Rosita, Colorado
Encyclopedia
Rosita was a silver mining town — now a ghost town
— in Custer County
, Colorado
, United States
. Rosita is Spanish
for little rose. Although the old town has almost entirely disappeared (the former post office building is now an operating restaurant), the surrounding area has been largely developed into semi-rural home sites.
The town was used in the filming of the 1958 western movie Saddle the Wind.
Despite some rich strikes in the Pocahantas and Humboldt mines, the silver veins around Rosita ran out of ore in a few years. In the early 1880s, Rosita was surpassed by the nearby mining towns of Querida
and Silver Cliff
. After a bitter four-year fight, Silver Cliff took the county seat from Rosita in the 1886 election, and Rosita declined further. The US post office was closed in 1966. ZIP code
81252 now serves Rosita, but mail must be addressed to Westcliffe
.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
— in Custer County
Custer County, Colorado
Custer County is the tenth least populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The county population was 3,503 at U.S. Census 2000. The county seat is Westcliffe.- History :...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Rosita is Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
for little rose. Although the old town has almost entirely disappeared (the former post office building is now an operating restaurant), the surrounding area has been largely developed into semi-rural home sites.
The town was used in the filming of the 1958 western movie Saddle the Wind.
History
Rosita was founded in late 1872 by prospectors attracted by discoveries of silver. The town was composed of tents and log cabins, but soon had stores, carpenters, a hotel, saloon, blacksmith shop, and an assayer. By 1874 the town had more than a thousand residents and 400 buildings. A US post office opened in 1874, and in September 1874 the Rosita Index began as a weekly newspaper. Rosita took the seat of Custer County away from Ula (now also a ghost town) in 1878.Despite some rich strikes in the Pocahantas and Humboldt mines, the silver veins around Rosita ran out of ore in a few years. In the early 1880s, Rosita was surpassed by the nearby mining towns of Querida
Querida, Colorado
Querida is a ghost town in Custer County, Colorado, United States. The town was built to serve the surrounding silver mines, the most important of which was the Bassick mine. Querida is Spanish for "beloved."-Geography:...
and Silver Cliff
Silver Cliff, Colorado
Silver Cliff is a Statutory Town that is the most populous town in Custer County, Colorado, United States. The population was 512 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. After a bitter four-year fight, Silver Cliff took the county seat from Rosita in the 1886 election, and Rosita declined further. The US post office was closed in 1966. ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
81252 now serves Rosita, but mail must be addressed to Westcliffe
Westcliffe, Colorado
-Nonprofit Cultural Groups:* * * * * -Media:* * * -External links:***...
.