10:30am Brunch and Meet-up at Village Smithy

26 S 3rd St, Carbondale, CO 81623

12:00pm Depart for Crystal Mill Drive

The picturesque Crystal Mill is one of the most photographed sites in Colorado. Its precarious perch on an outcropping of rock just above the Crystal River, framed by beautiful aspens and a backdrop of stunning mountains, gives it an undeniable visual appeal.

Though some misinformed people have dubbed it the “Dead Horse Mill”, that name is erroneous and was never historically used. Historically speaking, the Mill was known as the Sheep Mountain Power House, and was located on the Lost Horse Millsite. Today it is known as “The Crystal Mill”.

The mill, constructed in 1893, harnessed the river adjacent to the mill to power the air compressor housed inside. Early engineers had built a dam across the river, which funneled water down the vertical penstock (the ladder-like structure) onto a horizontal wheel, which drove an axle in the penstock. The penstock powered the air compressor. In turn, the enormous compressor ran drills in the nearby Sheep Mountain and Bear Mountain mines. The drills were used to bore holes in the mine walls for the placement of dynamite. Once the dynamite was detonated, the miners removed the ore.

The mill closed its operations in 1917. Continuing efforts to preserve it have been aided by Gunnison and Aspen Historical Societies, residents of Crystal and Marble, and interested individuals caught by the spectacle of the old Mill.

3pm Mill Site

213 W Park St, Marble, CO 81623

The marble fabricating mill was located in the town. It became the largest of its kind in the world. The mill had many challenges. On March 20, 1912, the Mill was completely destroyed by a huge snowslide, but by the summer of 1912 the Mill was back in business. Late in the summer of 1912 Colonel Channing Meek, the visionary quarry superintendent, was killed when he jumped from a runaway trolley as it hurtled down from the quarry.

In 1913 and 1914 the large marble pillars that remain today were constructed as support for the overhead crane, which helped increase production. However, by mid-1917 many of the Italian and Austrian workers had returned to Europe to fight in World War I. On April 2, 1925, a huge fire consumed 900 linear feet of the large structure, and was stopped by the firewall that still exists today. In 1929 concrete flooring was installed, and cement with that date is still visible.