A quick history of Frisco, Colorado
This information was taken from “The Town of Frisco, For Your Information”. You may find more information on the town of Frisco on their website.
Like many Colorado mountain towns, Frisco began as a mining camp for high-country pioneers seeking their individual fortunes in gold and silver. Established in 1879, Frisco, with only two hotels, two stores and 150 people in 1881, began thriving as the railroads arrived - first the Denver and Rio Grande in 1882 and then, two years later, the Denver, South Park and Pacific. In 1880, town lots were selling for $5 each ($10 for corner properties).
As is often the case, the mining boom was followed by a bust that lasted until the late 1890s. That revival soon fizzled and, in 1912, the Denver and Rio Grande, which faithfully arrived at noon in Frisco for more than 30 years, called it quits, quickly ripping out the tracks that traveled along what is now the alley between Main Street and Galena. The First World War put miners back to work, but the Depression set in and Frisco’s only year-round link with the outside world, the Colorado and Southern line, shut down in 1937. For the first time, citizens of Frisco were forced to depend on the treacherous roads over Hoosier Pass and Loveland Pass, which was graded for the first time in 1939. Some locals went as far as Berthoud Pass, by way of Kremmling, to reach the Front Range.
After World War II, Summit County and Frisco began shifting from mining to tourism. Entrepreneurs befriended what had so long been the miner’s greatest foe: the deep snows of Rocky Mountain winters. Beginning with Arapahoe Basin in the late 1940s and followed by Breckenridge Ski Area, Keystone Resort and, in 1972, Copper Mountain Resort, the ski industry became the area’s life blood. Along the way, the tourist economy was boosted by the completion of Dillon Reservoir in 1965 and the Eisenhower Tunnel in 1973. Between 1970 and 1980, Frisco’s population more than doubled to 1,221 residents. Today, with more than 3 million visitors expected each year, Frisco and Summit County have evolved into a competitive regional economic center as well as a tourist destination.
Many of Frisco’s historic items and buildings, including the Old Schoolhouse, chapel, jail and a few residences, are preserved at the Frisco Historic Park, located at Second Avenue and Main Street. For more information about the park or Frisco history, contact the Frisco Historical Society at (970)668-3428.
