Trip Report: The Henson, Colorado Ghost Town

Basic Information

• Name: Henson
• Where: Outside of Lake City, Colorado
• Founded: 1883
• Population: 0 (ghost town)
• More Information: GhostTowns.com

Narrative

When I was visiting the beautiful Lake City, Colorado I had some time to spare before dinner one afternoon and decided to make the quick drive up County Road 20, which is more popularly known as the Alpine Loop, to see the old mining camp of Henson:

Since it was late afternoon the sky was filled with the typical thunderclouds that frequent Colorado during the summer:

Just a short drive up County Road 20 is the Hard Tack Mine which is now a business that caters to tourists looking to see the inside of a mine:

Passed the Hard Tack Mine the narrow dirt road then comes to the old ghost town of Henson:

This old ghost town was named after Henry Henson who was one of the miners that found the original gold seam here in 1871.  Henry Henson and other miners were illegally prospecting on what was then Ute Indian land.  The Brunot Treaty in 1873 took the land from the Utes and allowed the miners to set up shop here legally. This led to the growth of Henson which became an official town in 1883.  Up until 1910 hundreds of people used to live in this town which is now deserted due to the much larger Lake City absorbing the remaining population over the years.  The last post office in Henson closed in 1913.  Henson today is located on private property with many buildings displaying “No Trespassing” signs, but this old ghost town can still be viewed legally from the dirt road.  This large school house gives an indication of how many kids once called Henson home:

Besides the few buildings left standing there is also a lot of mining structures still visible today as well:

Of interest is that many of the men that worked in these mines were Italians that decided to go on strike after the owners of the Ute Ulay Mining Company ordered that all single men had to board at the company’s commissary.  This was a common mining company tactic at the time to fleece money from the miners.  During the strike the chased away other miners and sealed the road to Henson.  The Italian consul, a Dr. Cuneo had to intervene to stop the strike from resulting to bloodshed.  Once the strike was resolved the mining company ordered all single Italians to leave the mine in 3 days and those with families had 60 days to vacate.

Most of the mining structures remaining today were in disrepair and appeared ready to collapse at any time:

Some of them I found remarkable that they were still standing:

Probably the most striking mining structure left standing is this old dam:

This dam was actually constructed in a failed attempt by the early miners to harness hydropower for the town.  A closer look shows a small opening at the bottom of the dam that is used by kayakers today to get through the dam:

Conclusion

For anyone visiting Lake City it is only a 10-15 minute drive up the Alpine Loop dirt road to see this ghost town.  So if anyone has a few minutes to spare it is worth taking the short drive up to Henson and get a glimpse of what life was like for early Colorado miners in the area.  Just make sure not to trespass on anyone’s private property while doing so.

Have you been to Henson, Colorado?  Do you have pictures and information you would like to share?  Consider posting a trip report in the On-Walkabout Forums.