Rosita, Colorado

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Rosita, Colorado
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settlement_type = Town
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pushpin_label_position = none
pushpin_map_caption = Location in Custer County and the state of Colorado
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = USA
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = flag|Colorado
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Custer CountyGR|3
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government_type = ghost town
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established_title = Founded
established_date = 1872
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timezone = MST
utc_offset = -7
timezone_DST = MDT
utc_offset_DST = -6
latd= 38
latm= 05
lats= 50
latNS=N
longd= 105
longm= 20
longs= 10
longEW=W
elevation_footnotes = GR|3
elevation_m = 2685
elevation_ft = 8809
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = Westcliffe 81252
area_code = 719
blank_name = GNIS feature ID
blank_info = [http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:0192319 0192319]
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Rosita was a silver mining town — now a ghost town — in Custer County, Colorado, United States. "Rosita" is Spanish for "little rose". The town is not entirely deserted, and still has an operating restaurant. [ [http://www.custerguide.com/LetterDropInn/home.asp Letter Drop Inn Restaurant - Fine Dining in Historic Rosita Colorado ] ]

The town was used in the filming of the 1958 western movie "Saddle the Wind".

History

Rosita was founded in late 1872 by prospectors attracted by discoveries of silver. The town was composed of tents and log cabins, but soon had stores, carpenters, a hotel, saloon, blacksmith shop, and an assayer. By 1874 the town had more than a thousand residents and 400 buildings. A US post office opened in 1874, and in September 1874 the Rosita "Index" began as a weekly newspaper. Rosita took the seat of Custer County away from Ula (now also a ghost town) in 1878.

Despite some rich strikes in the Pocahantas and Humboldt mines, the silver veins around Rosita ran out of ore in a few years. In the early 1880s, Rosita was surpassed by the nearby mining towns of Querida and Silver Cliff. After a bitter four-year fight, Silver Cliff took the county seat from Rosita in the 1886 election, and Rosita declined further. The US post office was closed in 1966. [Gayle Turk (1975) "Wet Mountain Valley", Colorado Springs: Little London Press, p.9-21.] ZIP code 81252 now serves Rosita, but mail must be addressed to Westcliffe.cite web | url = http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp | title = ZIP Code Lookup| format = JavaScript/HTML | publisher = United States Postal Service | accessdate = 2008-01-02]

Geography

Rosita is at an elevation of 8809 feet (2685 m), at coor dms|38|05|50|N|105|20|10|W|city.

References

USCensusPop
1880=1008
1890=304
1900=110
1910=42
1920=45
1930=27

ee also

List of ghost towns in Colorado

External links

* [http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/co/rosita.html Ghosttowns.com: "Rosita"]