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 Willy 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 Willy’s
primary focus. The Willy 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.
