The town of Creede is named after Nicholas Creede who in the late 1880’s discovered silver in the Rio Grande Valley near present day Creede. As the mining operations began the town exploded in population. At one time 10,000 people lived in the area.
Parked at the north end of town
Down town Creede
We headed north of down town to check things out
Willow Creek
Mining in the Creede continued for a long time, the last mine in Creede finally closed in 1985. Today the big industry in Creede is tourism. The seven block downtown area is lined with historic buildings and sits against a backdrop of volcanic cliffs that rise to almost 1,000 feet. It is quite the sight when you ride though town and finally get a glimpse of the rocks behind the buildings.
A memorial in Creede
There is a fire station inside this cave
Inside the fire station
4th of July is one of the businesses days of the year in Creede. The population of town grown from 300 to over 10,000 according to the internet. There is a 4th of July parade that starts at 10am. Also the Mining Championships happen that weekend, called the Day's of ‘92 - as in 1892. The competition includes spike driving, tomahawk throwing, hand and machine mucking and single jack drilling. There are also fireworks, although we didn’t stick around for that.
Remnants of the old mining days
Willow Creek runs through down town Creede
I don't think that door goes anywhere
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