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1895 Map of Aspen

Name: 1895 Topographic Map of Aspen
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1901
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1901

About this map

Aspen sits at the confluence of the Roaring Fork and Hunter Creek, serving as the bustling hub of a silver-rich mountain corridor in the final years of the nineteenth century. This 1893 survey reveals a landscape transformed by extraction, with the Holden Works processing ore at the town's edge while the Denver and Rio Grande R.R. Aspen Br. and the A. T. and S. F. R. R. (Colorado Midland Div.) compete for the region's heavy freight.

The map details the intense mining activity that climbed the surrounding slopes, from the Molly Gibson Mine near town to the Little Annie Mine on Richmond Hill. Higher in the valleys, the survey marks the earlier settlement of Ashcroft and the small outpost of Highland, connected by precarious trails and creek-side roads. Dramatic peaks such as Maroon Peak and Castle Peak loom over Maroon Lake, anchoring a geography defined by the deep drainages of Castle Creek and Maroon Creek.