Some of the older members, like Dorothy Ruehling and Dr. O. W. Longwood, preserved copies of the _Spar City Spark_, the minutes of the town council, and other historical mementoes which were graciously shown to visitors interested in the town’s development. In 1960 Spar City was the least ghostly of our ghost towns despite the fact that once it had been a genuine ghost town for some fifteen years. Yet it found a place in our booklet on two counts—a mining town that never shipped a ton of ore and a boom camp that metamorphosed into a sedate well-ordered club. In each instance no stranger dispensation of fate could be imagined. (_Photos of Spar City on following two pages_) [Illustration: Orin Hargraves, 1960] ODD GRAVE In this quiet, pretty spot three bodies are said to lie, buried on top of each other as the result of an early tragedy. In the woods off to the left, or east, the old dump of the Last Chance mine shows alternating hues of amethysts and gold. [Illustration: O. W. Longwood, 1960] SPAR CITY HAS A CHARMING MAIN STREET These views are both taken looking north toward the continental divide. The old hotel may plainly be seen as the only two-story structure of the group. Many of these original cabins have been added to but the members of the club are required to keep the additions in the style of the original architecture. The lower photo shows one of the three fishing and boating ponds and a pony for the children, curious and alert. [Illustration: O. W. Longwood, 1960] [Illustration: O. W. Longwood, 1960] ITS OLD HOTEL AND JAIL ARE CHERISHED The main street was actually named North Street. The _Spar City Spark_ for May 27, 1893 reported that the Free Coinage Hotel was being built and would have furniture from Denver. When it was changed into a Community Hall, bedroom doors on the second floor were removed which read “Rose—$1.00; Marie—$1.50; Ruth—$3.00,” etc. The owner of the old jail has kept its original bars intact over one of the windows. [Illustration: O. W. Longwood, 1960] _From Del Norte_ [Illustration] Summitville was next to the earliest of the San Juan mining camps. Yet gold is still tenaciously being mined there, and for that reason the town is unique.