Parkville, Summit County, Colorado Explained

Parkville
Settlement Type:Ghost town
Coordinates:39.4989°N -105.95°W
Elevation Ft:9,980
Population Total:0
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Colorado
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Summit County

Parkville (also known as Park City) is a ghost town located in, and the original county seat of, Summit County, Colorado, United States. Parkville was a gold mining camp that flourished from 1860 to 1866 near the confluence of the middle and south forks of the Swan River.[1]

History

Parkville was established around 1860 in Georgia Gulch near Swan River, with cabins by 1861. The population of the site soon rose to around 1,800.[2] When the new Territory of Colorado created its 17 original counties on November 1, 1861, Parkville was designated the Summit County seat. At its creation, Summit County covered roughly the entire northwest portion of the Colorado Territory. Parkville was the site of among the earliest Freemason lodges in Colorado, with Summit Lodge No.2 among the lodges established with the formation of the Grand Lodge of Colorado. The earliest minutes from the Summit County commissioners shows that they rented the Masonic hall for meetings and county and district court.[3]

The region's gold rush drove much of Parkville's 1861 growth, with its discoveries among the most valuable in Colorado history; up to $800 of gold was mined daily.[2] This saw the production of territorial gold token mintage at Parkville during the summer of 1861. These tokens–valued at $2.50, $5, and $10–were coined by J.J. Conway & Co. out of gold dust. These tokens did not look like standard U.S. coinage and were of varying fineness and weight, thus losing the confidence of the townsfolk.[4]

Parkville, then the largest town in the region, was "the logical choice" to become the Summit County seat.[2] Parkville lost a 1861 vote to become the territorial capital by eleven votes; after the county seat was moved to Breckenridge due to Parkville's lack of facilities, Parkville would become a ghost town by 1882.[5] [6] [7] The former Parkville townsite is preserved as part of the Parkville Open Space, a 44-acre lot owned and operated by Summit County.[8] By 1911, later hydraulic mining had buried much of the former townsite in waste rock and the Masonic cemetery is among the few remaining visible relics.[5] [9]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Parkville (historical): Summary Report. United States Geological Survey. Geographic Names Information System. October 13, 1978. February 27, 2023.
  2. News: Parkville becomes Colorado ghost town. November 6, 2002. Miller. Ruth. Colorado Community Media. March 1, 2023.
  3. Web site: Summit Lodge No.2, A.F. & A.M.. Longmont Masons. August 14, 2009. February 27, 2023.
  4. Web site: Colorado Gold!. American Numismatic Association. Colorado Springs, CO. March 1, 2023. Money.org.
  5. News: Largest town in Summit County buried. Kenneth. Jessen. 12 May 2018. 7 March 2023. Loveland Reporter-Herald. Loveland, CO.
  6. Web site: Parkville Colorado Townsite – Ghost town. Colorado Ghost Towns. 2006. Michael J.. Sinnwell. March 1, 2023.
  7. News: Summit County mining history runs deep after prospectors first struck gold near Breckenridge in 1859. Summit Daily. Deepan. Dutta. 18 August 2018. 7 March 2023.
  8. Web site: Featured Properties. Community Development Department, Summit County, Colorado. March 1, 2023.
  9. Book: Ransome, Frederick Leslie. Geology and Ore Deposits of the Breckenridge District, Colorado. United States Geological Survey. Professional Paper. 75. Washington, D.C.. 17. 1911. 7 March 2023.