Guest, Sign inJoin

Post to Silver Plume

We’ll email a one-tap link to publish your post. No password, and nothing is public until you click it.
Already a member? Sign in
–Not graded
History · Silver Plume

Silver Plume’s post office opened in 1875, and 74% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listings are the Silver Plume Depot and the Lebanon and Everett Mine Tunnels. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 1890.

1875first post office
2on the National Register
74%homes built before 1940
12old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Silver Plume’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Silver Plume began

When was Silver Plume founded?

1875

The Silver Plume post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 908 in 18902020 census: 207151 years
Founding year: the first Silver Plume post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Silver Plume’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1890 and 1960, then more than doubled.Old housesHalf of Silver Plume’s homes were built before 1938.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1974. Watch Silver Plume change.A town in old photos12 old photos, postcards and papers, 1901–1977.
★ What stands out · People over time

Silver Plume, census by census

02004006008001,0001900192019401960198020002020908 in 1890Low: 86

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1890 and 1960, then more than doubled.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Silver Plume’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Silver Plume came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Silver Plume.

Read it all →

The family of John Henry Bowman (1850–1900) came to the Silver Plume area in 1864. The Silver Plume, Colorado, post office opened on December 1, 1875, and the Town of Silver Plume was incorporated on September 24, 1880. The spelling of the town's name was briefly changed to Silverplume, but was later changed back to the original Silver Plume. The town has a very rich history. That history can be viewed by the general public either at the George Rowe Museum, which is in the original school house of the town, or by walking the 7:30 Mine Trail, which gives the individual a grand view of the Silver Plume valley and the town nestled at its base.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Silver Plume on the map, 1903 to 1974

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Silver Plume. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Silver Plume on the 1903 USGS mapSilver Plume on the 1957 USGS mapSilver Plume on the 1974 USGS map1903Georgetown sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Silver Plume.

Timeline

Silver Plume, 1875 to 1977

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1875Post officeThe Silverplume post office opens
  3. 1890CensusPopulation peaks at 908
  4. 20th century
  5. 1901In the archiveNestled far up 'mong the eternal hills and snow
  6. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1922In the archiveSilver Plume, Colorado ca. 1922
  8. 1933In the archiveHABS COLO,10-SILV,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Silver Plume School, Main Street, Silver Plume, Cle…
  9. 1941In the archiveSilver Plume Station 1941
  10. 1977In the archiveSteam locomotive at Silver Plume in 1977
By decade

Silver Plume, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1930s5 items
Nestled far up 'mong the eternal hills and snow1901Nestled far up 'mong the eternal hills and snowSilver Plume, at the head of the far famed Clear Creek Canyon of Colorado1908Silver Plume, at the head of the far famed Clear Cree…Silver Plume, Colorado ca. 19221922Silver Plume, Colorado ca. 1922HABS COLO,10-SILV,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Silver Plume School, Main Street, Silver Plume, Clear Creek County, CO1933HABS COLO,10-SILV,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Silver Plume Sc…HABS COLO,10-SILV,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Silver Plume School, Main Street, Silver Plume, Clear Creek County, CO1933HABS COLO,10-SILV,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Silver Plume Sc…
1940s6 items
Silver Plume Station 19411941Silver Plume Station 1941Silver Plume, Colorado. Ghost mining town1941Silver Plume, Colorado. Ghost mining townSilver Plume, Colorado. Ghost mining town1941Silver Plume, Colorado. Ghost mining townSilver Plume, Colorado. Ghost mining town1941Silver Plume, Colorado. Ghost mining townOld station on narrow gauge railroad in ghost mining town. Silver Plume, Colorado1941Old station on narrow gauge railroad in ghost mining …Untitled photo, possibly related to: Old station on narrow gauge railroad in ghost mining town. Silver Plume, Colorado1941Untitled photo, possibly related to: Old station on n…
1970s1 item
Steam locomotive at Silver Plume in 19771977Steam locomotive at Silver Plume in 1977
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today6 recent
SilverPlume2006SilverPlumeGriffin Monument2006Griffin MonumentDSCN2917 silverplumeclearcreek e 6002005DSCN2917 silverplumeclearcreek e 600DSCN2914 silverplumemainstreet e 6002005DSCN2914 silverplumemainstreet e 600DSCN2903 silverplumemainstreet e 6002005DSCN2903 silverplumemainstreet e 600COMap-doton-SilverPlume2005COMap-doton-SilverPlume
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Nestled far up 'mong the eternal hills and snow
Retake this viewNestled far up 'mong the eternal hills and snow, 1901

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Silver Plume’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in Silver Plume

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
1971
Silver Plume Depot
Silver Plume Depot
BuildingsStructures
Silver Plume DepotBuilding
Lebanon and Everett Mine TunnelsStructure

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Silver Plume

Nobody well known was born in Silver Plume itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Arthur HoytAmerican film actor · b. 1874
Enid MarkeyAmerican actress of stage, film and television · b. 1894
J
Jake CanterAmerican snowboarder · b. 2003
Eric StoughAmerican animator and producer · b. 1972
Noah HoffmanAmerican cross-country skier · b. 1989
C
Chris CorningAmerican snowboarder · b. 1999
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Azeda MinemineBrown Reindeer MinemineBuxton MinemineColumbus MinemineCora MinemineCroesus MinemineCross MinemineDuncan MinemineEast Butte MinemineReindeer MinemineRicci Winze MinemineStar of the West Minemine
1cemetery inside Silver Plume
Silver Plume

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Silver Plume’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
5 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNestled far up 'mong the eternal hills …: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Silver Plume’s history

What year was Silver Plume founded?

The Silver Plume post office opened in 1875, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Silver Plume?

Two places: the Silver Plume Depot (listed 1971) and the Lebanon and Everett Mine Tunnels (1971).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (11), the Library of Congress (7), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.