Written by Lysa Wegman-French, as part of the Roaring Fork Research Scholarship for the Aspen Historical Society in 1990, the paper provides insights into the history of the Holden-Marolt site.

Introduction:

There was widespread excitement in Aspen, Colorado in the fall of 1890. “The sweet day dreams of those who have longed to see Aspen a great city are about to be realized,” the Aspen Times declared. Edward Royal Holden had announced that his company would build a reduction works and a manufacturing plant on the edge of town.
The company also planned to build a town nearby, and an electric street railway, to provide rapid transit between the suburb and the city. The financiers had already signed papers to purchase over 400 acres, and would invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in the projects. The reduction works would use the new Russell process of lixiviation [licksi-
vee-A-shun], to treat low grade silver ores,’ which would “revolutionize old methods and create a new era in the mining industry.” The Times reported that the mill would profitably treat ore as low as 11 ounces of silver to the ton. The newspaper estimated that 35,000 tons of low grade ore would be mined weekly in the district if it could be treated
profitably. In addition, there were many mine dumps containing thousands of tons of ore which contained at least 11 ounces of silver per ton. The Holden company said that the mill would start with 40 stamps, with a capacity of 100 tons per day.’ However, they planned to install several hundred stamps eventually, and projected they would employ
3,000 men. The newspaper also pointed out that more men would be employed mining low grade ores. It was predicted that Aspen would boom and more than double its population in only a few years. The newspaper crowed that the city would take on “a new era of prosperity.'”