Ironton, Colorado


Ironton was a town in Ouray County, Colorado, United States. It lay south of the present town of Ouray.
Ironton was built on flatter ground than surrounding towns. Settled in 1893, within three weeks three hundred buildings were being built. It was a staging area for supplies coming from Ouray. Ironton was a major transportation junction between Red Mountain Town and Ouray in addition to having some of its own mines. Ironton had a peak population of over 1000 and had two trains arriving daily from Silverton. There were many chain stores from the nearby cities of Ouray and Silverton. The town lived into the first part of the 20th century but slowly faded as mining operations declined. The final resident of the town, Milton Larson, appeared as a contestant on the 7/1/1963 episode of I've Got A Secret, with this as his secret. He died in the mid-1960s. The town site is still occasionally visited by tourists.