us money for our project until I enlarged the whole thing and
added a skate park and tennis court equipment. GOCO and the Alma
Foundation helped to fund our $55,000 project.
Tragedy often
creates good. In 1998 Tom Leask went on a rampage destroying many
town buildings and killing Willie Morrison who years before had
served as town mayor. The Alma Festival in the Clouds was started to
celebrate art, music and children which were Willie’s primary focus.
The Willie Morrison memorial stage was built with very little cash
outlay. Most of the labor and material was donated.
Current projects of
the Town and the Alma Foundation include the riverwalk project and
the Mosquito Range Heritage Initiative. The riverwalk will
incorporate the serene aspects of the Middle Fork of the South
Platte with historical and educational signage connected with a
combination boardwalk and graveled trail. Mining equipment will be
put on display to relate the mining heritage of Alma. The Mosquito
Range Heritage Initiative is a collaborative effort of many entities
including the Town of Alma, the Alma Foundation, Park County, the
Forest Service, the BLM, the State Department of Minerals and
Geology, the Coalition for the Upper South Platte, the Division of
Wildlife, ATV clubs, 4-Wheeling clubs and many more. The goal of the
project is to define and create a system of designated trails to
provide access to historic and cultural areas of the Mosquito Range.
Work is just beginning on this initiative. Anyone wishing to become
involved is welcome.
The Town of Alma is
a true community. The citizens of not only the town but of the
surrounding sub-divisions, including
Placer Valley, join
together many times a year to celebrate the joy of living in a small
mountain community. Everyone is accepted as long as he accepts all
in return. The town, even though it was named for an individual,
truly can relate to the Spanish definition of alma meaning soul.
