1982 Map of Saint Elmo

About this map

St Elmo and the surrounding high-altitude mining districts within the San Isabel National Forest are captured here as they appeared in the early 1980s. The settlement pattern follows the drainage of Chalk Creek and its various forks, where historic mining centers like Romley and Hancock are linked by a network of steep jeep trails and old pack routes. The landscape is punctuated by significant industrial relics, most notably the Mary Murphy Mine and the Iron Chest Mine, which sit high on the slopes of Chrysolite Mountain. This topographical record documents the spatial relationship between these legacy camps and the water sources that sustained them, such as Alpine Reservoir and Grizzly Lake. From the small Cem near Iron City to the high summits of Tabeguache Peak and Mount Mamma, the map illustrates a terrain defined by 19th-century extraction and late 20th-century recreation.