Town of Crested Butte

About this property

Crested Butte is a home rule town located in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 1,639 at the 2020 United States census. A former coal mining town nestled in the Slate River Valley, Crested Butte is now known as a destination for skiing, mountain biking, and outdoor activities. The East River Valley where Crested Butte is located was once used as a summer residence by the Ute people. However, they were quickly displaced when European-Americans first entered the area. The first white people to explore the valley were beaver trappers, shortly followed by surveyors. Captain John Gunnison, after whom Gunnison County is named, was one of the early explorers to enter the area, leading a expedition in 1853. In the 1860s and 1870s coal and silver mines began to open in the surrounding area, and many little mining towns formed. The Crested Butte, Colorado, post office opened on May 26, 1879, and the Town of Crested Butte was incorporated on July 15, 1880. Mining, along with ranching, formed the nexus of the local economy. However, when silver mining began to decline, many of these towns failed. Crested Butte, however, was in a better position to survive because it served as a supply town to the surrounding area. When the coal mines closed, the town began to shrink, and eventually the local high school was closed. After graduating the class of 1965 (from 1966 until 1990), the Crested Butte public school only facilitated K-5 students, while 6th grade and higher attended school in Gunnison. The town did not revive until a ski area was built on Crested Butte Mountain in the 1960s. The ski resort was constructed on the former Malensek Ranch, in what is now the neighboring community of Mt. Crested Butte. The resort rapidly revitalized the town's economy around tourism. As a result of the renewed growth, Crested Butte began to offer middle school in the railroad depot building in 1990. In 1992, a new middle school was completed which allowed the public school to facilitate grades K through 8. Finally in 1997, a new facility for the Crested Butte Community School was completed. This included the addition of a public high school so that the school now serves students in grades K-12. In 1993 the Crested Butte Academy opened in Crested Butte, bringing a private high school into town. However, on July 9, 2008, the academy was closed permanently due to financial difficulties that had plagued its entire existence. The town has changed from a mining town to a tourist retreat catering to the affluent as the ski resort has taken over the local economy. This has led to a housing crisis- the average home in Crested Butte is worth over $900,000.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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