Cabin in Independence Ghost Town, just off State Highway 82 through the "Top of the Rockies" route through Independence Pass in Pitkin County, below the Continental Divide in the Colorado Rockies

Remnants of a cabin in Independence Ghost Town, just off State Highway 82 through the "Top of the Rockies" route through Independence Pass in Pitkin County, below the Continental Divide in the Colorado Rockies

Colorful ranch buildings near Twin Lakes, at the base of Mount Elbert in Lake County, Colorado. The little settlement effectively forms the eastern end of the winding "Top of the Rockies" route through Independence Pass from Aspen on the western end

An alpine field near Independence Pass along the "Top of the Rockies" road between Aspen and Twin Lakes in Colorado

Winter scene east of Aspen, Colorado, on the highway that leads to Twin Lakes over Independence Pass

Log cabins near Twin Lakes, at the base of Mount Elbert in Lake County, Colorado. The little settlement effectively forms the eastern end of the winding "Top of the Rockies" route through Independence Pass from Aspen on the western end

Cabin in Crystal, Colorado, a virtual ghost town in a valley on the upper Crystal River in Gunnison County, on a precipitous, a four-wheel-drive-only road between Marble and Crested Butte

Cabin in Independence Ghost Town, just off State Highway 82 through the "Top of the Rockies" route through Independence Pass in Pitkin County, below the Continental Divide in the Colorado Rockies

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Summary

Title, date and keywords based on information provided by the photographer.
A ghost town since 1912, it was the first settlement in the valley, after gold was struck on Independence Day, July 4, 1879, hence its name. The town has also been known historically by other names: Chipeta, Mammoth City, Mount Hope, Farwell, Sparkill and Hunter's Pass. Like other early settlements in the upper Roaring Fork Valley, it lost population over the course of the decade as Aspen emerged as the ideal location for commerce in the region.
Credit line: Gates Frontiers Fund Colorado Collection within the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
Gift; Gates Frontiers Fund; 2015; (DLC/PP-2015:068).
Forms part of: Gates Frontiers Fund Colorado Collection within the Carol M. Highsmith Archive.

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Cabin in Independence Ghost Town, just off State Highway 82 through the "Top of the Rockies" route through Independence Pass in Pitkin County, below the Continental Divide in the Colorado Rockies

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Cabin in Independence Ghost Town, just off State Highway 82 through the "Top of the Rockies" route through Independence Pass in Pitkin County, below the Continental Divide in the Colorado Rockies

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