Ghost Towns Guest Book
Fulford Colorado Townsite - Ghost town
Short drive off I-70 to this isolated Ghost Town. Several things to see in the area, upper and lower Fulford and the Fulford caves. This town was originally known as Nolan's camp. Apparently there are several stories of lost treasure in the area. Some miners found gold, mined it until their provisions gave out and then headed for supplies. They stored their gold in the mine only to discover upon returning that a slide had covered the mine. Another lost mine in Colorado filled with riches. Today the town is occupied and many of the original buildings have been "restored". I use that term loosely as they really have been converted to summer homes. If you go, don't forget to hike up to the cave. We all need a little exercise. Apparently it is one of the largest caves in Colorado. People were taking the ladders down and exploring. I was alone and did not have lights or ropes so I stayed on the surface. Scroll down to see some photos from the 1960s and 70s.
Photos courtesy of Mike Sinnwell July 2007
A Viewer Writes - In 1973, I
was one of the purchaser's of the Lower Fulford townsite and Big Bonanza
Placer. We had the townsite and placer surveyed at that time and all townsite
lots were subsequently platted. Because of the beauty of the area, it's remote
location and the uniqueness of being surrounded by national forest land, we made
a decision to sell ONLY to Eagle County residents who loved the area as much as
we did. I took my first trip, in 35 years, to go back to Fulford yesterday and
take a look at how the town and placer have evolved in that time period.
Actually I almost cried. Lower Fulford, now designated as "Fulford Subdivision"
by the Eagle County Assessor, has undergone some pretty dramatic
transformations. Mixed in with many of the old mining shacks that were
originally on the property (but newly tarpapered) are now some $250,000 "log"
cabins, A-frames, someone's idea of a false front complete with stained glass
inlay and junk. The old boarding house/post office (which still had the mail
cubicle's and a stuffed eagle sitting on top when I first saw it) has had its
false front removed and looked as though its being renovated or something. I
know, I know it's almost a foregone fact that few things in our state remain
pristine, but I felt heartsick about this.
When I first visited Fulford (both Upper and Lower) back in the 1960's, the old
boarding house, although in a state of decay, was still partially standing. The
post office had been rifled and floor boards pulled up, but the structure was
still there and all the walls were papered with newspaper's from the time.
Envelopes and other items were scattered about and we left everything as we had
found it. The wonderful assay house, with its gigantic ridgepole, was intact
and even though scavengers had pulled up the floor to look for lost gold that
might have slipped through the cracks, the assay house was in pretty good
condition.
I noted that you are constructing a Fulford site on your webpage and I would
like to volunteer that I have pictures that we took back in the 60's, 70's and
80's of Fulford as it was when we were invited to come and stay in one of the
few cabins that had been built on the land. My memories of Fulford are all
good. I am sorry that Eagle County did not impose some restrictions on how the
land would be used in the future and very sorry that the character of Fulford is
now long gone.
Thanks for your interesting website. I am a Colorado ghost town buff and love
seeing our history.
AND Finally I got them posted. These photos were contributed by Kay Soens. Sorry that it took so long for me to post them for you.
Rocky Mountain Profiles Colorado Ghost Towns and Colorado Photos – Niwot Colorado