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City of Leadville, Colorado
Downtown Leadville
Nickname: The Two Mile High City
Location in Lake County and the State of Colorado
Coordinates: 39°14′50″N 106°17′33″W / 39.24722, -106.2925
Country	United States
State	State of Colorado
County	Lake County Seat[1]
Founded	1877
Incorporated	February 18, 1878[2]
Government
- Type	Statutory City[1]
Area
- Total	1.1 sq mi (2.7 km²)
- Land	1.1 sq mi (2.7 km²)
- Water	0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²)
Elevation	10,152 ft (3,094 m)
Population (2005)
- Total	2,688
- Density	2,659.5/sq mi (1,026.8/km²)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
- Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP codes[3]	80429 (PO Box), 80461
Area code(s)	719
FIPS code	08-44320
GNIS feature ID	0204683
Highest city in the United States

The historic City of Leadville is a Statutory City that is the county seat of, and the only incorporated municipality in, Lake County, Colorado, United States.^GR6 Leadville is a former silver mining camp that lies near the headwaters of the Arkansas River in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. The city's central district has an elevation of 10,152 feet (3094 meters), making Leadville the highest city in United States. The Leadville Historic District, a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places, includes many historic structures and sites from Leadville's dynamic mining era. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 2,688 in 2005.^[4]

Contents 1 History 1.1 Oro City 1.2 Discovery of Silver 1.3 Decline 1.4 Historic District and Life After Mining 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 Transportation 4.1 Major Highways 5 Leadville in fiction and film 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links

Placer gold was discovered in California Gulch on 1860, during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush, and the town of Oro City sprung up near present-day Leadville. The boom was brief, however, and Oro City never became a major settlement. The placer gold mining was hampered by heavy brown sand in the sluice boxes.

In 1874, gold miners at Oro City discovered that the heavy sand that impeded their gold recovery was the lead mineral cerussite, that carried a high content of silver. Prospectors followed the cerussite to its source, and by 1876, had discovered several lode silver-lead deposits. The city of Leadville was founded near to the new silver deposits in 1877, setting off the Colorado Silver Boom. By 1880, Leadville was one of the world's largest silver camps, with a population of over 40,000.

In 1882, the Tabor Opera House hosted Oscar Wilde on his lecture tour of the West, one of many celebrities who graced the city. Mayor David H. Dougan invited Wilde to tour the Matchless silver mine and open their new lode: "The Oscar." Wilde later recounted a visit to a local saloon, "where I saw the only rational method of art criticism I have ever come across. Over the piano was printed a notice - 'Please do not shoot the pianist. He is doing his best.'"

In its early years, Leadville was the site of some famous mining swindles. When the Little Pittsburg mine exhausted its rich ore body, the managers sold off their shares while hiding the real condition of the mine from other stockholders. “Chicken Bill” Lovell dumped a wheelbarrow of rich silver ore into a barren pit on his Chrysolite mining claim in order to sell the claim to Horace Tabor for a large price; but Tabor had the last laugh when his miners dug down a few feet farther and discovered a rich ore body. Later, the manager of the Chrysolite mine fooled an outside mining engineer into overestimating the ore reserves of that mine.[1]

The city's fortunes declined with the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893, although afterwards there was another small gold boom. Mining companies came to rely increasingly on income from the lead and zinc.

The district is credited with producing over 2.9 million ounces of gold, 240 million ounces of silver, 1 million short tons of lead, 785 thousand short tons of zinc, and 53 thousand short tons of copper^[5]

During World War II, Leadville was a popular spot for visits by soldiers at nearby Camp Hale, but only after the town acted to curb prostitution; until then, the United States Army declared the town off-limits for its personnel. The war also caused an increase in the mining of molybdenum at the nearby Climax mine. At one point the mine produced 75 percent of the world's molybdenum.

Leadville Historic District
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
Location:	Leadville, Colorado
Built/Founded:	1860
Architect:	Tabor,H. A. W.
Architectural style(s):	Late Victorian
Designated as NHL:	July 04, 1961[6]
Added to NRHP:	October 15, 1966[7]
NRHP Reference#:	66000248
Governing body:	Local

The closing of the Climax mine in the 1980s was a major blow to the town's economy. In addition, the many years of mining left behind substantial contamination of the soil and water, so that the Environmental Protection Agency designated some former mining sites in Leadville as Superfund sites. The town is now 98% cleaned up and the Superfund designation is about to expire. The town has made major efforts to improve its economy by encouraging tourism and emphasizing its history and opportunities for outdoor recreation.

The Leadville Historic District was designated in 1961.^[6][8] It includes 67 mines in the mining district east of the city up to the 12,000 feet level, and a defined portion of the village area, with specific exclusion of various buildings. Principal historic buildings in the district are: Tabor Grant Hotel, St. George's Church, Annunciation Church, Tabor Opera House, City Hall, Healy House, Dexter Cabin, Engelbach House, and Tabor House, as well as mining structures and small homes. Structures built after 1917 are considered non-contributing.

The National Mining Museum and Hall of Fame opened in 1987 with a federal charter. The town's altitude and rugged terrain contributes to a number of challenging racing events, such as the Leadville Trail 100 series of races. It is often used as a base for altitude training and hosts a number of other events for runners and mountain bicyclists.

Leadville is known for its festive atmosphere. Boom Days, held on the first full weekend of August, it a tribute to the city's mining past. The festivities include mining competitions and burro racing. Crystal Carnival, held late in winter, features a skijoring competition on Harrison Avenue. As a center for such celebrations, Leadville has unofficially been labeled "Parade Capital U.S.A."^{[citation needed]} in recognition of the frequent, though sometimes small parades held in the downtown area, such as the quirky "St. Patrick's Day Practice Parade".

Situated at an elevation of 10,152 feet (3,094 m) above sea level, Leadville claims a number of "highest" honors. The city is the highest incorporated city in the United States. At an elevation of 9,927 feet the Leadville Airport (Lake County Airport, KLXV) is the highest airport in the United States. At 9,680 feet, the Mount Massive Golf Course is the second highest golf course in the United States.

Leadville is located at 39°14′50″N, 106°17′33″W (39.247200, -106.292414)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.1 square miles (2.7 km²), all of it land.

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 2,821 people, 1,253 households, and 675 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,659.5 people per square mile (1,027.5/km²). There were 1,514 housing units at an average density of 1,427.3/sq mi (551.5/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.52% White, 0.14% African American, 1.28% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 12.34% from other races, and 2.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 25.45% of the population.

There were 1,253 households out of which 24.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.1% were non-families. 35.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.91.

The age distribution is 21.1% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 34.4% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 109.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $36,714, and the median income for a family was $44,444. Males had a median income of $28,125 versus $23,512 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,607. About 9.1% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.5% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Leadville is served by Lake County Airport. However, there are no scheduled airline services available from this airport. The closest airports to provide scheduled services are Eagle County Airport and Aspen-Pitkin County Airport, both located 62 miles away.

• US 24 is an east-west highway running from Interstate 75 near Clarkston, Michigan to the intersection with Interstate 70, near Minturn, Colorado. Its western terminus is located just 32 miles north of Leadville. It is also the main route to the Eagle-Vail valley and Colorado Springs.
• Colorado State Highway 91 is a 22.5 miles stretch that connects Leadville to the intersection with Interstate 70, near Copper Mountain. It is the best route to get from Leadville to Denver.

Leadville has been featured in a number of productions:

• Wallace Stegner's 1971 novel Angle of Repose
• "The Unsinkable Molly Brown"
• "The Silver King" with Edgar G. Robinson playing Horace A. W. Tabor
• The opera The Ballad of Baby Doe

Leadville is the setting of the remake of Day of the Dead, however the actual filming location is not.

Locations in Leadville have been dressed to look like other locations:

• The Leadville Airport in seen in the first few minutes of Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. The airport was dressed as the National Guard Leadville Airbase.
• The downtown strip of Leadville, plus locations around the county were featured in Silver City.
• Some locations for the movie Switchback
• Pepsi's Super Bowl XXX ad, "Northern Exposure" dressed Leadville as an Alaskan logging town.

• Colorado municipalities
• Edwards Micropolitan Statistical Area
• Lake County, Colorado
• State of Colorado

Dan Plazak – A Hole in the Ground with a Liar at the Top ISBN 978-0-87480-840-7 (includes a chapter on mining swindles of early Leadville)

• City of Leadville
• "Leadville Today"
• Leadville.com
• Twin Lakes Chamber of Commerce history
• Today in Literature remembers Leadville's introduction to Aestheticism
• Leadville photos and information at Western Mining History

• Leadville, Colorado is at coordinates 39°14′50″N 106°17′33″W / 39.2472, -106.292414Coordinates: 39°14′50″N 106°17′33″W / 39.2472, -106.292414

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Other	National Historic Landmarks: Beaver Meadows • Burlington Carousel • Black Hawk • Central City • Colorado Chautauqua • Cripple Creek • Durango-Silverton Railroad • Georgetown • Granada • Leadville • Lindenmeier Site • Lowry Ruin • Mesa Verde • Pikes Peak • Pike's Stockade • Raton Pass • Shenandoah-Dives Mill • Silver Plume • Silverton • Telluride • U.S. Air Force Academy Cadet Area National and Regional Trails: American Discovery Trail • Colorado Trail • Continental Divide Trail • Great Divide Trail • Kokopelli's Trail • Paradox Trail • Tabeguache Trail Scenic and Historic Byways: Alpine Loop • Cache la Poudre-North Park • Colorado River Headwaters • Dinosaur Diamond • Flat Tops • Frontier Pathways • Gold Belt • Grand Mesa • Guanella Pass • Highway of Legends • Lariat Loop • Los Caminos Antiguos • Mount Evans • Pawnee Pioneer • Peak to Peak • San Juan Skyway • Santa Fe Trail • Silver Thread • South Platte River Trail • Top of the Rockies • Trail of the Ancients • Trail Ridge • Unaweep/Tabeguache • West Elk Loop
Colorado Department of Natural Resources (web)

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