Town

Significant Dates in History

 

The Inter-Ocean Hotel, founded by Breck legend Barney Ford


1800 - 1899

  • 1859 - Breckinridge founded - gold discovered along the Blue River
  • 1860 - Breckinridge built a post office & town population reached 75-100. The town's first stagecoach arrived
  • 1861 - Town changed its spelling to BreckENridge after former U.S. Vice President namesake became a Confederate Brigadier General in the Civil War
  • 1870 - Hydraulic Placer Mine introduced
  • 1879 - Father Dyer "The Itinerant Preacher" started his church
  • 1880 - Gold mining boom time & Breckenridge established its historic fire department during a raging forest fire that threatened to destroy the town
  • 1882 - South Park & Pacific Railroads constructed a Breckenridge depot with rail service to Breckenridge over Boreas Pass
  • 1887 - "Tom's Baby," a 13.5-pound gold nugget discovered near Breckenridge
  • 1889 - Breckenridge population exploded to number in the 1000's
  • 1898 - Pug Ryan and his gang held up Breckenridge's elaborate Denver Hotel. It snowed in Breckenridge for 79 days straight, forcing townspeople to build snow tunnels to get around town
 

1900 - 1999

  • 1900 - Phones and electricity introduced to town. The Denver Times described Breckenridge as "a camp that has turned out more gold with less work than any camp in Colorado."
  • 1936 - "Kingdom of Breckenridge" first included in U.S. Map
  • 1942 - World War II forced the end of the dredging industry
  • 1960 - Breckenridge population dwindled to 393
  • 1961 - Breckenridge Ski Area opened on Peak 8
  • 1963 - First "Ullr Dag" festival celebrated in Breckenridge, now known as Ullr Fest
  • 1971 - Peak 9 opened
  • 1973 - Eisenhower Tunnel completed on I-70
  • 1981 - Historic structures entered as a National Register Historic District
  • 1985 - Peak 10 opened
  • 1990 - Breckenridge population reached 1,285
  • 1993 - Riverwalk Center and Peak 7 opened
  • 1999 - Breckenridge population reached 2,399
 

2000 - Present

  • 2001 - Breckenridge Golf Club opened 9 new holes for a total of 27-holes - all Jack Nicklaus-designed
  • 2003 - Breckenridge population reached 3,182
  • 2004 - Barney Ford House Museum opened
  • 2005 - Breckenridge Ski Area opens the Imperial Express chairlift, the highest lift in North America at 12,840 feet.
  • 2007 - Grand opening of the Breck Connect Gondola, directly linking the town and the ski area.
 

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