Business District

Business District. Surviving in Independence. Archaeological evidence indicates that at least 47 businesses served Independence during its boom, suggesting it was well on its way to becoming a significant mining town. R. Bailey opened a branch of the Bank of Pitkin County and George C. Hickey hauled in a printing press and published The Miner, a short-lived local newspaper. Other entrepreneurs opened three groceries, a mercantile, two drugstores, several liquor and tobacco shops, a butcher shop, a barber shop and a bakery. These new businesses served the needs of residents and prospectors with supplies that had to be hauled over the Continental Divide at a great expense., Nearly all the buildings have been reduced to earthen platforms and ruins except for a few including this one, known as the General Store. Historically, it was a commercial building, possibly even a general store according to archaeological records, and is one of the few buildings restored in the 1980s., Naturalist Note: , The town was built on the north side of the valley with a south aspect. While most miners worked and lived on their claims in the surrounding mountains, the town's location took advantage of the greatest sun exposure. Solar gain provides heat for homes and businesses, and melts the snow earlier , a plus after a long winter., Captions: , Left: Plat for Chipeta City aka Independence, circa 1880. , Right: General Store and buildings along Aspen Avenue, circa 1950.