Breckenridge History
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Summer 1859 - Gold is discovered along the Blue River and a base camp, later to be
known as Breckenridge, is established. While none of this base camp remains today,
Breckenridge does contain more than 350 historic structures, making it the largest
historic district in the state of Colorado.
1859 - The Gold Pan Saloon is established as a rough-and-ready bar for the miners.
Today, the Gold Pan is still in business at 103 N. Main Street in Breckenridge, and stands
proud as the oldest continuously operated bar West of the Mississippi.
1860 - Breckenridge gets a post office to serve the more than 8,000 miners and
merchants who flock to the area.
1942 - Dredge Boat mining comes to a halt after more than 40 years when World War II
requires all metal be melted down for the war effort. Today visitors can view where the
progress stopped at Maggie Pond at the Base of Peak 9 or eat on a reproduced dredge at The
Dredge Restaurant located at 108 Jefferson Avenue.
1960 - Breckenridge continues as the Summit County seat, but the population dips to
393 and town members fear the area will soon be a ghost town.
December 16, 1961 - The Breckenridge Ski Area officially opens with one Heron
double chairlift and a short T-bar. Almost 17,000 skier visits were recorded that first
season, despite the fact that Interstate 70 was still not complete to Summit County.
1999 - 2000 - The country's highest-capacity lift and first double-loading six-passenger
chairlift, the Quicksilver Super6 opens at Breckenridge, replacing the world's first high-speed
quad. For a second straight year, Breckenridge is the most-visited resort in the US, tabulating
1,441,000 skier visits.
2002 - Breckenridge increases intermediate terrain by 30 percent with the Peak 7 expansion,
adding seven new trails and the six-person Independence SuperChair. The new Peak 8 SuperConnect
transports visitors from Peak 9 to Peak 8 with incredible speed.
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