Colorado Ghost Town: Prospectors Lose Their Burros and Find Gold

High up in the mountains of central Colorado is the mining ghost town of Vicksburg.

Vicksburg was a mining camp founded back in 1867. The remnants of that camp can be seen in the gallery below.

Lost Burros Lead To Gold Discovery

As the story goes, some prospectors from Leadville were camping in Clear Creek Canyon and lost their burros which had wandered down the creek. When the prospectors found the burros they discovered gold in the creek bed and Vicksburg was born. Silver and lead were also found there.

At one time, Vicksburg had a post office, a school, a blacksmith, two hotels, two billiard halls, several saloons, a general store, an assay office, and a livery stable. The mining community once had a population of between 600 and 700 people and was named after Vick Keller who operated a general store.

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Trees Are Still Standing

One really cool feature of this ghost town is the balsam poplar trees that line the street.  They were packed in by early miners on burros and planted - and they are still standing today. They get water from ditches that lead from Vicksburg Creek into town. If you visit the camp, you'll also find some restored buildings along with equipment and remnants of the mining camp. You'll actually find two buildings that are privately owned and occupied and two museums.

Getting There

The Vicksburg Mining Camp is located in Clear Creek Canyon 15 miles northwest of Buena Vista on Forest Service Route 390 off Highway 24 between Buena Vista and Leadville. The camp was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.