About Historic Leadville

Historic Leadville is a public history project exploring the remarkable stories, photographs and maps of Colorado’s most famous boomtown.

Step back in time to a place where fortunes were won and lost in the shadow of the Rockies. Once at the heart of America’s silver boom, Leadville is rich with stories of miners, merchants and everyday people who built their lives at 10,200 feet.

But Leadville’s stories didn’t end when the boom days were over. Historic Leadville takes a deeper look at the people, places and events that shaped the city and kept it going long after the boom faded.

Another goal of the project is to make Leadville’s historical documents accessible to everyone through its online digital archives. The collection recently expanded to include digitized city council meeting records dating back to 1878, offering a new window into Leadville’s early history.

The project is also a personal journey for its creator, Andrew Long, whose Irish ancestors arrived in Leadville around 1880. Drawing on years of experience as a journalist and geographer, Andrew brings a unique perspective to exploring and sharing the city’s history through photographs, maps and data.