The Story Behind Colorado's Abandoned Treasure Mountain Town Will Fascinate You

This Colorado ghost town has a history filled with adventure, tragedy and more than a little mystery. Said to the be final resting place of a massive quantity of gold, there may be more to this abandoned settlement than meets the eye.

Read on to learn more about the site, and check out the stunning images photographer Dan Turner captured at this mountain ghost town.

The settlement of Animas Forks is an enigmatic Colorado ghost town.

It lies in the mountains near Breckenridge and was born from the Colorado Gold Rush.

By 1882, the town of Animas Forks had a population of about 160.

Animas Forks and the other mountain mining towns in the area were lawless, rough places.

A fire ravaged the community in 1891. Rather than rebuild, many residents simply moved south to the town of Eureka.

Though mining operations continued into the early 1900s, it seemed as if the town was cursed.

In 1913, another fire swept through the settlement.

In 1915, an avalanche struck both sides of Treasure Mountain.

Finally, in 1918, an outbreak of the Spanish Flu crept through the mining camps and killed hundreds.

Tales of buried treasure gave the mountain its curious name…and perhaps its curse.

Legend has it that a group of French trappers discovered gold on the mountain in the 1880s.

After years of mining the mountain, the trappers came under attack by Ute native people.

In a desperate bid to secure their wealth, it is said that they buried their massive gold cache above their camp and marked the treasure with an iron mule shoe on nearby trees.

Only two trappers survived the onslaught. These men returned to France and made a map of the treasure’s location.

They never returned to claim the gold, and tales of the princely hoard of buried gold live on.

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The Story behind Colorado's Abandoned Treasure Mountain Town Will Fascinate You

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