Editing Eldora, Colorado (section)

==History  ==
[[File:Eldora Mountain Resort view from the parking.jpg|thumb|[[Eldora Mountain Resort]] and Challenge Mountain.]]
Eldora was first settled by the [[Arapaho]]- and [[Ute people]] who used the area for hunting during summer.<ref name="Ski Vol 2001 Page 62">In the magazine ''Ski Vol. 65, No. 6'' (Feb. 2001). Page 62. {{ISSN|0037-6159}}.</ref> Eldora was originally built as a [[mining town]].<ref>Kindig, Jean Matthews (2010). ''Eldora!: The Transition of a Mining Community in the Colorado Rockies''. [[Sine nomine]].</ref> Although prospectors had been poking around in Eldora since the early 1850s, it was not until 1875 that enough gold was discovered to open a mine in Eldora.<ref>Hlawaty, Stephen (2014). ''Mountain Biking Colorado's Front Range: From Fort Collins To Colorado Springs''. Rowman & Littlefield. Page 138. {{ISBN|9781493014170}}.</ref> The primary decision to officially establish a town in the 1880s was in part an effort to open up further mining area, and in part an attempt at a through route into [[Middle Park (Colorado basin)|Middle Park]] and [[Colorado Western Slope|Western Colorado]].<ref>Hilton, George Woodman (1990). ''American Narrow Gauge Railroads''. Stanford University Press. Page 340. {{ISBN|9780804717311}}.</ref> Eldora boomed and prospered during the 1890s, and at one point, Eldora was home to as many as 1300–1500 people in the late 1890s. In 1898, Eldora was home to a bank, a post office, a school, nine hair saloons and seven grocery stores.<ref name="Bauer, Carolyn 1987 Page 19"/><ref name="Ski Vol 2001 Page 62"/> Although it had a mining life of its own, Eldora also served as a supply center for the camps beyond, and a rail-road shipping center for the camps in the nearby area. The first time the manager of the Bailey Chlorination Mill in Eldora, Mr. Bailey, neglected to pay his workers on time, angry employees promptly gathered at his house, smoked him out, and shot and killed Mr. Bailey.<ref name="Bauer, Carolyn 1987 Page 19"/><ref name="Dallas, Sandra 1988 Page 71"/><ref>Eberhart, Perry (1981). ''Guide to the Colorado ghost towns and mining camps''. Swallow Press. Page 72. {{ISBN|9780804001403}}.</ref> Despite its intensity of gold, silver and [[tungsten]] mining, Eldora's economic boom was brief. It peaked at the turn of the century, but experienced a devastating wildfire in 1899. With much of its timber lost, lumber that was vital to the mining construction was in short supply. The 21st century has experienced renewed interest in Eldora mining, with hopes of reopening the Mogul Tunnel Mine on Spencer Mountain.<ref>Hlawaty, Stephen (2014). ''Mountain Biking Colorado's Front Range: From Fort Collins To Colorado Springs''. Rowman & Littlefield. Pages 139–140. {{ISBN|9781493014170}}.</ref>