Most People Have Long Forgotten About This Vacant Ghost Town In Rural Colorado

Since becoming a state in 1876, Colorado has seen its fair share of communities, towns, and cities come and go. While a good portion of the larger towns that were not formed based on the railroad and/or nearby mines have remained populated, an estimated 1,500 have met their demise and have been all but forgotten by history, including Gilman, Colorado. Once a thriving community, now the Gilman mining town has become another ghost town in Colorado that folks just don't remember anymore.

Once upon a time, the town of Gilman, Colorado was a thriving mining community with hundreds of residents, an abundance of jobs, a school, a bowling alley, and a grocery store...

...which is hard to imagine when seeing the Gilman mining town today.

Founded during the Colorado Silver Boom of 1886, Gilman was a true mecca for mining, turning out an astonishing 10 million tons of silver, gold, copper, zinc, and lead during its operation.

When mines began to dry out and jobs sprang up elsewhere, most residents left Gilman behind, with only a fraction remaining by the 1960s.

The nearby Eagle Mine would close in 1984.

After the mine’s closure, the Environmental Protection Agency discovered contaminated groundwater, toxic pollutants, and nearly 8 million tons of mine waste in the surrounding area, leading to an immediate and mandatory evacuation of the town.

Since the government stepped in, the town has remained deserted, with Gilman still being deemed unsafe; however, the EPA is spearheading a rigorous cleaning in an effort to one day re-use the land.

The town has a haunting feel to it.

Very similar to Chernobyl, actually.

If you want to visit a ghost town, we recommend staying far away from the hazardous Gilman and visiting one of These 5 Creepy Ghost Towns In Colorado At Your Own Risk instead. Do you have a favorite ghost town in Colorado? Tell us about it by filling out this form; you might see your picks featured someday!