The discovery of a major silver lode…

The discovery of a major silver lode near Leadville in 1878 triggers the Colorado Silver Boom, resulting in a flood of new emigrant prospectors to many of the same mountain gullies that had been the site of the gold rush.

The resulting opulence is most lavish in Leadville itself.

Silver had been discovered in Colorado in the 1860s, with early mining in Clear Creek Canyon at Georgetown in 1864.

In the early days, the mineral had been overshadowed by gold, however, and the low price of the mineral means that most mines are not profitable enough to operate.

In 1878, responding to pressure from western interests, the United States Congress had passed the Bland-Allison Act authorizing the free coinage of silver.

The government demand has raised the price of the metal to the point where many additional mines are profitable.