Shavano Colorado update
I was told there was nothing left to see. If you expected standing structures you would be correct. Look closely and walk through the woods and by the creek and you should discover many foundations of all sizes and shapes. Let your imagination run wild about what stood on those foundations and what happened to them. Like hand hewn logs used to build cabins and perhaps a hotel – saloon – boarding house. Check both sides of the road and follow the trails. The location is at about 11,000 feet and due to the remoteness and problems getting to the site most of the mining was seasonal. They even built a toll road from Maysville to Shavano. The facts that the ore was low grade and difficult to transport out made it impossible to continue. Shavano only lasted a couple years and the town never really grew to any size, perhaps 100 people. It had several general stores, a saloon or two, smelter and sawmill. Gold was discovered here in 1879 and by 1880 the town was plotted out. Some say it covered 90 to 120 acres and 30 or more log cabins. Like many Colorado mining towns, it flourished, died away, flourished again and then faded into the forest. By the 1910 it was a ghost town.