Radium Colorado
Photos Mike Sinnwell August 2013
You can probably guess how this town got its name. Yep, lots of radium in the mines. Harry S Porter suggested the name in 1906 and it stuck. That radium was mined until the early 20th century. The town was settled by Tim Mugrage and his family. The primary local industry is livestock ranching. Radium Hot Springs is located on the river bank, a few miles south of Radium. Lots of rafters, cliff jumpers in this area as it is downstream from Gore Canyon on the Colorado River.
The mainline of the Union Pacific Railroad runs past the community, which is accessible by dirt and gravel roads only. Radium consists of a cluster of houses on the north side of a bridge on the Colorado. The Radium Recreation Site, part of the Upper Colorado River Special Recreation Management Area is on the south bank of the Colorado River across from the community.