Photo | William Henry Jackson Collection

Local History Timeline

Aspen Historical Society presents here a brief local history. For a more complete look into the storied past, please visit one of our sites, take a tour, join a program or search the archives. All images presented on the website and timeline are from the AHS Photograph Collection with collection names highlighted, unless otherwise stated.

Pre - 1879

Ute People

1879 – 1893

The Mining Boom

1893 - 1936

The Quiet Years

1936 - 1948

Aspen Rebounds

1949 - 1960

Mind, Body and Spirit

1961 - 1986

The Skiing Boom

1988 - Present

Modern Aspen

Pre - 1879

Ute People

The Ute people occupied Colorado and Utah long before the first Spanish explorers came. The Spanish introduced Ute people with the horse, which allowed them to expand their territory and carry more belongings. However, Ute territory shrank as settlers and miners came onto their lands. By 1861, the front range had filled with gold seekers, and the Ute people were moved to a large reservation on the western side of the divide. Their territory continued to dwindle as European settlers relentlessly pushed west.

1879 – 1893

The Mining Boom

In 1879 the first prospectors arrived in what would soon become Aspen and determined the area contained large deposits of silver ore. For the next 14 years Aspen’s fortunes rose as it eventually produced 1/6th of the nation’s and 1/16th of the world’s silver.

1893 - 1936

The Quiet Years

Following the 1893 repeal of the Sherman Silver Act, Aspen’s boom turns to relative bust. This period, known locally as the “Quiet Years,” is characterized by many hardships, regionally, nationally and globally. Ranchers and farmers make up the bulk of the Depression-era population, many of whom were European immigrants who came to work on significant infrastructure projects.

1936 - 1948

Aspen Rebounds

In 1936, the first glimmer of hope for Aspen’s economic recovery arrived in the form of a relatively new winter sport that would take advantage of the area’s abundant, light snow and dramatic terrain: skiing. The new potential “boom” would be put on hold with the onset of WWII a few years later.

1949 - 1960

Mind, Body and Spirit

With the end of the war a fresh new outlook for Aspen emerged with the arrival in 1945 of Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke. The prominent Chicago couple brought vision, culture, a love for the outdoors and financial backing with them and infused modern Aspen with the idea that this was a place where mind, body and spirit could flourish.

1961 - 1986

The Skiing Boom

In the 1960s and ’70s Aspen was again thriving, thanks in large part to skiing, the new “boom” industry, as well as new cultural and recreational attractions. The population rebounded, often resulting in tensions between conservative locals and newcomers, especially the “hippie culture.”

1988 - Present

Modern Aspen

“At once rugged and gentrified, rural and urban, rich and poor, both beloved and despised, Aspen throughout its history provides provides a rich case study of ambiguities found in the biography of one place.”

Edward Duke Richey, 1990, “Living it Up in Aspen: Post-War America, Ski Town Culture and the New Western Dream, 1945-1975”

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AHS membership provides special opportunities to explore the area’s collective roots while helping ensure history is preserved and communicated for generations to come. Membership donations advance the educational programs, exhibits, extensive public archives, collections preservation, and historic sites that inspire a life-long interest in the Aspen and Snowmass community.

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Land Acknowledgement
We gratefully acknowledge we gather on the land of the Uncompahgre band of the Ute Nation, or Nuche, past and present. We honor this land and the people who lived in harmony with the natural world for generations before their forced removal. We are committed to sharing the complete history of the land, recognizing and partnering with Native Peoples, and supporting the advancement of Native places and heritage. This calls us all to be better stewards of the land we inhabit and the natural resources we benefit from today.