Stunner, Colorado

Stunner, Colorado 1913
Stunner, Colorado 1913

Stunner History

Stunnner was settled in the mid-1880s with a post office first being established in 1886. Similar to other towns in the area like Platoro, there isn't much information about the early years of Stunner.

Stunner had similar periods of activity as Platoro, framed by the post office's years of operation from 1886-1894 and 1913-1914. The only photos I could find of Stunner were from the period around 1913.

Location of Stunner related to Platoro and Summitville
Location of Stunner related to Platoro and Summitville

The 1917 publication Geology and Ore Deposits of the Platoro-Summitville Mining District, Colorado by the Colorado Geological Survey gives the following information on Stunner.

Following the discovery of rich ore deposits at Summitville, vigorous prospecting in the regions adjacent to this district resulted within the next ten or fifteen years in opening up other properties in various places in the Alamosa valley and local centers of industry were established at Jasper and Stunner.

Mining activity near Stunner, Colorado 1913
Mining activity near Stunner, Colorado 1913

The town of Stunner in the summer of 1913 had a half dozen or more houses in good condition and supported a store and U.S. Post Office. Numerous prospects, some of them with shafts and short tunnels, had been worked within a radius of two or three miles of this town, but only one of them, the Eurydice, had achieved the distinction of producing shipping ore.

Notable mines around stunner were the Eurydice, Pass Me By, Decatur West, and Decatur South.

Miners near Stunner, Colorado ca. 1913
Miners near Stunner, Colorado ca. 1913

Today Stunner is a ghost town with no remaining structures. A Forest Service campground is located adjacent to the town site.

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Placer mines at Cripple Creek, Colorado ca. 1892

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