Buena Vista - Colorado Ghost Town

BUENA VISTA

NAME: Buena Vista
COUNTY: Chaffee
ROADS: 2WD
GRID: 5
CLIMATE: Cold winter with snow, cool summer
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Summer

COMMENTS: On S.R. 24.
REMAINS: A few original buildings.

Buena Vista is one of a number of towns to claim the dubious honor of "the most lawless town in the West." More of a supply depot than a mining town, Buena Vista in the 1880s was the terminus of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway, the nearest town to the booming mining camp of Leadville. Passengers going to Leadville from Buena Vista were forced to travel the 34 miles by stagecoach. The fare was $5 per person. The population of Buena Vista during the '80s was around 1500 and was considered somewhat of a metropolis with its several hundred buildings, some well built hotels, saloons and gambling houses galore. One of better early West towns to have preserved much of its past, it is southwest of Denver on highway 24. A good town to visit. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.

Buena Vista is one of a number of towns to claim the dubious honor of "the most lawless town in the West." More of a supply depot than a mining town, Buena Vista in the 1880s was the terminus of the Denver and Rio Grande Railway, the nearest town to the booming mining camp of Leadville. Passengers going to Leadville from Buena Vista were forced to travel the 34 miles by stagecoach. The fare was $5 per person. The population of Buena Vista during the '80s was around 1500 and was considered somewhat of a metropolis with its several hundred buildings, some well built hotels, saloons and gambling houses galore. One of better early West towns to have preserved much of its past, it is southwest of Denver on highway 24. A good town to visit. Submitted by Henry Chenoweth.

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