St Elmo, originally known as Forest City, is a ghost town in Chaffee County, Colorado. St. Elmo is located in the Sawatch Mountain Range, 20 miles southwest of Buena Vista, at an elevation of 9,961 feet.
Founded in 1880, this hamlet housed around 2,000 people for more than 40 years during the Gold Rush. The silver and gold mining sectors, on the other hand, began to fall in the early 1920s, and the Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad ceased operations in 1922.
Because there were so many communities with the same name as Forest City, the name was changed to St. Elmo. Griffith Evans, one of the founders, picked the name St. Elmo after reading a novel with the same title.
In the 1890s, St. Elmo had a schoolhouse, five hotels, saloons, a telegraph office, a newspaper office, a general store, multiple dancing halls, and a town hall. St. Elmo was a regular station on the Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad line. There were 150 registered or patented mining claims in the region, and the bulk of the residents worked at the four main mines: the Mary Murphy, Teresa C, Molly, or Pioneer mines.
The Mary Murphy Mine was the largest and most successful mine in the St. Elmo region. Over $60 million in gold was extracted while the Mary Murphy was in operation. While the other mines eventually closed, the Mary Murphy mine continued to operate until the railroad stopped service in 1922.
St. Elmo’s population plummeted once the mining sector closed. The miners and their families departed St. Elmo in pursuit of gold and silver elsewhere. It didn’t take long for St. Elmo’s business area to follow suit and close down as well.
There were, however, a few people who remained in the town. The postal service was discontinued in 1952, following the death of St. Elmo’s postmaster.
Even though it is considered a ghost town, St. Elmo still has a few residents. Every year, tourism brings a large number of people to the St. Elmo area. There are numerous good fishing spots along Chalk Creek, which runs through St. Elmo, and the old mine roads have been converted into fantastic trails for 4-wheel-drive and off-road vehicles. During the summer, visitors may rent four-wheelers or purchase supplies from the historic general shop.