There are so many abandoned places in Colorado! This is a list of the top three abandoned places in Colorado. Browse through all abandoned places in Colorado
Adams City High School is an abandoned high school in Commerce City, Colorado. The school, which has been standing in despair for 13 years since its closure in 2009, is slowly turning into a ruin with its grounds being a favorite spot for vandalism and graffiti artists.
As the population of the students increased in the school, a larger and more spacious studying was required. This prompted the government to relocate the school only a few yards to a new Adams City High School off Quebec parkway. The old Adams City High School was abandoned and left to decay in despair.
For 12 years now, vandalism and illegal activities is the new norm in the school premises. Pianos and furniture's worth millions have been destroyed in the short period that the school has lied unused. Break-ins by teenagers who host illegal parties in the buildings have reduced the once clean campus into a dumpsite for after-party litter. The community in conjunction with the district officials has plans of renovating some sections of the school campus to be used by the community. Due to inadequate funds, the cafeteria, theater, and media center will be renovated while the rest will be demolished.
The old school buildings which are now a semi-dumpsite pose threats, injuries, and illnesses to those who trespass or visit the abandoned school. The school which is still under the management of the board directors of Adams City High is closed and does not allow tours or trespassers on the property. During a presentation by a representative from the insurance company, they deemed the school as ‘’an accident waiting to happen.’’ Although they were disappointed by the district for letting the building get to extreme levels of deterioration and despair. The insurance company suggested demolition of the old school building saying it was the safest option. Adams City High School was scheduled to be demolished by 2022. Although the date is still not known, rehabilitation is scheduled to start shortly after the demolition process.
Carson and Old Carson ghost towns are two former gold and silver mining towns established in 1889 and proceeding years respectively. The two towns that had a total of 500 miners residing in the area are recorded to have the roughest roads in Colorado State. Isolated from other mining towns, Carson and Old Carson (Old Carson is on the Northern side of the original Carson) were all deserted and currently sitting in despair.
Christopher Carson discovered floats of ores southwest of Lake City of Colorado which would later be called Carson in his honor. Christopher Carson later went back to the location where he established several mines which produced over 3 million US dollars in all their operational days. Carson was remotely located with inaccessible roads and in 1893 during the economic panic, they experienced a tremendous decline in their profits. Destiny would not allow the town to go down without a fight and in 1986 gold ores were discovered in two mines on the north. A new camp which would later be called “Old Carson” was established and called the Bachelor Cabins. The original camp was deserted completely as the community shifted all their interest to the newly discovered gold fortunes. Over the years the harsh winter weather got even worse and since most mines were depleted, miners fled to towns with a warmer climate and better employment opportunities. By 1903 both Carson and Old Carson were deserted.
The two towns are still abandoned for over decades with no hopes of ever coming back to life. The roads to the towns are still rough and due to their long years of disuse, they have become even worse. On the other hand, the towns' inaccessibility has helped protect the town from vandals. Most of the wooden structures and homesteads that belonged to the miners still stand to date.
It is located at the heart of Chaffee County, a former mining town St Elmo which is currently filled with ruins and mining wastes. Formerly called Forest City, St Elmo was established in the 1880s and thrived through the century until 1952 when it was rejected and left to decay.
S.t Elmo was first settled in the late 1870s but it became an official town in 1880 when a post office was built in the town. The little town which was majorly established to exploit its rich gold and silver mines rose into popularity like other mining towns and by 1881, a train station was built in the town. Railroad through the town elevated the development of the town leading to a rise in hotels, a town hall, and restaurants raising the population to above 2000.
The town had 150 rich mines with Mary Murphy being the richest mine that produced a large quantity of gold, silver, and copper. Mines in the area ran more gold than any other mineral making them the most profitable mines in the region. Mary Murphy mine is estimated to have made 60,000,000 million US dollars during its operational years.
Most mines in the town had been depleted by the New Year of 1891 leaving only principal mines like the Mary Murphy mine operating. A year before, a fire outbreak destroyed the business section of the town which was never rebuilt. A decline in the population began to be recorded at this period. The railroad station closed in 1922 and shortly afterward the principal mine Mary Murphy closed down. Miners left the town to seek employment elsewhere leaving only one family, the Stalks. The Stalks later died leaving the town's ownership to a friend.
After the town was deserted, the Stalk family that was prominent in the area stayed behind with hopes of reviving their town. This never happened as they all died leaving the town which they now claimed as their property deserted. Annabelle, the youngest daughter who was the last caretaker of the town is believed to still roam around protecting the town from Vandals. An eye witness attests to seeing a beautiful lady in white at the balcony of the 2- Storey hotel in the town gazing at a bunch of tourists who were snowmobiling. This was weird since the owners at the time were not in town. Upon warning his fellow tourists about no snow-billing policy, the lady nodded and vanished away. Another incident occurred where workers who intended to restore the hotel would always find their cleaning tools on the floor every morning despite locking them away.
In 2002, after a fire outbreak destroyed six buildings in the town, the property owner donated some sections of the property to Buena Vista Heritage Museum. The BVHM plans to preserve and protect S.t Elmo, and have currently restored some of the buildings.