High on the slopes of Galena Mountain at 12,500 feet, the Old Hundred Mine's 1908 boarding house stood as a testament to the audacity of Colorado's early miners — until decades of heavy snow and neglect brought two-thirds of its roof caving in. In 1996, Beverly Rich and a consortium of partners launched what they called "extreme preservation," airlifting supplies by helicopter up a precarious mule trail to save the historic structure before it plummeted 3,000 feet into Cunningham Gulch below. Workers stayed a week or two at a time, rebuilding the roof and securing the building to the rock cliff with cable. A year later, the tram house was also restored. The effort was immortalized in a documentary, Castle in the Clouds: The Saving of the Old Hundred Boarding House — a tribute to the immigrants from around the world who left everything behind to chase the promise and adventure of America in one of its most remote corners.

The Power of Place Magazine is a special initiative of the Colorado 150 Southwest organizing committee, featuring 20 articles by professional historians and local writers exploring Southwest Colorado's rich and complex heritage.

By Beverly Rich

This story is sponsored by Alpine Bank, Sky Ute Casino and Strater Hotel

Watch the full Voices of the Past: Southwest Colorado series on our YouTube.

Beverly Rich was born in Silverton in 1950 and has been involved with the local Historical Society since she was 14 — making her one of the most dedicated keepers of San Juan County's storied past. In her article, Rescuing Relics: Extreme Preservation and the Old Hundred Boarding House, she reflects on what made Silverton remarkable from the very beginning. Few people realize that Silverton is nearly ten years older than Durango, and that without Silverton, Durango wouldn't exist. In its heyday, this remote mountain town was the Silicon Valley of its era — a hub of technological innovation, incredible wealth, and relentless ambition. But like all mining towns, Silverton rode a cycle of boom and bust, its fortunes tied closely to World Wars and commodity prices. The hardest blow came in 1991 when the Sunny Side Mine shut down, taking half the town's population with it. What followed was a period of honest reckoning — and visioning. Silverton leaned into its two greatest assets: spectacular scenery and fascinating history. Today, for the first time ever, Silverton is no longer primarily a mining town. It has become a thriving high-mountain destination, with a booming recreation industry, rising property values, and a new generation discovering what Beverly Rich has known her whole life — this place is something special.

The Power of Place Magazine is a special initiative of the Colorado 150 Southwest organizing committee, featuring 20 articles by professional historians and local writers exploring Southwest Colorado's rich and complex heritage.

By Beverly Rich

This story is sponsored by Alpine Bank, Sky Ute Casino and Strater Hotel

Watch the full Voices of the Past: Southwest Colorado series on our YouTube.

Southwest Colorado spans dramatic terrain from desert floors to towering mountain peaks — and the wildlife that call it home have a story as compelling as the landscape itself. By the late 1800s, bighorn sheep, elk, deer, turkeys, and native trout were pushed to the brink of vanishing entirely. What followed was one of the most extraordinary conservation turnarounds in the American West. Today, Colorado boasts the largest elk population of any western state, wild turkey numbers have rebounded from just 250 birds to over 35,000, and native bighorn sheep once again navigate the craggy high country. But the story isn't over. Gray wolves are returning, Gunnison sage grouse are being protected, and the native Colorado Pikeminnow is being restored to the Colorado River Basin. All thanks to the ongoing efforts from communities that care.

The Power of Place Magazine is a special initiative of the Colorado 150 Southwest organizing committee, featuring 20 articles by professional historians and local writers exploring Southwest Colorado's rich and complex heritage.

By Patt Dorsey

This story is sponsored by Alpine Bank, Sky Ute Casino and Strater Hotel.

Watch the full series, Voices of the Past: Southwest Colorado.

Retired Colorado Parks and Wildlife manager Patt Dorsey spent 28 years protecting the wildlife of Southwest Colorado. Now, in honor of Colorado's 150th birthday, she's telling the region's untold wildlife story — digging through old biological reports and vintage archives to uncover history that even surprised her. Her core message: wildlife needs people. Without public connection and care, species disappear from our landscapes forever. To read the full article, visit coloradol50southwest.org.

The Power of Place Magazine is a special initiative of the Colorado 150 Southwest organizing committee, featuring 20 articles by professional historians and local writers exploring Southwest Colorado's rich and complex heritage.

By Patt Dorsey

This story is sponsored by Alpine Bank, Sky Ute Casino and Strater Hotel.

Watch the full series, Voices of the Past: Southwest Colorado.

Native historian Johnny Valdez sheds light on a largely untold chapter of Colorado's history — the Brunot Agreement of 1873 and the treaties that transferred Ute ancestral lands to the United States government. Writing for the U.S. 250/Colorado 150 Power of Place Magazine, Valdez draws on both his formal education and his heritage to reveal what most Colorado schoolchildren were never taught: that the Ute people, the Nuuchiu, did not simply "give" or "sell" their land, but did so under the threat of annihilation, amid miscommunication and cultural misunderstanding.

The Power of Place Magazine is a special initiative of the Colorado 150 Southwest organizing committee, featuring 20 articles by professional historians and local writers exploring Southwest Colorado's rich and complex heritage. Valdez reminds us that this land — the mountains, rivers, forests, and valleys — is sacred, and that understanding its true history makes each of us a better steward of this place.

Watch the full series — Voices of the Past: Southwest Colorado.

This story is sponsored by Alpine Bank, Sky Ute Casino and Strater Hotel.

How do we get to where we are — and how important is every little story? Native historian Johnny Valdez reminds us that we are each the product of a hundred generations, and that any one of those stories going differently means we wouldn't be here at all. That perspective, he says, is exactly what makes listening to someone else's story so powerful — because in their story, you find your own.

Writing for the U.S. 250/Colorado 150 Power of Place Magazine, Valdez draws on his heritage as a member of the Ute Tribe to explore a largely untold chapter of Colorado's history: the Brunot Agreement of 1873, the treaty that transferred Ute ancestral lands to the United States government. It's a story most Colorado schoolchildren have never heard — they know the beautiful mountains, the great hikes, the fishing and skiing — but not the history beneath their feet.

This is the land of the Great Spirit. That's what the Ute Tribe has always called it. And Valdez believes that knowing its true history transforms visitors and residents alike into protectors of this place.

The Power of Place Magazine is a special initiative of the Colorado 150 Southwest organizing committee, featuring 20 articles by professional historians and local writers exploring Southwest Colorado's rich and complex heritage.

This story is sponsored by Alpine Bank, Sky Ute Casino and Strater Hotel.

Watch this story at durangolocal.news.

Part 2 coming soon!

Karen Tarango and Camille Kropf run an Instagram page dedicated to documenting their quest to eat at every restaurant in the Four Corners.

Rotem Ishay is a multiple-time cycling National Champion. Now retired, he's passing down his years of professional experience to the next generation.