(CREEDE, Colo.) — Silver mining in Creede eventually wrapped up in the late 1980s, and the miners left a rich history behind. The best place to start?
The Underground Mining Museum.
“This museum was started in 1990 by retired miners who wanted to make sure they preserved their history,” said Heather Brophy, Director of the Creede Underground Community Center and Mining Museum.
Unlike many other mines, it wasn’t built out of a pre-existing mine.
“It took about 18 months to construct the tunnels or blast the tunnels, and then about six more months to shore up all the inside structure, put in drywall, make it look like a building inside of the mountain rather than just a cave,” Brophy said.
The museum then became a work of love, as well as a desire for others to be able to see the hard work of those before them.
“The vision of Bob Louth who designed it and really pushed for it to be made — everyone from town banded together and made this museum. They wanted a place that was accessible to people, they wanted a place that their history could be well preserved for years to come,” Brophy said.
Now, it remains an authentic example of the “boom” days of the silver rush, with even some unexpected surprises emerging.
“You put a certain light on the area of the museum and you see George Washington’s face. It wasn’t intentional. They didn’t know it was there until they put a blue light on it by accident one time,” Brophy stated.
Some say there’s a logical, scientific explanation for the faces you see in the walls and rocks.
“It’s human psychology,” Brophy suggested. “You recognize human facial patterns, human body patterns in unnatural things.”
Or maybe, just maybe, there’s another reason.
“Miners would be like, that looks like a face. It must be a Tommy Knocker!” exclaimed Brophy.
Tommy Knockers were thought to be deceased miners trapped underground, or even spirits, who could be helpful, but also a little mischievous.
“You hear knocking and it’s the rock giving way as it’s about to collapse,” Brophy said. “But they believed it was the Tommy Knockers knocking on the walls to warn them of a collapse.”
After you complete your tour of the museum, you can go off on your own and explore the Bachelor Historic Tour road where you can see Creede’s mining history littering the hills, but four-wheel drive is recommended.
