09/02/2026
STORIES FROM GUFFEY — NO. 4
WHEN GUFFEY WAS BOOMING
It is hard to look at Guffey today and imagine more than 500 people living here.
But for a brief period at the end of the nineteenth century, that is exactly what happened.
As mining activity grew in the Freshwater Mining District, miners, investors, merchants, tradesmen and families poured into the area. Historical sources describe Guffey at its peak as a community of more than 500 residents with roughly 40 businesses.
Forty businesses.
In Guffey.
That number is worth stopping over, because this was not simply a collection of mining cabins scattered through the hills. For a short time, Guffey was becoming a real commercial town.
People arriving here needed somewhere to sleep, somewhere to eat, somewhere to buy supplies, somewhere to stable a horse, somewhere to have equipment repaired, somewhere to collect their mail — and, apparently, plenty of places to have a drink.
Historical accounts describe groceries, mercantiles, restaurants, saloons, hotels and other businesses springing up as the town grew.
One of the best-documented merchants was Gustav “Gus” Cohen.
Cohen appears to have established a mercantile in Guffey in 1896, probably on the northwest corner of Fourth and Main Streets. The store apparently also housed the post office, and Cohen served as postmaster at various times between 1896 and 1922.
A March 10, 1899 item in the Park County Bulletin advertised the post-office store as a place to buy to***co, ci**rs and stationery. Years later, John W. Tremayne remembered Cohen’s mercantile as the kind of store that carried just about everything — exactly what an isolated mountain community needed.
Park County historical records also identify Cohen as a store owner and town trustee during Guffey’s early years.
And then there were the hotels.
Guffey had enough travelers, miners, businessmen and newcomers passing through that more than one hotel operated here.
Historical records identify M. Frederick as a hotel proprietor in Freshwater in 1898, and later records name both the Townsend Hotel and the Frederick Hotel.
By 1910 — well after the greatest mining excitement had subsided — historical business records still listed three businesses in Guffey:
Gus Cohen’s General Store.
The Townsend Hotel.
The Frederick Hotel.
That is an extraordinary little clue.
Even after the boom had collapsed, two hotels were still hanging on.
Hotels in a mining town were more than simply places where travelers spent the night. They could serve as boarding houses, dining rooms, meeting places and temporary homes for miners, salesmen, investors and workers who had arrived without permanent housing.
And a town of more than 500 people needed much more than stores and hotels.
Historical records show a functioning local government. Gus Cohen served as a town trustee. J. M. White served as town attorney. Myra White served as town treasurer and was also a schoolteacher.
There was a doctor.
There were merchants.
There were hotel keepers.
There were miners and prospectors.
There were ranchers and lumbermen.
There were teachers, lawyers and public officials.
There were restaurants and saloons serving a population that was working hard and apparently socializing just as hard.
And then there were newspapers.
Guffey was substantial enough during its boom years to support local newspaper publishing, including the Guffey Prospector and the Freshwater Pilot. Historical newspaper guides also record the Guffey Independent during this same general period.
Think about what that means.
A community does not generally support multiple newspapers unless there are businesses buying advertising, residents wanting local news, mining companies promoting claims and enough economic activity to keep presses running.
For a few years, Guffey had all of that.
The Town Hall, built in 1896, became another center of community life. Dances, elections, celebrations and public gatherings were held there. Even after mining declined, local histories remembered Guffey as a place known for dances, Fourth of July celebrations and rodeos.
So when we say Guffey once had more than 500 people and around 40 businesses, try to picture the town differently.
Picture horses tied along the streets.
Hotel rooms occupied by miners and traveling businessmen.
People walking into Cohen’s store for groceries, to***co, mail and supplies.
Meals being served.
Saloons doing business.
Newspapers coming off the press.
Miners talking about the latest claims.
Families sending children to school.
Town officials conducting business.
Hotels taking in newcomers who believed they had arrived just before the next great Colorado gold strike.
Guffey was not waiting to become a town.
For a short time, it already was one.
And almost everyone was betting on mining.
That bet did not pay off the way people expected.
The enormous strike never came. Population fell dramatically, businesses closed, and the boom that had created Guffey began disappearing almost as quickly as it had arrived.
Yet the town did not become a ghost town.
Ranching, lumbering and the businesses that served the surrounding countryside gave Guffey another reason to exist after mining faded.
By 1910, the population was recorded at about 150, and Cohen’s General Store, the Townsend Hotel and the Frederick Hotel were still operating.
That may be one of the most remarkable pieces of the story.
Guffey survived the failure of the very boom that created it.
More than a century later, some of those old buildings remain, the streets are still here, people are still doing business here — and Guffey is still very much alive.
Small town. Big stories.
Colorado Mountain Distillers
Guffey, Colorado
Sources:
Park County Office of Historic Preservation
Park County Local History Archives and Park County Name Index Database
Park County Bulletin historical references
Ute Country News historical series on Guffey
Colorado historical business-directory records
Denver Public Library, Guide to Colorado Newspapers
N. W. Ayer & Son’s American Newspaper Annual
Historical accounts of the Freshwater Mining District
