New Wagner Park historical interpretation outlines Aspen’s history

Aspen’s history has been placed in the town center.

Two weeks ago, the Aspen Historical Society worked with a local graphic designer to replace the Wagner Park historical interpretation, located at the “Sister Cities” Plaza on the park’s east flank. The interpretation details Aspen’s history, stretching from the time the Ute People resided in the area until the town took a turn to become a cultural hub for skiing and outdoor recreation in the mid-20th century.

The interpretation includes a QR code that directs viewers to aspenhistory.org, which includes a “most popular images” section of the society’s 60,000 Aspen historical photos. 

“This is the culmination of everything I’ve wanted to do with the archives since I started in 1990,” said Lisa Hancock, Aspen Historical Society curator, who worked with her team to create the interpretation. 

Independent contractor Art Burrows, who has a photography studio at the Red Brick Center for the Arts, oversaw the fabrication, installation, and graphic design for the project. Architect Willis Pember designed the installation’s original structure roughly 25 years ago, according to Burrows.

The interpretation begins with the Ute People, Núu-ciu (The Human Beings), who were Colorado’s original inhabitants.

The Ute were driven west of the Continental Divide when settlers and miners encroached on their ancestral lands in the mid- to late-1800s, the interpretation states.

“In 1881, they were forcibly relocated to reservations, ending their traditional presence in the region,” the interpretation states.

Aspen grew from  a “rough camp” to Colorado’s third largest city between 1879 and the early 1890s after silver was discovered in the Roaring Fork Valley. At the time, Aspen produced one-sixth of the country’s silver.

“The town boasted 14 newspapers, three schools, six firehouses, eight churches, 35 fraternal groups, an opera house, and two railroads serving 13,000 residents,” the interpretation states.

The silver boom ended in 1893 when the federal government was no longer obligated to buy silver to use as a form of currency, according to Hancock. 

“And the price of silver basically dropped in half,” she said.

Silver’s drop in value made it impossible for miners to make a profit, she said. 

“So overnight, about 2,500 miners and workers associated with silver mining were out of work,” she said. “People were just walking the rails, literally, just getting out of town.”

Aspen’s population declined, and buildings decayed in the decades that followed.

The town entered “the quiet years,” which spanned from 1893 to 1936. Aspen’s community dwindled to just 1,770 residents in 1930, but residents shifted from mining to ranching, and the community’s “enduring spirit laid the groundwork for future revival,” according to the interpretation.

In 1945, Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke landed in Aspen, bringing with them a goal to invigorate the community’s summer tourism to accompany its winter sports. 

The Aspen Institute and the Aspen Music Festival and School were born out of Paepckes’ 1949 Goethe Bicentennial, which celebrated Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

The Aspen Idea — “a well-rounded life nurtured through mind, body, and spirit in service of the greater good” — was the heart of the Paepckes’ vision, according to the interpretation.

“So what that full sentiment is, is if you are a better person, if you take care of your mind, body, and spirit, and you’re enlightened, then you can then turn around and purvey that to other people and improve your community,” Hancock said.

Aspen was reborn from its mining beginnings when skiing took hold of the community. The town’s transition was sparked by skiing in the 1930s, which continued when Aspen’s first ski run opened in 1937, according to the interpretation. Tenth Mountain division troops who had trained near Aspen during World War II became ski patrollers, entrepreneurs, and instructors after the war.

“In 1950, Aspen gained international acclaim by hosting the FIS Alpine World Championships, the first time the event was held outside Europe,” the interpretation states.

The mid-20th century ski culture continued to build with the 1957 opening of Buttermilk Ski Resort and Aspen Highlands Ski Resort, as well as the 1967 opening of Aspen Snowmass Ski Resort, according to the interpretation.

More information about Aspen’s history can be found at the newly installed interpretation or at archiveaspen.org.

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Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.