Wm. Henry Jackson

Piute's Monthly DPL Pix

Wm. Henry Jackson

This Month: August

Creede, Colorado

This is a monthly feature of Piute's Pix Picks from the Denver Public Library's Collection of over 85,000 photos. Every month is based on a common theme.

Photos used with permission from The Denver Public Library/Western History Collection.
DPL Photo Collection

I lived in Creede for 6 years and have a personal interest in this Month's subject. It was here, I was given the name "Piute" and am darn Proud of it. I started working in the Theatre and went in to mining and when the mine petered out, did odd jobs for the rest of my stay. As Happy as I was to leave town, I was Sad to leave this town of 600 souls.

Due to my intimate knowledge of the photo subjects I've chosen, this is the only set of pix to which I will add my own Personal Comments to the DPL captions.

Out of 266 photos I chose 36. I admit it, I was having too much fun reminiscing. I still didn't get in as many a I would have liked. I wasn't able to get in as many mine pix as I wanted. I may, in the future, do a month of Creede Mines. I also couldn't get in any pix of some of the nearby towns of Bachelor or Weaver. Those I did pick, were chosen for historical value, modeling ideas and my own personal connections. The rest of the photos can be seen by going to the DPL site and doing a search with the Keyword "Creede". If you do, plan to spend some time. I did!

To view Photos click on link. Use your browsers back, to return.

Creede main street as it looked in 1896 People stand on the sidewalk in front of commercial storefronts on the unpaved street in the town of Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County. Architectural elements include one and two-story, wood-frame and masonry buildings, with flat roofs, cornices, striped awnings, gables, lattice work and a balcony. A cart is parked at the side of the street. The steep, narrow canyon that surrounds the town is in the background. Date 1896. Call Number X-7919 Compare this 1896 pic with the next 1977 one.
Main Street, Creede, Colorado Cars are parked along Main Street in Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County. The buildings include one and two-story commercial storefronts with gables, flat roofs, cornices, and large, showcase windows. Trees grow on the rocky, steep canyon that surrounds the town. Date 1977. Photographer Noel, Thomas J. (Thomas Jacob) Call Number X-7453 This is how Creede looked when I first moved here in 1977. Things hadn't changed much in 81 years. The first building, on the right was one of the four Liquor Stores in town. It was owned by my friends, the Spingers. The second story of the two story, light colored building, behind the Liquor Store, known as the "Boarding House", housed some of the Theatre Company and was where we took our meals. Three of the town's four bars can be seen in this photo. On the left, the taller brick building between lower building with the awnnings and the one with the peaked roof was the "Old Miners Inn". Further up the street, also on the left, the white, oval sign marks the "Candle Glow Inn". Across the street from the Candle Glow, is the "Creede Hotel Bar", which I discuss more, in the next few pix.
Creede Hotel The town of Creede, Colorado, is situated in a narrow, rocky, canyon in Mineral County. The Creede Hotel and a wood-frame house with a gable are on a paved street. The hotel has an uneven roofline and a small balcony at the front of it. "Creede Hotel," "Historical Creede Hotel Good Food, Famous Guests Alice Tubbs, Bat Masterson, Soapy Smith" and "Creede Hotel Bar" signs show. Date [1965?]. Photographer Dallas, Sandra. Call Number X-7470 The Theatre I worked in is visable behind the Hotel. Next to it is the "Creede Hotel Bar", which was my first stop when I went to Creede to apply for the Theatre job. I ended up spending many an hour in the Hotel Bar.
Zang's Hotel, Creede, Colorado Men, a woman, and three dogs are in front of "Zang's Hotel," and "Zang's Hotel Annex" in Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County. Architectural elements of the building include clapboard siding, a balcony, lattice- work, a false front with a cornice, and a covered porch. A wood sidewalk is in front of the building. The steep, rocky hillsides that surround the town are behind the hotel. Date [1895?]. Call Number X-7478 This and the next pic, show how little change was made to the Hotel in the 82? years since it's conception and my first visit.
Zang's Hotel, Creede, Colo. People stand in a row in front of "Zang's Hotel" and "Zang's Hotel Annex" in the town of Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County. A horse is hitched to a wagon near two dogs. A man sits in the window of the main hotel building. Architectural features include: one and two-stories, clapboard siding, a false front, lattice work, a balcony, and a cornice. The hills that surround the town are in the background. Date [1892?]. Call Number X-7474 A good view of the front of the Hotel and it's Annex, which became the Hotel Bar.
Rear view of Zang's Hotel A woman and a man stand in a yard near farm animals, including hogs, a horse, and a dog, near a masonry building with a gable in the town of Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County. A man stands behind the picket fence behind the same building. A man stands in front of a clapboard house in the background. A water tower, a smokestack with puffs of smoke coming out of the top of it, and the back of Zang's Hotel are in the background. The hills that surround the town are in the background. Date [1895?]. Call Number X-7910 I have always found this to be one of the more interesting photos I've ever seen of old Creede. I find the intrest in how much has changed and how much has stayed the same. It's interesting to note that everything behind the "Cribs", I mean the stone building behind the Bar, is built over Willow Creek. where the man is standing, the fences and the two shacks on either side of him were bridged over the creek. The horse is on solid ground. They are all gone, now and have been replaced by the Flume (see next pic). The rear of the Theater is about two feet to the right of the "Cribs" and like them, but right up to the Flume.
Creede - 1967 - Willlow Creek ditch through town View of a concrete ditch, lined by a chain link fence and residences, in Creede, Colorado. Date 1967. Photographer Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 8-1977. Call Number X-3800 Known locally as "The Flume", it was designed to prevent flooding. The ingenious design would double capacity as the water rose. I have an interesting story about my friend Fitch, the Flume and his Birthday, which I can't relate here but if you E-mail me and Fitch doesn't threaten my life, I might tell you. The back of the Creede Congregational Church can be seen on the left.
The Denver & Rio Grande Western station in Creede, CO prior to its conversion into a museum The Creede train depot is along the tracks of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in the town of Creede, Colorado in Mineral County. The one-story building has front and side gables, shingles, a chimney, and board-and-baten siding. Weeds grow around the foundation. Snow-covered mountains are in the background. Signs include "Creede," "D&RGWRR Royal Gorge Route Scenic Line," and "Creede Grocery Pepsi." Date May 9, 1973. Photographer Sibert, E. H. Call Number X-7923 I have to get some Train Pix in, so here are some. This one is from the time I first went to Creede, in 1973, with my friend Mike Ramsey. The rest are before my time.
Creede railroad station The tracks of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad pass by the train depot in Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County. The depot building is a one-story structure with gables, a steeply-pitched roof, and the railroad's logo under the gables of the building. Date [1910?]. Call Number X-7480
The first D&RG train arriving in Creede Men and boys sit or stand on a train, or in a crowd on the timber platform beside a Denver & Rio Grande Railroad passenger train, the first to arrive in Creede (Mineral County), Colorado. Shows horse teams and wagons near the train, timber buildings in Creede, houses on a hillside, and signs that read: "The Free Coinage, Hotel, Restaurant" and "Sign Painting." Date 1892 February Photographer Hilton, E. F. Call Number CHS.X4501
Early days in Creede Passengers wait on a crowded train platform of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad in the town of Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County. Bearded men sit or stand atop train cars in front of a platform at the tracks. One of the three tracks is higher on the grade than the other two. Crowds of people wait around the elevated passenger train platform with luggage, crates, furniture, and a mattress. Smoke rises from the front stack of the passenger train. Date [1895?]. Call Number X-7476 This same pic is also listed as R.R. Depot, Jimtown, Colo. Men sit on top of a train, on a timber sidewalk, or near a passenger train and Denver & Rio Grande Railroad tracks at a railroad depot in Creede (Mineral County), Colorado. Supplies and belongings stacked on the sidewalk include a mattress, wooden crates and trunks, and probably furniture. Smoke is above a passenger train. Rio Grande & Southern freight cars are on tracks nearby. Signs on timber commercial buildings read: "Hord & Farwell Groceries," and "Denver Headquarters." Cabins and possibly mine buildings are on a hillside. Date [1892?] Photographer Hilton, E. F. Call Number CHS.X4500
Jail at Creede View of a one-story, jail in Creede (Mineral County), Colorado. The jail has stucco finish with cracks, a brick chimney, slightly sloping roof and barred windows. Shows wood framed buildings and the portion of a pipe. Date [between 1940 and 1950?] Photographer Zellers, Bob. Call Number CHS.X5887 No, I was never locked up in this particular one. It was before my time.
Creede Courthouse View of the one-story Mineral County Courthouse in Creede (Mineral County), Colorado. The building has a stucco finish, a gable roof, sash-type windows and steps. The annexed portion of the backside of the building contains possibly a water pump. Shows an automobile fender and license plate, a telephone poll and a dirt road. A sign reads: "Mineral County Courthouse." Date [1942] Photographer Zellers, Bob. Call Number CHS.X5892
Elks Hall A man stands on the corner on the boardwalk in front of the Elks building in the town of Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County. The building is a two-story, brick structure with a flat roof, a cornice, and rectangular windows that span the first story. Striped fabric is draped across the windows of the second story, and American flags are crossed over each other above the gabled entrance to the building. Date [1905?]. Call Number X-7489 The Elk's Club takes up the entire second story of this building. It was accessed by a steep, well worn staircase behind he arched doorway in the center of the front of the building. I was allowed to join, well after I had left town but never did. Guess the cheaper beer wasn't worth the cost of the trip.
Creede Elk's Hall View of probably Main Street in Creede (Mineral County), Colorado. Shows commercial-style buildings, storefronts, people, sidewalks, unpaved road, parked cars and signs that read: "Conoco," "Good Year Tires," "Soapy Place" and "Creede Pool Hall and Barber Shop..." Canyon walls are in the distance. Date [between 1940 and 1950?] Photographer Zellers, Bob. Call Number CHS.X5893 The large, brick building on the right is actually the other end of the Elks Building. When I lived here, the first store front, was my friend's, Claudia's Liquor Store. Funny that all the Liquor Stores owners were my friends. This was the second of four Liquor Stores in town. Unfortunately, there are no DPL Pix of the other two.
Creede Church Saint Augustine's Mission Episcopal Church, Creede, Mineral County, Colorado, was built in 1907 and features: a front gable with a Celtic cross on top, a covered entryway, clapboard siding, and pointed windows. Cars are parked in the parking lot and a Standard station is across the street. Date [between 1950 and 1965]. Photographer Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Call Number X-4710 I chose this pic to show that, yes, there are Churches in Creede. Four, all together, three working and one chapel of Historical interest. Also, I once lived across the street from the Standard Station, catty corner from the Church.
Creede Congregational Church View of the two story Congregational Church in Creede, Colorado; features a side gable, bell tower with pyramidal roof and finial, brick walls, wood gableboard, semicircular arch window and door bays, decorative brickwork at the corners and around the doors, and wood shingles on the offset bell tower; beams of a wood bridge cross a cement lined canal in the foreground. Date [between 1933 and 1966]. Photographer Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Call Number X-3897
Cemetery - above Creede View of the cemetery in Creede, Colorado showing a small chapel enclosed by a metal fence; chapel features a front gable with return, arched pointed windows (covered) and a small steeple with a cross on top; low hills in the background. Date 1942. Photographer Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Call Number X-3290 I did not know of this ever being used while I lived in Creede. The old road to the Homestake Bulldog mine, where I worked, passed right by it.
Beer depot thru which the Zang Brewing Co. of Denver distributed their beer A wagon drawn by a team of horses is parked next to a brewery in the town of Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County. The driver sits in the cart and a man stands next to the wagon. The building is a two-story, wood- frame structure with gables, shingles, chimneys, rectangular windows, and a covered porch with spindles. Snow covers the ground and the hills in the background. A "Beer Depot of P.H. Zang Brewing Co. Jno. Knodel, Agt." shows. Date [1900?]. Call Number X-7459
Creede, Colorado Holy Moses Saloon Two men stand in the open doorway of the Holy Moses Saloon, which is next to the narrow, rocky, canyon walls that surround the town of Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County. The building is a one-story, clapboard storefront with a broken cornice and a transom over the front door. A step leads from the narrow, wood-plank sidewalk in front of part of the building to the entrance of the building. A barrel lies on its side near the entrance. Date [1890?]. Call Number X-7488
First National Bank, Creede Men and a boy pose on the wooden sidewalk outside the First National Bank building in Creede (Mineral County), Colorado. The two-story building has a flat roof, projecting windows on the second floor, a balcony, and a corner entrance. Signs read: "First National Bank," "Drafts On All Parts Of The World," "Foreign Exchange," "Carpenter and McBird, Attorneys at Law," "Rucker & Spurgeon, Attorneys at Law," and "The Famous Masonic Temple Cigar Store." A carved cigar store Indian is on the sidewalk. Date [between 1890 and 1895?] Call Number CHS.X4710
Creede, Colorado Store Fronts A group of people in the town of Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County, stand on the porch of a store and along the dirt road in front of it and look into the distance. A man sits on a horse, and several of the men hold shovels and picks over their shoulders. Architectural features of the wood-frame commercial storefronts include a false front, shingles, and large, display windows. The canton behind the town is in the background. "Wallpaper prints, Quinn Bros. Painters Supplies, House and Sign Painting Canvasing, Paperhanging," "Warren Coulson New Second Hand Goods Bought and Sold, "Carpenter Tools for Sale Cheap," "The Cafe Olds Bros. Prop'rs" signs show on the street. Date [between 1890 and 1900]. Photographer Pascoe, E. E. Call Number X-7457 Acording to another DPL pic, Bob Ford's Saloon was to the right of "The Cafe".
Bob Ford's old bar, at which he was killed Bob Ford's bar in the town of Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County, is a canvas tent with a ladder leaning next to it and a wood crate near it. A log cabin is under construction in the background. The steep, rocky hills that surround the town are covered with trees. Date between 1880 and 1892]. Call Number X-7482 This pic is taken from an old post card. It very doubtful that this is Bob Ford's Saloon or even has anything to do with Ford. If the caption indicating that Ford's Saloon was nearby, notice that the background hills look nothing alike. Also, there is a plaque, across from the Elk's Hall, that claims to be the site of the Saloon. Again the backgrounds don't match. You'll have to take my word for it as I can't find any DPL pix of this site. Better yet, go to Creede and see for yourself.
Willow Creek Canon between Upper Creede & Creede, Colo. Steep, narrow, rocky Willow Creek Canyon separates the main part of the town of Creede, Colorado, in Mineral County, from Lower Creede, in the background. The tracks of the Denver & Rio Grande Western run through the center of town. Wood-frame structures are built on both sides of the track. Evergreen trees grow on the steep slopes above the town. Date [between 1890 and 1900]. Photographer Hoer, F. A. Call Number X-7434 Time for a little geography lesson. Creede was composed of three connected towns running up the canyon along Willow Creek. Lower Creede or Jimtown, at the mouth of the canyon, Stringtown, running up the narrow part of the canyon and Upper or North Creede up where East and West Willow Creek join to become Willow Creek. To go up this canyon, today, you would never know there was a town in this part of the canyon or even where they could have put one.
Creed, near Willow Creek junction View of Denver and Rio Grande Railroad tracks in North Creede (Mineral County), Colorado. Men walk on the railroad tracks. A group of men stand outside the Arcade Saloon. A sign reads: "Arcade Restaurant." Shows a log building, and a rock formation is in the distance. Date [between 1882 and 1900?] Photographer Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942. Call Number CHS.J2681 The Northern part of Stringtown starts to blend into North Creede which is to the right of the large flat topped mountian in the right center. Note the pointed rock formation in the center. It shows up in the next couple of pix.
Upper Creede, looking north Men and boys pose on probably Main Street in Creede (Mineral County), Colorado. Men identified as A.L. Moses and C.L. Graves stand on a wooden sidewalk in front of "Miner's Bank", and wear cowboy hats, jackets and ties. Men and boys pose beside a horse-drawn stagecoach and a wagon. Multi-story commercial buildings have false fronts, and signs read: "Ouray Saloon," "Pioneer Store," "Groceries" and "World's Fare Cafe." Denver & Rio Grande narrow gauge tracks are in the street. Date [between 1889 and 1898?] Photographer Erdlen, C. W. Call Number CHS.X4455 Alhough none of these buildings remain, there are now several homes in this area. Most being quite old.
Creede - 1947 north (upper) View of a horizontal log building with a covered porch built up against a sheer cliff wall, North Creede, Colorado; features an oddly angled window that parallels the roofline and is a part of a gable which juts out from the cliff face; additional wing perpendicular to the main portion of the building with a ladder leaning up against it. Date 1947. Photographer Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Call Number X-5170 A friend of mine rented this home and I visited it several times. It's interesting to see the bedroom where the entire back wall is solid rock.
N. Creede An artist (possibly Muriel Wolle) sketches two log buildings in the city of North Creede (also known as Upper Creede, Creede, and Creedetown), Mineral County, Colorado. The jagged peaks of the canyon are behind the buildings. Date 1942. Photographer Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Call Number X-5772 I'm not sure if these two building still exist but these are the type of homes that now make up North Creede.
Creede, Colorado Future site of Humphreys Mine/Mill The tracks of the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad are laid through Creede (Jimtown, Upper Creede), in Mineral County, Colorado, beneath a cone-shaped rock on the mountainside. Boxcars are on the tracks that lead into the canyon. Piles of lumber are near the tracks, as well as wood-frame residences and commercial structures. A mine and a pile of tailings are on the hillside near the rock. Date [between 1890 and 1899]. Call Number X-7436 From here, if you were to go up East Willow, you would be in North Creede. Taking the West Willow side, would take you up a steep hill to the Commodore Mine in the next few pix. Note the change from this pic and the next, taken from almost the same place.
Humphreys Mine View of the Humphreys Tunnel Mine and Mill near Creede (Mineral County), Colorado. Date 1901. Call Number X-61934 The light colored tailings in the upper center, carry the mine trackage from the Commodore Mine. See pic #31.
Humphreys Mill View of the Humphreys Mill near Creede (Mineral County), Colorado. Ore cars of the Denver and Rio Grand Railroad Company (D&RG) are nearby. Date 1901. Call Number X-61957
Commodore Mine near Creede Dilapidated mine buildings cling to steep cliffsides near a conical rock outcropping near Creede, Mineral County, Colorado. Date June 1959. Photographer Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Call Number X-5152 Although it can't readily be seen in this pic, mine trackage ran from the Commodore Porthole, on the right behind the Ore Dock, around behind the pointed rock formation to the upper levels of the Humphreys Mill, mentioned in pic #29.
Creede (loading station, Commodore Mine) View of the Commodore Mine loading station along a road and the steep canyon walls, near Creede, Mineral County, Colorado, shows prominent rock outcroppings in the background. Date June 1959. Photographer Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Call Number X-5149 Shortly before I arrived, in Creede, this was still being used and I heard stories of fully loaded trucks coming down this hill. At the time, one had better pay attention when traveling up this hill to points beyond.
Ridge Mine East Willow Creek, Creede Buildings from the East Willow Creek Ridge Mine are in various states of disrepair at the bottom of the canyon near Creede, Mineral County, Colorado. Date June 1959. Photographer Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Call Number X-5156 These are some of the loading docks. The mine, it's self, is actually way up on top of the ridge in the background, just out of site, to the left. When I first visited in 1973, there was a loading dock, on the other side of the road, with a cable that went all the way up to the mine. By the time I returned, in 1977, the cable had been removed and the dock torn down, for "Safety" reasons.
Ridge Mine - East Willow Creek near Creede Buildings from the Ridge Mine along East Willow Creek are in various states of disrepair at the bottom of a canyon near Creede, Mineral County, Colorado. Date June 1959. Photographer Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Call Number X-5157
East Willow, Solomon Mill View of the remains of the collapsed Solomon Mill at the base of the cliffs along East Willow Creek, near Creede (Mineral County), Colorado. Date 1959. Photographer Wolle, Muriel Sibell, 1898-1977. Call Number X-5159 This ruin seemed to be a good place to end my seies of Creede Pix Picks.

[Top]

Other Months

May [Mines] June [Train Wrecks] July [4th of July]
Sept. [Loop to Mt McCellan]

Back to LSC Home

For information about purchasing photoprints, Click Here. Please note call number.

Comments

counter

Visitors