Gilman, Colorado

Gilman, Colorado as with Centralia is a former mining town, also in common with Centralia it was abandoned relatively recently but it doesn't seem to be as famous as Centralia.

Now on private property it is strictly out of bounds without permission though some photographs of the town in its abandoned  and sadly vandalised state do exist.

It was founded in 1886 during the Colorado Silver Boom and centred on the now flooded Eagle Mine. The boom ended in 1893 and many towns became ghost towns in the period immediately afterwards. However, Gilman survived until 1984 even though it was nearly destroyed by a fire in 1899. As with Centralia, Gilman was quite a thriving town in its heyday with theatres, shops, hotels and schools.


The abandonment of the town was ordered by the Environmental Protection Agency due to toxic pollutions and contaminated water, but by this point the mines were not profitable either.

As you can see from the card (undated but from the 1907-1914 period) the town is rather high up. It sits at an elevation of  2,700 metres on a cliff of around 180 metres high.

The town today is relatively well preserved and includes cars and trucks left behind by their owners.

For photographs of the town today, as well as information on other ghost towns I recommend the below link.

http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/co/gilman.html

For a detailed history and some really cool photos check out the below.

http://substreet.org/gilman-colorado/