A town at 10,200 feet, Leadville started with the discovery of gold but quickly became popular during the silver rush. Founded by Horace HAW Tabor and August Meyer in 1877, the silver boom brought many people into the new area featuring a cold climate nearly year-round. During its peak population in the 1880s, with a population of upwards 30,000 residents, Leadville was the second largest city in the state after Denver. The silver crash in the early 1890s led to thee town's slow demise. With an influx of people, many mines such as the Guggenheim and mining camps, such as Stumptown, spread throughout the area. These photographs are of Leadville and those mining areas around the large town. With mining camps spread throughout the vast area where many people lived in hopes of riches. A small majority of buildings from the abandoned areas remain today but slowly as time goes by, the buildings weaken and falter with the effects of weather, gravity, and isolation.
