What is the history of Montezuma, Colorado?
The town founded in 1865 following the discovery of silver in the vicinity of nearby Argentine Pass. It was populated by prospectors coming over the passes from nearby Georgetown, ColoradoGeorgetown. In 1890, at the height of the Colorado Silver Boom, the population reached nearly 1000. At the time, the town had two stores, a post office, two hotels (the Summit House and the Rocky Mountain House), and a sawmill. It eventually had a smelter, as well, which allowed local separation of the silver and lead ores, which are typically found together in the region. At the town’s peak, the mountainside around the town was location of numerous mining operation at the Belle and Blance lodes, opeated by the St. John’s Mining Company, after which the nearby ghost town of St. Johns, ColoradoSt. Johns is named. It consists of three small cabins at the summit that could be considered the highest elevated city in North America at 11,000 feet. During the boom, the town experienced an influx of MexicoMex
