 This page contains
a brief glance at some of the historical
highlights of Breckenridge.
 
This site is
provided by Ted Amenta, Breckenridge
Ski School
Ski & Snowboard Instructor,
available for private instruction upon
request.
Breckenridge
was first settled in 1859 following the
discovery of gold in the Blue River,
which still runs through the middle of
town. The Dredge Bar & Restaurant is
an authentic piece of mining equipment
from the 1800s. Make sure to visit some
of the historic mining shacks still
located on the hill while skiing at
Breckenridge!
The largest gold nugget
ever found in North America was
discovered in Breckenridge on July 3,
1887 by a man named Tom Groves. The
single nugget weighed 151 oz. and was
about the size of an adult human head. It
was dubbed "Tom's Baby" because
Mr. Groves paraded it around town like a
new-born child. Whatever happened to the
nugget is still one of Breckenridge's
great mysteries.
Like most mining towns of
the era, Breckenridge was not the most
pious of communities. Drinking, gambling,
and prostitution were rampant. Father
Dryer established a local parish,
determined to set the town straight. When
he refused to stop ringing his church
bells and waking up the hungover
residents of Breckenridge, the
townspeople used dynamite mining caps to
blow up his church steeple. No more bell.
The Gold Pan Saloon was
one of the first businesses of its kind
in town and is still in operation today,
making it the oldest continuously
operating saloon west of the Mississippi
River.
Breckenridge got its name
when the town wanted a post office. The
townspeople thought they could increase
their odds of getting one if they named
their town after the nation's Vice
President at the time, John Breckinridge.
The idea worked and Breckinridge got its
post office. But when civil war broke out
in 1864, John Breckinridge sided with the
south and the pro-Union citizens of
Breckinridge wanted the town's name
changed. The solution was easy: change an
i to an e, and it's been Breckenridge
ever since.
Today the gold rush is
over but the powder rush is running
strong! Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek,
and Keystone are operated under common
ownership, making lift tickets at these
resorts one of the best values in the
industry!
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