Two interesting mountain spots may be seen in this locality. Rosita, which dates from 1873, is a true ghost town with no one living there in 1960 save the postmistress. But Silver Cliff is no ghost, despite the fact that it was for a decade or more from 1910 on. Both are former county seats of Custer County, and both lost the honor as their silver mines gave out. Silver Cliff is five years younger than Rosita and experienced a much greater boom than any other mining camp in Colorado with the exception of Leadville. Its first shipment of ore from the gargantuan and unique silver cliff (site of both photos) was in 1878. The population rose to some fifteen thousand in 1881 at the peak of its three-year rush. The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad reached there in May, 1881, and was welcomed with celebration. Its fire department, established in 1879 in the Town Hall (the lonely building facing this way in the 1960 shot, and now a museum), soon distinguished itself as a frequent winner in the state tournaments of hose cart races for volunteer firemen.... Rosita (which means “Little Rose” in Spanish) was the principal town in the Wet Mountain Valley for five years before Silver Cliff and Westcliff (now the county seat) usurped its priority. It had the honor of being the subject of an article written by Helen Hunt Jackson and published in _Scribners Monthly_ for May, 1878. The author (“H. H.”) claimed there were three hundred mines at the time—but she probably did not know a mine from a prospect hole. She stayed at an inn called _The House of the Snowy Range_, and her descriptions made Rosita and its setting sound as poetically unique as its name. [Illustration: W. Cross, circa 1890; U.S.G.S.] ROSITA’S HANDSOMEST HOUSE LIVED ON In the 1890 photo the ornate two-story house (seen below) stood at the righthand end of the main street, facing this way. In 1960 the house next was gone except for some lumber on the ground; the third house still stood. The mansion bore a sign Post Office which was tacked up in 1957 during the filming of _Saddle the Wind_, a movie that starred Robert Taylor and used Rosita for atmosphere. Both are now gone. [Illustration: D.K.P., 1960] [Illustration: L. C. McClure, 1900-1909; D.P.L.] SILVER CLIFF CHOSE A MAGNIFICENT BACKDROP Silver Cliff boomed in 1879 to such an extent that it rivaled Leadville for a decade. For a short period it was the third largest town in Colorado and it has never been a true ghost town, although much fallen from its former opulence. What has never changed is the view from the silver cliff, facing the town, across the Wet Mountain Valley to the spectacular reddish Sangre de Cristo Range (Blood of Christ in Spanish). [Illustration: D.K.P., 1960] _From Salida_ [Illustration]