| 1873 |
Brunot Treaty signed, granting the U.S. mineral rights on 4,000,000 acresof land from the Ute Indian Tribe |
| 1889 |
Nicholas Creede hits silver vein, exclaims “Holy Moses!” at his discovery |
| 1890-1893 |
Boom mining and the heyday of Creede, Population 15,000 |
| 1891 |
Moffat Synicate claims Amethyst & Last Chance Mines •Willow Creek pop. soars to 1,000 • Toll Road to Creede complete |
| 1892 |
Large portion of Creede burns • Electricity comes to Creede • NelsonTunnel constructed |
| 1893 |
Mineral County formed • Congress repeals Shermal Silver Act,price of silver plummits & mining drops to a few mines |
| 1894 |
Amethyst, Last Chance, Park Regent and Commodore Mines are reactivated |
| 1897 |
Wooster Tunnel connects to Nelson Tunnel |
| 1899 |
Wooster Tunnel reaches Amethyst & Last Chance Mines •Humphreys Tunnel connects Wooster Tunnel to Park Regent Mine (totaling 11,000feet from Nelson to the end of Humphreys) |
| 1907 |
Recession forces the temporary closure of mines |
| 1912 |
Equity Mine is mined for ore |
| 1917 |
New power plant built in Creede produces 225 kilowatts |
| 1918 |
Solomon Mill ceases to process ore |
| 1920 |
All mines in Creede area close except Bachelor Mine |
| 1922 |
Price of silver increases to $1.00 due to the Pittman Act |
| 1923 |
Pittman Act expires and mining ceases |
| 1934 |
Gold Reserve Act sets gold at $35/ounce & Silver PurchaseAct passes • Most mines along Holy Moses & Amethyst veins underwentexploration & production |
| 1936 |
Creede’s Business District experiences another fire |
| 1939 |
Emperius Mining Company purchases all mines along Amethyst vein |
| 1951 |
Outlet Mining Company reopens Phoenix Mine and extracts $500,000 in oreover the next 6 years |
| 1965 |
Creede’s economy shifts from mining-based to tourism-based |
| 1970 |
Bulldog Mine reopens |
| 1985 |
Mining ceases in the Creede Mining District |
| 1991 |
Willow Creek placed on 303 (d) list for Impaired Waters byColorado Department of Public Health and Environment • CDPHE Nonpoint SourceProgram funds Passive Mine Drainage Treatment System near Solomon Mine adit |
| 1995 |
EPA conducts remedial investigation of Creede Mining District |
| 1997 |
To avoid placement of the Creede Mining District on NationalPriorities List, citizens form Willow Creek Reclamation |
| 1999 |
WCRC receives grant to characterize Willow Creek Watershed,resulting in 10 reports to indentify watershed restoration activities •Source control investigations begin on Commodore Mine complex |
| 2002 |
Eric Twitty gathers historical information of Creede Mining District forWCRC |
| 2003 |
Characterization work on Willow Creek completed &identifies sites for reclamation • Work begins on Five Mines Project |
| 2005 |
West Willow Creek floods and washes out large portion of Commodore Minecomplex |
| 2007 |
Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety conducts dewateringtest on Nelson Tunnel |
| 2008 |
EPA places Commodore Mine complex/Nelson Tunnel on National PrioritiesList |
| 2010 |
Preparations begin on Lower Willow Creek Restoration Project |
