in 1882, two prospectors from the new town of Aspen were prospecting south along Castle Creek. They found silver deposits where two forks of the creek meet. They named the area Castle Forks City. The deposits looked promising and they were able to get the backing of Horace Tabor. Horace Tabor had just struck it rich in Leadville with the Matchless Mine. The town came to be known as Ashcroft, a variation of one of the founders last names, T.E. Ashcraft. Within the year, it had a population of over 2,000, making oit bigger than Aspen.
Unfortunately for Ashcroft, the mines were depleated by 1885. Many of the building were then being moved to nearby Aspen, where the silver mines were still producing. By 1900, Ashcroft was nearly a ghost. By 1912, the post office closed down.
Today, there are still a lot of great buildings to see here, Among the remains are the post office, assay office, the two story Hotel View, a laundry, the jail, a blacksmith, mercantile and many cabins.
Redstone was started when caol deposits were found in the nearby mountains in 1884. Over the next 40 years, the mines would produce over 1 million tons of coal. In the late 1920's, the mines finally closed down. The town was soon a ghost town. But then in 1956, the mines reopened and remained open until 1991. This time they took out 28 million tons of coal.
There are amny good remains to see here today. There is a school that was built in 1902. The Redstone Inn is still here. Many original residences still stand. And probably the most notable site is the row of a dozen or more beehive coke ovens.
Ashcroft is located about 12 miles south of Aspen on Castle Creek Road. Redstone is located south of Carbondale on Highway 133.
