Written by Anne Gilbert Coleman, as part of the Roaring Fork Research Scholarship for the Aspen Historical Society in 1992, the paper provides insights into the history of the people in the ranching community of the Roaring Fork Valley.

Introduction:

After Aspen’s mining economy started to decline in 1893, farmers and ranchers in the Roaring Fork Valley, Colorado who had been supporting the miners became economically prominent. Demographic changes accompanied this economic shift, and the Valley developed into a family-based community whose members represented a variety of regions within America and Europe. The mountain valley environment encouraged the growth of a small-scale mixed farm and ranch economy. Between 1900 and 1950, families grazed their cattle on U.S. Forest Service land during the summer, and used their farm land to produce hay, potatoes, grain, and vegetables.