History of Crested Butte
Crested Butte is rich in history!
The town was officially incorporated July 3, 1880 with a population of 400 people plus 1,000 miners living in the surrounding mountains. Howard F. Smith was the founding father of Crested Butte. Smith was brought to the area for coal and hard rock mining and would eventually become our first mayor. Some of his land was sold to the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company which insured Crested Butte’s place in the coal mining boom of the 1880s. By 1882, the town had grown to 1,000 people and had several businesses including banks, hotels, and saloons, one of which was visited by Butch Cassidy.
By the late 1880s, Crested Butte’s coal mining industry was the major economic driving force until the decline that began in 1952 and almost turned the booming town into just another ghost town. The railroad tracks were removed and life reverted to a much slower pace as Crested Butte struggled over the next decade. In 1960, Dick Eflin and Fred Rice purchased the Malensek Ranch and in 1962, their company, Crested Butte LTD, opened the ski resort. For 60 years the lifts have been spinning and Crested Butte has turned into a year-round destination bringing people from all over the world!
