About Aspen

Aspen had an industrial/mining age from 1879 to 1993, after the nomadic Native Ute Americans were driven out of the Valley by the rush for the silver. The town grew to a population of 12,000 before the Sherman anti-trust Act was passed in 1893, which changed the backing of the U.S. dollar from silver to gold. Aspen, a thriving town with two railroads and, arguably, the richest silver lodes in the world, became a ghost town by the turn of the 20th Century. Boom to bust is the anguishing story of the mineral laden West until after WW II. Even today the natural gas boom on the Roan Plateau, less than 50 miles from Aspen, is clashing with the Western Slope resort ski towns. Aspen lapsed into the “quiet years” during the first four decades of the 20th Century, as low scale mining and ranching predominated. This challenging and hard way of life continued until late 1945, when the surviving members of the legendary 10th Mountain soldiers, who had trained just over the Continental Divide from Aspen, came back to Aspen after the War and awakened her from her slumber. These ski enthusiasts and entrepreneurs were joined by Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke from Chicago. He was a successful industrialist, and she was the doyen of the Chicago arts scene. Together they re-created Aspen as a skiing, cultural and tourist mecca. They were responsible for the founding of the Aspen Skiing Company, Aspen Airways, the Aspen Music Festival and the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. This recreational boom in the 50’s and 60’s attracted hundreds of escapees from America’s cities and universities, who were bold enough to choose geography and life style as being equally as important as one’s work. Modern Aspen became a hallmark of the mid 20th Century’s “romance of commerce and culture.” Corporate America was becoming the biggest sponsor of the world of music and art. Skiing was the cornerstone of the winter economy, and music, the world of ideas, dance, theater and recreation were the benchmarks for the summer. Aspen evolved into one of the first economically viable two season resorts. Aspen is unique, inasmuch as its software, “the Aspen Idea,” set it apart from other resort towns. This concept of developing the whole person: mind, body and spirit, was based on culture, sports and the absolute beauty of the Roaring Fork valley and the rugged mountains above. At one time Aspen was touted as the second most educated community in America, trailing slightly behind Los Alamos, New Mexico. It was and still remains a wonderful place to live and visit.