Timelines

Timeline of Events

Date	Year	Event
February 21	1836	Robert Bowne Minturn born in New York
	1849	Ute and Arapahoe conflict on Battle Mountain
	1879	Town of Clinton, now called Gilman, forms
	1881	Talamage family builds first house in Minturn
	1882	George G. Booco builds cabin near the depot
	1885	Road from Leadville, Red Cliff and Gilman reaches Minturn
	1886	Town of Clinton renamed Gilman, after Henry Gilman, superintendent of Iron Mask Mine
	1886	Six-stall roundhouse built First Depot constructed
April 3	1887	Kingston Townsite appears on the railroad map
May 1	1887	Booco's Station replaces Kingston Townsite on railroad maps
June 1	1887	Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad arrives in Minturn, renamed for Robert B. Minturn, a shipping millionaire responsible for raising the money to bring the rails west
December 15	1889	Robert Bowne Minturn dies
	1890	Minturn population is approximately 191
	1891	First store opened in Minturn by Pierce and Richmond called the Minturn Mercantile Second depot constructed
	1891-92	Minturn Messenger newspaper published by F.H. Davis and T.D. Peirce
	1892	First school is built at 225 Pine Street Miss Phifield is teacher for all grades
Winter	1892	Great fire destroys several downtown buildings
	1892-93	Eagle Eye newspaper published by George and David Fownes
January - May	1899	Record snows block trains from running; coldest recorded winter in town history
	1900	Minturn population rises to 428 residents
	1901	W.H. Luby opens The Saloon
September	1904	George G. Booco donates large parcel of land to the town
September 5	1904	Updated school opens 243 Boulder Street, at the current location of old town hall; fifty students attend classes with Miss Secil Taylor and Miss Annabelle Herron
October 29	1904	Frank Steacy elected mayor; six trustees elected in first town election
November 15	1904	First town council meets; Minturn incorporated; Salaries set for marshall at $30 per month, clerk for $10 per month, treasurer for $5 per month, town attorney for $40 per month
	1905	Holy Cross National Forest established with headquarters in Red Cliff
March 16	1908	Shopmen for the D&RG Railroad strike
	1908	Ford introduces the Model T
	1909	Squires Hotel built
	1912	Empire Zinc Company consolidates private mining claims to form the Eagle Mine at Gilman 100-foot Turntable installed in railyard to turn larger engines
	1913	Water lines laid from Cross Creek into town St. Patrick's Parish is built Rio Grande Engine crashes through Roundhouse
	1914	World War I begins
December 6	1915	Y.M.C.A., now known as the International Trade Center, dedicated Empire Zinc Division of the New Jersey Zinc Co. buys Eagle Mine at Gilman
May	1917	Minturn United Presbyterian Church opens at Toledo and Main Streets with 21 members
	1917	Sidewalks laid along Main Street
	1919	Treaty of Versailles ends World War I
	1920s	Isabell and Nelson homesteads make Minturn the lettuce capital of the United States
	1922	Pipefitters and mechanics strike against the D&RG Railroad until October 1924
August 7	1924	Minturn wired with electricity, courtesy of Public Service of Colorado
August 22	1924	State's experimental farm grand opening
April 6	1926	State proposes Hwy. 24 through Minturn; town trustees oppose proposed path Cemetery bridge replaced Sunday amusements (such as movies and dancing) prohibited by Ordinance
July	1927	First organized pilgrimage to Mt. of the Holy Cross
June	1928	New 120-foot Turntable built to accommodate 3600-series engines
	1929	New York Stock Market crashes
	1930s	Self-contained refrigerated rail cars eliminate need for ice house in Minturn
	1933	Rod and Gun Club leases what is now known as Bolt's Lake for public fishing, swimming, tennis and golf Prohibition ends in the United States
April	1936	Katherine Mack elected first female mayor of Minturn; Nellie Young elected as first female council member
	1936	U.S. Highway 24 completed over Battle Mountain
	1936	Cosma Serna moves Rock Creek settlers to Taylor Street in Minturn
	1938-42	Minturn Booster newspaper published every Friday by Roy Simpson
	1939	World War II begins
	1940	Gondolas packed with ore run loose along the tracks, all the way to Edwards. Red Cliff Bridge built over Belden Canyon. Highway 24 completed through Minturn (connecting the town to the east over Tennessee Pass.) Red Cliff Bridge built over Belden Canyon Highway 24 completed through Minturn, connecting the town to the east over Vail Pass
	1940s	Many young mineworkers are protected from the draft by providing contract metals for the efforts in World War II
	1941	Cinder block school at 302 Pine Street built. Water tank on Nelson Avenue hillside built. Holy Cross National Forest headquarters moved to Minturn
December 7	1941	Japanese attack Pearl Harbor
	1942	Camp Hale constructed as a temporary training camp for 10th Mountain Division
	1943	Bill Burnett drafted into World War II
November 11	1944	D-Day
June	1946	Bill Burnett returns from an overseas assignment in the Philippines
	1950	Gilman mine employs more than 450
	1951	Color TV introduced in America
August 1	1951	U.S. Postal Service issues a stamp (designed by Minturn Postmaster) with a picture of the Mt. of the Holy Cross; large parade and ceremonies brought 2,000 visitors, including the Postmaster General Pearson and former Governor John C. Vivian
August	1954	Unionized mineworkers strike in Gilman for 52 days
	1956	Steam locomotives replaced with diesel; Roundhouse torn down in railyard
	1959	Minturn votes to join county school district RE-50J United Steelworks of America strike at Gilman for 6 months
	1960s	Railroad strike
December	1962	Vail Ski Area opens
	1963	JFK assassinated
December	1964	Battle Mountain High School completed at Maloit Park on land leased from the school district
	1965	U.S. troops sends troops to Vietnam
	1966	New Jersey Zinc Company sells to Gulf and Western Industries
	1967	Construction of Interstate 70 begins
	1968	Walter Madrid first Mexican-American elected to Minturn Town Board
	1969	Neil Armstrong becomes first man to land on the moon
	1970	Vail Associates buys Meadow Mountain and Grouse Creek from Jack Oleson for $3 million and closes the small ski area there
	1971	Vail Associates proposes expanding ski area for 1976 Olympics United States Forest Services purchases Meadow Mountain from Vail Associates
	1973	U.S. pulls troops out of Vietnam
	1974	Richard Nixon resigns as President
January 18	1974	Beverly and Robert Storm open the Whistle Stop Inn, Motel & Restaurant
	1975	Battle Mountain High School closes at Maloit Park; new Battle Mountain High School completed at Eagle-Vail
June 30	1975	Taylor Addition annexed to Minturn
	1976	Town of Minturn offices open in old school building at 302 Pine St.
December 16	1977	Gilman mine shuts down, laying off 154 miners leaving 7 to work on clean up
	1978	Minturn Middle School built at Maloit Park Construction begins on the Beaver Creek ski area Manpower Training and Developing Program implemented to train workers for new jobs
Summer	1978	Colorado Mountain College leases and remodels old high school at Maloit Park Little Oklahoma (South Minturn) annexed to Minturn
	1981	Personal computers introduced by IBM
	1985	EPA lists Eagle Mine on National Priority list, declared Superfund Site
	1986	Colorado Mountain College ends lease with school district RE-50J for Maloit Park
April 6	1982	Minturn adopts home rule government, first town manager hired
September 12	1990	MM IV level earthquake felt in Minturn; four more earthquakes hit Colorado that week
May	1991	Old Minturn Movie Theater at 201 Main Street demolished
	1992	Cold War ends
	1993	Movie shot in Belden Canyon (Tall Tales - Disney)
	1996	Several rental houses demolished to build The Enclave
	1996	Minturn Community Fund was formed. Their first event was the Live In Minturn Concert Series.
	1997	Railroad Tennessee Pass line shutdown through Minturn
	1998	Water lawsuit settled with Vail Associates
Summer	1998	Minturn Market opens on Saturdays
	2000	New town center and post office completed at 302 Pine Street
February 2	2002	Winter Olympic torch goes through Minturn Minturn joins the Eagle River Fire Protection District
	2003	New fire station is completed New public works building completed near Cemetery Riverview Cemetery is expanded and improved
	2003	Radio Free Minturn was introduced
	2005	Little Beach Park and Amphitheater was constructed
	2009	Town adopts Community Master Plan
	2013	The Minturn Community Gardens space is created
	2014	Town created Economic Development Advisory Committee
September	2016	Town adopts Economic Development Strategic Plan
November	2017	Town adopts Energy Action Plan

Timeline of Mayors

Dates	Name	Major Accomplishments
1904 - 1912	Frank Steacy	Adopted first charter and ordinances; Built first school at 225 Pine St. Buried in Minturn (1918)
1912 - 1914	Robert A. Bryant	Laid first water lines
1914 - 1929	C.A. Wilcox	Laid first sidewalks; Electricity comes to town; Cemetery Bridge condemned; town opposes proposed route of Highway 24 through town; Sunday amusements (such as movies and dancing) prohibited Buried in Minturn (1935)
1929 - 1932	Leon Clare Graham	Cemetery Bridge and Eagle River Bridge completed Died of accidental shooting; buried in Minturn (1938)
1932 - 1936	Chris Hick	Community building plans drawn up
1936 - 1937	Katherine Mack	Minturn joins Colorado Municipal League; streets repaired; Taylor addition annexation first comes up but is dropped because of no cooperation from the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad
1937 - 1948	Harold Wister	Built water tank on Nelson Avenue hillside, major improvements to the water system; Cinder block school at 302 Pine Street built
1948 - 1956	Lynn Walker	Minturn enters into the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District; Major improvements to sewer lines
1956 - 1966	Harvey Cline	Natural gas lines run throughout town; Town offices moved to old school at 243 Boulder Street; Television series filmed in town; New water tank built at Cross Creek
1966 - 1986	Harold Bellm	Served longest term as mayor in Minturn history; town offices moved to cinder block building at 302 Pine Street; New wooden water lines laid throughout town; Taylor Avenue is annexed; South Minturn annexed; Bellm Bridge built over Eagle River; upgrades to heat and electrical in cinder block building
1986 - 1992	Darrell Wegert	Home Rule adopted; first town manager hired; Planning and Zoning Commission created; Ironworks building receives approval
1992 - 1994	Ernie Chavez	New water, sewer and gas lines laid along Pine Street; Television series filmed in town
1994 -1998	Michael Gallagher	Hired second town manager; Partnered with Rocky Mountain Mutual Housing for new town center complex; cinder block building condemned; Town offices moved back to 243 Boulder Street
1998 - 2002	Gordon (Hawkeye) Flaherty	Fired police chief; Hired third town manager; Built new town center; Water tank on Nelson Ave. retired; New water system put in place
2002 - 2004	Earle Bidez	Completed Eagle River restoration; Built new public works facility
2004 - 2015	Gordon (Hawkeye) Flaherty	Improved drainage and paved the 200 block of Pine St. Paved Toledo St. from Pine St. to the river, and completed curb / gutter work on Norman St. (Pine to Boulder St).
2015 - 2019	Matt Scherr	100 Block Improvements. Hired Michelle Metteer as Town Manager. Began financing for the Highway 24 and sidewalk project.
2019 - 2021	John Widerman	Completed Highway 24 and sidewalk project. Headed up sustainability efforts to include the Partners in Energy program, Energy Action Plan, and LED Lighting Retrofit for Town Buildings. Also involved in increasing bus routes.
Present	Earle Bidez

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Timeline of Events

Timeline of Mayors