Industry
3
Founded on July 4, 1879, when gold was discovered, Independence was the first community in the Roaring Fork Valley. A thriving mining camp and a stagecoach layover stop for travel across Hunter’s Pass, it became a ghost town in the late 1800’s when trains came into Aspen and the gold played out. In 1980, the Aspen Historical Society, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, began preservation efforts to retain Independence for future generations.
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Colorado · United States
