In February 1891 the Bullion
King mine was almost totally destroyed by an avalanche from nearby Ruby Peak.
Felix Ropell's first wife was killed when the avalanche struck the mine boarding
house. 1
In 1971 we located a collapsed mine. In the
photos below, the hole with lumber and cable is what we believed was the remains of the
"Bullion King" mine.
"The
steam hoisting machinery over the Bullion King mine was started last week, and
active work commenced as soon as the mine was cleared of water, a few days
later. It is the intention of Mr. Ropell, the superintendent, to sink the
shaft 200 feet deeper before starting levels. This mine has shown constant
improvement with increased depth."
In 1971, my brother Dan and I visited the
Ghost Town of Irwin. My Great
Grandfather Felix Ropell was a superintendent of various mines in Irwin in the
1880's and 1890's. Around 1900, my Grandmother spent some time in the
abandoned town of Irwin while her father, Felix Ropell, tried to re-open one of
the mines. She remembered that they stayed in the bank which was the only
remaining brick building in town.
The town of Irwin Colorado was founded in 1880
nine miles west of Crested Butte in Gunnison County. This discovery of
silver the previous year brought people to the town by the thousands.
Within six months, the town grew from about 50 to over 5000. In its prime,
Irwin was a "wide-open bristling town" with hotels, sawmills, stores, churches,
stamp mills, and many dance halls and saloons. 1
Most of the town was hauled away in pieces to
build other mining towns in the 1890's and early 20th century. In 1971, we
could still see the layout of streets, remains of building foundations and
locations of fire hydrants. You could also see 15 foot tall tree
stumps where trees where felled in the deep snows of winter as the miners rushed
to build cabins on the packed snow. As the snow melted, their cabins sank
down to rest on the ground!
My Great Grandfather Felix Ropell, was
superintendent of the Bullion King mine located one mile northwest of town. On August 24th, 1883, the Colorado Springs
Daily Gazette reported that,
