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1891 Map of Leadville

Name: 1891 Topographic Map of Leadville
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1905
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1905

About this map

Leadville serves as the focal point for this high-altitude survey, documenting the region's intense mineral development and railroad expansion during the late nineteenth century. The map illustrates a complex industrial landscape where the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, Union Pacific Railroad, and Colorado Midland Railway converge to serve the silver and lead mining districts. High mountain passes and engineering feats like the Hagerman Tunnel appear alongside established mining camps such as Kokomo, Robinson, and Oro.

The distribution of settlements follows the erratic logic of the ore veins, with clusters around Carbonate Hill and Iron Hill. Beyond the industrial centers, the map details the early development of recreational and residential sites like Interlaken on the Twin Lakes. This 1891 edition, based on surveys by topographer Willard D. Johnson, captures the peak of the silver boom just before the economic shifts of the mid-1890s changed the fortunes of many these named mountain camps.