Nestled high in the rugged San Juan Mountains, the ghost town of Chattanooga, Colorado, stands as a silent testament to the region’s intense mining history. Located within the rich Red Mountain Mining District, approximately seven miles northwest of Silverton and three miles south of Red Mountain Pass, Chattanooga, Colorado, played a pivotal role in the area’s development.
Its story began in 1882, not as Chattanooga, but as a settlement named Sweetville. This nascent camp, situated below Red Mountain Pass at the head of Mineral Creek, near its confluence with Mill Creek, was quickly established around E.T. Sweet’s saloon—the very first business. Sweetville soon boasted a restaurant, a butcher shop, and a lumber yard. However, its existence was short-lived as a rival camp, dubbed Chattanooga, emerged right next door. By 1883, the two settlements merged, adopting Chattanooga’s name, and a post office was officially established in April. Frank Carol, the inaugural postmaster, honored his Tennessee hometown by bestowing its name upon this burgeoning Colorado camp.
The Flourishing Years: Growth and Infrastructure
The consolidation spurred rapid growth for Chattanooga. The year 1883 witnessed an explosion of development, with additional businesses like the Enterprise Restaurant, two mercantiles, and a hardware store quickly opening their doors. By the close of that year, more than 75 buildings had sprung up, transforming the once-modest camps into a thriving hub.
Crucially, 1883 also marked a significant infrastructural improvement. The San Juan County Commission awarded George W. Seaman a contract to grade a vital wagon road stretching south from Chattanooga to Silverton. This endeavor was not merely about connectivity; it was a strategic move to strengthen the county’s ties with the district and secure Silverton’s position as a gateway community over its competitor, Ouray. Concurrently, the Red Mountain Sampling & Concentrating Company organized and constructed a mill, designed to efficiently process the district’s abundant low-grade ore.
Strategically positioned at a lower elevation compared to many other towns in the Red Mountain Mining District, Chattanooga naturally evolved into a crucial supply center for the surrounding mining operations. This geographical advantage made it indispensable, especially during the harsh winter months when goods, supplies, and ore were often transported on sleds. As Chattanooga expanded, it became the vibrant epicenter for a cluster of nearby mines and the primary access point to the more substantial mining operations further north.
The Silverton Railroad and Peak Prosperity
A monumental development in Chattanooga’s history occurred in 1887 with the arrival of the renowned Silverton Railroad. This railway connection dramatically enhanced the town’s logistical capabilities. Just above Chattanooga lay the site of the Silverton Railroad’s famous loop—an engineering marvel that featured a dramatic 200-degree curve, ascending an impressive 500 feet over approximately 1.25 miles. Travelers today can trace this historic route, as the modern US 550 closely follows the path of this legendary loop as it climbs towards Red Mountain Pass.
At its zenith, Chattanooga boasted a population of 300 residents and a bustling business district. This vibrant commercial center included multiple grocery stores, bakeries, a drugstore, two butcher shops, three boarding houses, two restaurants, two general stores, a hotel, and no fewer than three saloons, catering to the needs and leisure of its industrious population.
Decline and Fleeting Revival
Despite its initial prosperity, Chattanooga’s fortunes began to wane as mining activity in its immediate vicinity started to decline. Concurrently, the arrival of the railroad, while initially beneficial, also diminished the town’s unique role as a supply center. Its population gradually shrank, and the town’s survival became increasingly reliant on traffic passing through to the broader Red Mountain district.
Chattanooga managed to endure the late 1880s recession, maintaining a modest business district that featured a mercantile and a combined saloon, restaurant, and boardinghouse, efficiently run by James Sheridan. By 1890, a surge in silver value sparked renewed optimism among residents, with hopes that several significant mining ventures, including the Bonner Mine to the south and the Silver Ledge Mine to the north, would revitalize the town.
However, fate had other plans. Around the time of the devastating silver panic that led to the closure of hundreds of Colorado’s silver mines, gold was discovered in the area. This discovery triggered a fresh wave of excitement, drawing hundreds of prospectors to Chattanooga to stake new claims. Yet, even this gold rush wasn’t enough to secure the town’s long-term future. In 1892, a catastrophic fire swept through the community, destroying most of its buildings, which were never rebuilt. The post office, a symbol of its civic life, closed permanently in 1894.
Despite these setbacks, a small collection of buildings continued to serve as a vital stop on the Silverton Railroad, and a few resilient prospectors and miners sporadically occupied cabins. By 1900, census records still indicated a population of 55 people, a testament to its lingering importance.
The Legacy of the Silver Ledge Mine
A final flicker of life returned to the site of Chattanooga, Colorado, in 1904, when the owners of the Silver Ledge Mine constructed a new mill there, injecting a fresh burst of activity into the area. Coinciding with this development, a new post office, appropriately named Silver Ledge, opened its doors the same year. The Silver Ledge Mine, during this period, produced not only some free gold but, more significantly, yielded substantial quantities of low-grade galena—a lead ore often rich in silver, zinc, cadmium, and arsenic. Remarkably, this mine achieved national recognition as the first in the country to successfully recover marketable amounts of zinc, drawing considerable attention to the small, tenacious community. At this time, it was one of only two mines still actively operating in the entire Red Mountain Mining District.
Regrettably, this resurgence was brief. Just two years later, in 1906, both the Silver Ledge Mine and its namesake post office ceased operations. By the 1910 U.S. Census, not a single person was reported living in the community, signifying the definitive end of Chattanooga’s era as a populated town. The once-promising Silver Ledge Mine, situated above Chattanooga, lay idle and dilapidated by 1920.
Chattanooga Today: A Fading Memory
Today, the site of Chattanooga, Colorado, exists primarily as a ghost town, with only a few scattered, weathered buildings standing as somber reminders of its once-vibrant past. These humble remnants whisper tales of the gold and silver rushes, the industrious miners, and the relentless spirit of those who sought their fortunes in the unforgiving embrace of the San Juan Mountains. Chattanooga remains an important, if quiet, landmark in the rich tapestry of Colorado’s mining heritage, a silent monument to the boom-and-bust cycles that defined an era.
