Colorado Essays - Leadville, Colorado, Colorado, Ranch,

Colorado Colorado: Then and Now Hard to get and heavy to hold.? (Coel 1) Headlines in 1858 when gold was found along the Platte River. Which started a booming economy in mining. Some struck it rich and some moved on. Some did farming and ranching, while others started a new business and some saw the money in tourism. In time some of these people have continued to become successful and others have found wealth. But what has really happened to the businesses of Colorado as a whole? Mining, farming and ranching, and tourism were important parts of Colorado around 1900 at the turn of the century, but many wonder if at the start of a new century is it the same. As many people look back at the beginning of this century they say mining is what built Colorado. It is true, but it has also hurt us in the future. The positive side of mining is that it brought great revenue to Colorado. It also built cities and helped businesses grow. A great example of this is the town of Leadville. It did not seem like Leadville would grow in 1876 because, ?the region itself was like an empty beach, washed by two tides of mining activity and littered with abandoned sluices, empty cans, and rotting cabins.? (Abbott 157) Then in 1879 under the leadership of Mayor H.A.W. Tabor, ?they defined misdemeanors, tried to enforce the ordinances, and fought to keep city officials from packing off to other mining towns.? (Abbott 164) To help the city improve with this leadership Leadville grew to become a successful town and in 1880 received access to the railroad and had a population of 14,280 people making it Colorado's second largest city. (Abbott 170) This is the story of many of the mining towns some with the same results and others with stories of disasters and failures, but this is how Colorado grew. The bad side to this story is that during the mining the miners would put their debris (mining waste) on to the hillsides and left the mines behind and mine run-off. The debris has large amounts of toxic materials in it. It has been found in Leadville that kids that have played in the debris have increased chances of heart problems, cancer, and developing a learning disability. (Posion in the Rockies) Also, the mine run-off mixes with the rivers and streams in the mountains and can get into our drinking water. (Posion in the Rockies) If we do not keep a close eye on this many tragic things can happen to the people of Colorado. This is one price that we have had to pay to grow into a prosperous state. One industry that helped keep the miners going was farming and ranching. The farming community would set up markets in mining towns and at the end of the day miners would buy produce from the farmers. Many settlers that moved to Colorado did not want to strike it rich with gold or silver, but wanted a new life. The trouble with farming in the early days was finding the right land in Colorado. Many people became discouraged and stopped moving to Colorado until December 4, 1869. On this date Nathan C. Meeker wrote an article in the New York Tribune discussing the process of irrigating Colorado to make it a productive farming state. Also in the article he was selling land, but called it a membership fee of $155 to live in the new farming cities. He said it would ?be pooled for the purchase of land, with each member entitled to receive a farming plot and to purchase a town lot. Surplus funds were to be applied by the trustees to ?improvements for the common good.? (Crutchfield 45) Fifteen hundred men bought this land and within a year there were over four hundred houses, a Colony Hall, two brick business blocks, a library, lyceum, schools, and churches. ?The absence of liquor stores, saloons, and billiard halls, said the temperance men who founded and people the colony, accounted for its ?sobriety, good order, peace, harmony, and prosperity.? (Crutchfield 46) This town became a success and is still around today and is known as the town of Greeley. Meeker again bought land