The first travel over Independence Pass came from the east because most of western Colorado remained Indian territory until the relocation of the White River Utes in 1881. Prospectors from the Leadville area explored the Roaring Fork Valley in the 1870s, but the first recorded travel over the pass dates to 1879, when gold was found near Independence Ghost Town. Mining drove construction of a toll road over the pass, and mineral development prospered for several years until the ore was exhausted. The road then fell into disrepair until Colorado designated State Highway 82 over the pass in the 1920's and rebuilt it on its current alignment. Remnants of the original road, its way stations, old mines, and cabins still remain along the present highway and throughout the pass's woods and valleys.