Huerfano County Ghost Towns

Delcarbon includes land on both sides of Colorado State Highway 69. This shows the west side, which includes a hill with a cell tower on it. 

There are a bunch of ghost towns left in Huerfano County. Here's two I'd like to focus on two that are relatively close to Walsenburg: Delcarbon and Tioga. Both are former mining towns that died out after the mines closed. 

First, Delcarbon. It is located near the northeast corner of the Raton Basin, just before where Highway 69 makes a long, sharp turn towards the west. I can only see the remains of some foundations here. The area is private property, and the fences are secure, so I stayed alongside the highway. 

The view from Delcarbon is nice, as you can see the broad expanse of the valley to the north, Greenhorn Mountain, and the Great Plains to the east. A large slag heap is visible just to the north.

This picture is taken from the same vantage point as the one above, but in this one the camera is turned more towards the north. You can see Badito Cone and Greenhorn Mountain in the distance. A railway line used to run on the west side of the highway. Delcarbon occupied space on what is now both sides of the highway. 

Now, let's have a look at Tioga:

Some of the remaining foundations at Tioga. Most of the trees here have died. Its windy, and a herd of pronghorn now claim the hills surrounding County Road 524 as their own.

Tioga is a true ghost town. It's located between County Road 524 and Colorado State Highway 69. It consists mostly of the foundations of dwellings and other buildings that used to stand here. 

Most of the trees have died. Broken glass litters the ground. There are a couple still-standing buildings towards the northwest, but I am not sure if they once belonged to the town or its mine or not. There is a slag heap. 

The area around the town is dry and exposed to the elements. Life here, even when the buildings were standing, must have been tough. A post office used to exist here, but it's hard to imagine mailing a letter from this place. ⚒