Tomboy Mine Ghost Town

One mile from Smuggler up Imogene Pass road is the Tomboy Mine Ghost Town located high above Telluride, Colorado in San Miguel County in the San Juan... more

by George Buxbaum

Title

Tomboy Mine Ghost Town

Artist

George Buxbaum

Medium

Photograph

Description

One mile from Smuggler up Imogene Pass road is the Tomboy Mine Ghost Town located high above Telluride, Colorado in San Miguel County in the San Juan Mountains. This mine was established in 1880 at an elevation of 11,500 feet in a glacial cirque known as Savage Basin. The Tomboy Mine had a peak population of 900 hardy souls. The town closed in 1927 when the ore at the Tomboy mine ran out. There is more here than at most Colorado ghost towns and the site is only accessible a few months out of the year.

Tomboy had a store, school, stable, and cabins for the miners. Unusual for an 1800s mining town, Tomboy also had a YMCA and tennis courts. Tomboy had secret side with a "social tunnel" along Tomboy Road where miners would meet women from nearby Telluride.

The Imogene pass road is rated a 4 out of 5 as far as 4wd difficulty and danger and is also the second highest pass in Colorado. Imogene Pass is not for the faint of heart. It was very slow traveling - steep inclines, narrow roads, hairpin turns, and 2-way traffic. At times, I had to have someone exit the jeep to help traverse the boulders in the road. Very much worth the trip up but not a road I would like to travel on a daily basis.

Uploaded

August 14th, 2016