Summit County in the Census’

One thing that happens often in census records is border changes.

This could mean that a territory become a state, a state changes size, counties merge or split from each other… even towns increase in size, decrease, or disappear from the record set altogether. Ten years can mean a lot of change in some areas.

One of the things I have had on my list for some time is to look at the towns that existed in the early census collections for Summit County. Technically, the first census here was in 1860, but it is listed under Nebraska Territory, and the records are difficult to find at best. Therefore, I will start with 1870 and move forward.

Summit County was established in 1861 with Colorado statehood. It was one of the original seventeen counties, and that first set of borders included essentially the entire northwest corner of the state. By 1877, the borders we see on the map now existed. Six other counties were eventually carved from this area: Grand, Routt, Eagle, Garfield, Moffat and Rio Blanco. 

The first county seat was Parkville, but the title was quickly transferred to Breckenridge (the general story being that residents of Breckenridge literally stole the county papers in the middle of the night, and hid them until Parkville gave up; they then claimed ownership to the county seat); and the current population resides in the towns of Dillon, Frisco, Breckenridge, Blue River, Copper Mountain, Keystone, Montezuma, Silverthorne and Heeney.

Census Year	Census Location
1870	Breckenridge, Montezuma, Not Stated
1880	Breckenridge, Carbonateville, Chihuahua, Clinton Gulch, Decatur, Eagle River, French Gulch, Frisco, Gold Hill, Gold Run Creek, Jack Mountain, Kokomo, Lincoln City, Montezuma, Not Stated, Robinsons Camp, Sheep Mountain, Swan River Valley, Ten Mile
1900	Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco, Kokomo, Robinson, Precinct 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14
1910	Argentine, Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco, Kokomo, Lakeside, Lincoln, Montezuma, Robinson, Slate Creek
1920	Breckenridge, Dillon, Lakeside, Montezuma, Slate Creek, Precinct 2, 7, 8
1930	Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco, Kokomo, Lakeside, Montezuma, Slate Creek, Precinct 8, 9
1940	Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco, Kokomo, Lakeside, Montezuma, Slate Creek

Interesting, no?

1880 is filled with small gold and silver camps as the area experienced its second rush of mining operations. Some of these areas, like French Gulch, are now considered part of the other towns (French Gulch is an area within the Town of Breckenridge), and some are completely gone.

Both Robinson and Kokomo were left as ghost towns, and eventually the ruins were covered with a reservoir for the Climax Mining Operation on the edge of Summit and Lake Counties. Dillon, although consistent in the census records, has actually moved twice as a community – as in, pick the buildings up and put them somewhere else – and now sits in its (let’s hope!) final location along the shores of the Dillon Reservoir, a major water supply for the front range and City of Denver. Lakeside is another town that was extinguished for water; it is underneath the Green Mountain Reservoir in the northern arm of the county.

If you research one primary area, I would encourage you to do this same comparison. Fairly easy, I just pulled up the Census and Voter Lists search page on Ancestry.com, chose my State, County, and then used the drop down for “Populated Place” to identify the names of the communities. Perhaps not scientific, but it is certainly enough for my purposes.

The immediate benefit of doing this, at least to me, is that I can easily see how the population fluctuated over time. The fewer locations listed in the census generally indicates less communities, so you can see the swells in the main residential areas, at least as far as the Federal Government was concerned. Having a relatively thorough of the area as it is now, and the history behind some of the ghost towns and other communities gives me a broad understanding of how the county developed to be what it is now.

Of course, just like with anything in the genealogy field, it leaves me with more questions. In this case, I am especially interested in the Precincts. What were their boundaries, how were they determined, why did the numbers associated with them change over time? This is something for another post, perhaps…

If you chose to conduct a similar comparison, I would be interested in reading it! Leave me a comment with a link here, or on my Facebook or Twitter accounts. Let’s see what other goodies we can come up with across the country!

Using the National Register of Historic Places Database

Genealogical research can lead you in so many different directions, and investigating the origins of a specific site or building can really make an impact in the stories you are trying to tell. The United States is lucky to have an amazing resource in the National Register of Historic Places, and researcher’s in all disciplines can utilize the database made available to us via the National Park Service website.

Using this tool can prove to be incredibly exciting, especially for those researching a general area or community that has been put on the list. In work done relating to the Town of Breckenridge, Colorado, I was able to find the original (scanned) application that was submitted, dated 1980; all 38 pages of it! The document included a typed list of contributing buildings, and a color coded map of the town indicating “Historic”, “Contributing” and “Intrusion” properties that factored in to the decision.

The Frisco Schoolhouse, now a
Museum. Main Street, Frisco, CO. 

Certainly individual properties are listed as well, and are more frequent than the “districts”. This includes site such as the Frisco Schoolhouse, which is now a museum on Main Street of Frisco, Colorado. The picture seen here was available on the site to be downloaded, (the material is considered public domain according to the site "Disclaimer") and dates from 1983.  I was also able to learn that the addition in the back of the building was put on in the 1950s, and that’s also when the double door was added to the main entrance. The diamond shaped window in the upper eaves appears to be original (ca. 1909).

Records relating to individual residences include written descriptions and in several cases, a floor plan of the building. There is also a required “Significance” summary that generally gives a historical background of the building, and why it is being pursued as a addition to the list.


Not every site has the application and images online yet, but many do. This is a site you will want to add to your bookmarks list and go back to recheck on a regular basis. For advanced viewing, printing or downloading the documents,  you will need the DjVu Plugin. There is a link at the bottom of the screen when you open the files.

Screenshot of the NPS Focus site, allowing you to see the original application records. This example is from a residence in Salida, Colorado. 

Summit Settlers: Mary (Cluskey) Ruth

Mary Cluskey is a true Summit County settler. Born in Breckenridge on 24 Nov 1902, she lived in the area her entire life. You can find a summary of her life, written by Alphild Wilkinson, in the book Women As Tall As Our Mountains, originally published in 1976 (most of the information in this post will come from this source, please contact me for further information). At that time, Mary was still an active widow, going back and forth between Frisco, Colorado and her son's home in Texas.

What struck me most about her story was her involvement in the mining camps during the 1920's and 1930's. You hear so much of the men that lived and worked these mountains, but very little of the women. I will offer only a quick summary here.

Born to Christopher and Mary Cluesky, both natives of Ireland. Christopher spent his early year's in the county as a dairy farmer on French Street in Breckenridge. As Mary progressed through her school years, she and her siblings went back and forth between ranch land and town. In 1913, the family went back to Ireland, but due to the quickly approaching War, they returned only a year later. Her father returned first, in May, as a potential soldier he was given preference on passage. Mary, her mother, sister's and brother's finally returned via London in August, but upon reaching New York, the ship sank and they lost all of their possessions.

The family was finally able to gather together again in Colorado on ranch property acquired by Christopher at Slate Creek. Once again, they moved back and forth to accommodate the children's need to attend school. At the age of 15, Mary went with her father to work at the Tiger mine. She was employed in the commissary, waiting tables; additionally, she sorted ore. The rest of the family moved to Tiger in 1918, during the flu epidemic. One member of the family was responsible for driving victims back to Breckenridge, and at times would have to carry four bodies a day.

Two years later, Mary, her mother and sisters, and one son were back at the ranch at Slate Creek, but her father and one brother, Tom, stayed on at Tiger. Tom worked at the sawmill. Just three years older, Mary was back at a mining site, this time the Pennsylvania for the summer, cooking three meals a day for 20-80 men. 1922 Again found Mary cooking, but this time at the Summit House in Montezuma, a hotel, and stayed there through September. At that time, she and her mother went to the top of Boreas Pass cooking for the men putting in the bucket tram for the 730 mine - that was living at 11,492 feet!  The men lived in one boxcar, the cafeteria was in a second, and Mary and Mary lived together in a third.

Eventually, our subject married Wilbur "Bill" Ruth, a veteran of World War I, who worked for the Bureau of Land Reclamation building the highway from Dillon to the summit of Fremont Pass (now on the way to Leadville, where Climax Mine sits). During the '40's they moved to Uneva Lake, in Ten Mile Canyon, to be caretakers for another family, and by 1935 had purchased a home in Frisco. During WWII, she was given a special assignment as Postmistress of Frisco, which meant that she travelled to town every day from Uneva Lake and ran the Post Office from her home.

She finally retired in 1974, having worked since 1955 for the town and the sanitation district. Bill passed in 1953, and Mary in 1990, having lived a long, hard life. They are both now resting in the Dillon Cemetery. She is remembered as a lady with a great sense of humor, courage, faith and "a lot of gumption."

I believe that to be absolutely true. To have lived as she did would have required the strength of more than a few ox.

Photo Credit for both photos:
www.findagrave.com, Kelly G, Sep 2008

Wilbur: Memorial #29576085
Mary: Memorial #29576096