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Constructing a history for a town from small bits of secondary information can prove difficult. The story often told of Crisman is quite basic and scattered with random factoids. My guess is that the story remains basic and repetitive because few people are motivated to actually read years of old newspapers, comb through available diaries, anaylize photographs, and delve into mining records. In order to uncover a more detailed history of this, or any small mining town, extensive research into primary sources needs to take place.
From 1873 to 1877 the country faced an economic depression, but with news of new gold, silver and telluride discoveries in Boulder County a new wave of gold-seekers headed to the canyons above Boulder. The area near Four Mile Canyon witnessed an overnight boom as new camps sprung up with the names of Sunshine, Magnolia, Salina, Wall Street, Gold Hill, Glendale, and Summerville. Among these was the small community of Tellurium, later known as Crisman.
The Hansbrough family was one of the earliest to live in the area of Camp Tellurium (Crisman) in Sunbeam Gulch. George Sr., with his two sons, Jack and Oliver, staked a claim to four mines in the area (Clipper, Golden Gem, Clipper No. 2, and Lincoln) between 1875 and 1878. During this time they partnered with Obed Crisman to build an ore-processing mill. The Crisman Mill later gave the town its name.
The two main mines, Yellow Pine and Logan (discovered in 1874), were already working by the time the town was officially put on the map in 1875. Located in Four Mile Canyon, about seven miles from Boulder, Crisman began as a general store and post office owned by G.S. Kelley. The Yellow Pine mine produced a silver-lead-copper ore, and miners of the Logan dug out high-grade gold and telluride ores giving the Logan the title as the richest mine in the country. Legend claims the gold from the mine was so pure it was transported directly to the Denver Mint.
Crisman again made news in 1881 with a great silver strike at the Yellow Pine mine, which quickly made Crisman one of the busiest towns in Four Mile Canyon. The Greeley, Salt Lake and Pacific made it a key stop on its mountain railroad, prompting the building of a rail station in Farnsworth’s General Store and the construction of a 10,000-gallon water tank in 1883. In just over ten years, the Yellow Pine Mine produced about $500,000 before the silver crash in 1893.
Colorado’s economy was suffering in the early 1890s, and the price of silver had been decreasing for several years. But it was the collapse of the silver market and the Panic of 1893 that sent Colorado, and the entire country, into a depression. Those who made millions on silver became paupers virtually overnight as the price of silver plummeted and banks failed. Boulder County was not a total loss as gold mines continued operating, and some of the silver mines hung on as long as possible. The town of Crisman struggled, but survived. The following year, however, would truly test the endurance of the town’s residents.
The May 31, 1894 flood hit Crisman hard with early reports claiming the town was nearly destroyed. Many of the houses in town were either washed away completely or severely damaged. William Hult, one of the mountain county commissioners, lost his store with all its groceries and stock, an estimated $2000. He was only able to save about $200 worth of goods and his horse. Along with the destruction of buildings, the stretch of railroad track near Crisman was totally obliterated by the floodwaters. Besides the early newspaper reports of damage, there was no later mention of how, or even if, the people of Crisman rebuilt what was lost.
The town managed to stay afloat for about another twenty years. In 1901 the Logan Mine struck another amazingly rich vein of gold that kept business in the community, but little else kept Crisman together. On May 31, 1918 the town’s post office officially shut down signaling the eventual demise of Crisman. Another flood on July 31, 1919 down Four Mile Canyon and Boulder Creeks washed out about seven hundred feet of rebuilt railroad track between Boulder and Crisman, heavily damaging two bridges, and indicating the inevitable extinction of the town. Some gold mining continued into the 1930s but little remains of Crisman today. |
