Preservation

“Historic Preservation is a conversation with our past about our future.”
~ U.S. National Park Service

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One of the drawbacks to ghost-towning is the sad fact that due to weather, vandalism and general decay, ghost towns throughout the West are slowly disappearing. In the 1960’s and 1970’s the U.S. Forest Service tore down, or burned many historic structures under the guise of returning the land to its wilderness state. In addition, in recent years more people are moving into even the most remote corners of the high country, and building homes or “fixing up” structures in abandoned towns.

As early as 1971, the Ghost Town Club of Colorado began formulating ideas for preserving our vanishing cultural resource. In July of that year, a preservation seminar was held and then a workshop in March, 1974. In 1975 former member John Dillavou became our first Preservation Chair.

A Preservation Fund was started in the late 1970’s and a monthly book drawing was established as a fund raiser. In 1982 the first of several auctions was held to benefit Preservation. Each year donations are made from the Preservation Fund to various non-profit organizations for specific projects that the recipients choose.

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PRESERVATION FUND

The Ghost Town Club of Colorado is dedicated to the preservation and maintenance of ghost towns, mining camps and historic sites. To accomplish this goal, the club created a Preservation Fund to help support numerous preservation projects. Because we are a 501(c)(7) non-profit organization, we are able to earmark 100% of all donations directly to qualified projects protected by a non-profit preservation society. On some occasions, the Ghost Town Club of Colorado also contributes to the preservation of historical sites by volunteer involvement.

Would you like to support Ghost Town Club’s Preservation mission? Consider making a donation today. No amount is too small, or too large!

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Current projects and collaborations

GTC understands that historic preservation projects require passion, patience, financial backing, and above all; collaborative partnerships. We are constantly searching for opportunities to connect with our local communities, and discover like-minded preservation groups and individuals to foster lasting partnerships. Below are some groups that GTC is currently collaborating with:

Town of Silver Plume & Historic Georgetown | Republican Mountain | Silver Plume, CO

At our Annual Banquet earlier this April, we were honored to host a special guest, one Cindy Neely. She represented both Historic Georgetown and the Town of Silver Plume and informed GTC about an initiative to purchase the remaining upper portion of Republican Mountain—the approximately 350 acres above the 7:30 Mine Road. The town is aiming to purchase it with the sole goal of preservation and historical site interpretation, but at $2,500/acre, the total price is $1,001,600. Grants will cover much of the cost, but strong local support will be key. As of October 2025, $570,000 in donations have been pledged by various organizations including Clear Creek County, while various individuals have pledged approximately $50,000.

For more information visit their webpage at https://spmptk.com

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Breckenridge History | Preston Townsite | Breckenridge, CO

In 2024, the Ghost Town Club proudly partnered with Breckenridge History to begin an exciting new chapter: the rehabilitation of the historic Preston town site. While we couldn’t swing hammers or haul timber ourselves, the GTC played a vital role by providing in-depth architectural guidance to help ensure Preston’s unique historic character was preserved with care and integrity.

By early 2025, Breckenridge History had secured funding and officially kicked off restoration efforts. Since then, we’ve been thrilled to receive promising updates as this once-forgotten piece of Colorado’s past steadily comes back to life — one board, one beam, one story at a time. This is more than a restoration project — it’s a revival of history, spirit, and place. And we’re honored to help preserve the legacy of Preston for generations to come.

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San Juan County Historical Society | Old Hundred | Howardsville, CO

GTC made the grueling trip to the Old Hundred in September of 2024. Preservation Chair Jason Messing flew the mapping drone to create a 3D digital twin of both upper buildings pictured below. Architectural drawings were later created, further documenting and preserving these wonderful structures. As part of this effort, GTC identified missing and damaged exterior materials needing to be replaced and reached out to the San Juan County Historical Society to collaborate on getting some repairs in order. Materials have been purchased and a small local workforce is mobilizing to make the critical repairs to the buildings. Long Live Old Hundred!

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Trust for Land Restoration | Idarado Houses | Ironton, CO

GTC began collaborating with The Trust for Land Restoration in 2022 on the Idarado Houses. Not only has GTC donated funds in support of this project for several years, we also volunteered physical labor during a workday in August of 2023. Our last donation made in 2024 was to support the construction and installation of a vehicular access gate at the entrance road and also a “thank you” placard that will display gratitude towards all of the individuals and organizations that contributed to the project. We are proud to report that the gate was fabricated by a local artisan metal worker and installed during the summer! The thank you placard is still being developed and will likely be installed in the spring of 2026. Stay tuned for more updates!

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Friends of the Genoa Tower | World’s Wonder View Tower | Genoa, CO

“See Six States” was the claim that Ripley’s Believe It or Not! made of this once popular tourist attraction along Hwy 24 in Genoa, CO. The tower was built in the 1920’s by C.W. Gregory, aka “Colorado’s P.T. Barnum”. Standing at 65′ tall, the tower was confirmed to be the highest point between New York and Denver. The tower was closed after the death of it’s last owner and like all things left untended, began to decay. In 2016, Colorado Preservation (CPI) placed the structure on it’s list of Endangered Places while simultaneously, the Friends of the Genoa Tower began their multi-year journey to raise funds and assemble the team of professionals that are now beginning to rehabilitate the structure. Ghost Town Club was honored to donate funds to support the project, and helped ready the building for construction via a volunteer cleanup workday at the Tower in 2023.

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Santiago Mill Stewards | Santiago Mill | McClellan Mountain, CO

The Santiago Mill Stewards are a small, yet mighty preservation group based out of Georgetown, CO. They played a huge role in the stabilization and restoration of the Santiago Mill and its ancillary mine buildings. To this day they remain actively involved with the mill via their partnership with the USFS, and mill-related volunteer activities.

During the warmer months of each year The Santiago Stewards volunteer to make the 4×4 journey up the valley to spend time at the mill, keep an eye on things, make minor repairs as necessary, and educate daily visitors on the history and significance of the building and site. It is a noble task that the Ghost Town Club is honored to lend assistance with.

Below is a video created by GTC member Jason Messing in July 2023 of his day at the mill:

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PRESERVATION FUND DONATIONS

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HELP US ADVOCATE FOR PRESERVATION!

Passionate about Preservation? Join GTC today and help us support historic projects! Questions, or comments on how you can get involved? Please contact us for more information!

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Header Image Credit: “Old Hundred” by GTC member Jason Messing