A Little Bit About Aspen

Ancient people made their homes in the mountains near Aspen, Colorado around 8,000 years ago. Ute Indian tradition says that these "Shining Mountains" have always been their homeland. Aspen was originally named Ute City by prospectors who discovered silver in Ute territory in the late 1800s. Aspen had rich silver ores, two railroads, and money from capitalists such as Jerome B. Wheeler, President of Macy’s Department Store and Cincinnati lawyer and businessman David Hyman. Aspen quickly became an urban, industrialized community with impressive architecture. By 1891, Aspen produced more silver than other towns in Colorado and it became the nation’s largest single silver producing mining district. By 1893, Aspen had 12,000 residents, six newspapers, four schools, three banks, electric lights, a modern hospital, two theaters, an opera house, and a very small brothel district. When the government returned to the gold standard, Aspen survived as a rural county seat and ranching center. In 1935, just 700 people called Aspen home. Then international outdoorsmen came to the Roaring Fork Valley in search of the ideal location for a ski resort. They hired the famous Swiss avalanche expert André Roch to develop a ski area based in Ashcroft, but it was never developed because of the outbreak of World War II. Meanwhile, André Roch and the enthusiastic Aspen Ski Club cut a race course on Aspen Mountain. Later ski development actually came when the Army’s 10th Mountain Division trained in Camp Hale. Many soldiers skied in Aspen while on leave, and some, including Austrian Friedl Pfeifer, planned to return in peace time. Pfeifer teamed up with Chicago industrialist Walter Paepcke who hoped to build a ski resort on a par with Europe’s best.
In 1947, Aspen Mountain opened with the world’s longest ski lift. In 1950, Aspen became the first ski resort in America to host an international competition. In the late 20th century, the city became known as an off-beat haven for misfits. Today there are about 6,000 permanent residents and four local ski resorts that bring both winter and summer visitors. The average home value is 4.5 million dollars.