Creede History

Creede was probably the wildest mining town in Colorado during its heyday. It lasted only three years. Nicholas Creede discovered silver in 1898, and in just one year it became a boom town. The population increased by 300 people a day, growing to more than 10,000 people until 1893 when the silver prices dropped drastically. But Creede has survived through all kinds of disasters, floods, fires, outlaws and infamous people like Bat Masterson and Calamity Jane. Now its population is around 600, increasing only during the summer months.

Creede maintains its early history through its Victorian architecture on Main Street, the Shotgun Graveyard, or “Boot Hill”, where some of the former, more colorful residents reside. Even Bob Ford, Jesse James' murderer, had a saloon of sorts in Creede until one of Jesse's gang shot him. Ford was buried in the cemetary until recently when one of his relatives claimed his body and took him back to his native state of Illinois.

For more information about Creede's history, please visit the Creede/Mineral County Chamber of Commerce Web site.