History of Minturn

In this location originally sat the railroad roundhouse. Construction of the roundhouse and depot began in October of 1890. The roundhouse at Minturn was a huge structure with ten stalls to hold locomotives. The locomotives were directed into stalls by use of a steel turntable. It was powered by an electric motor, and hostlers operated the mechanism to direct the locomotives to the correct stall. In 1928, a new 120-foot turntable was set in place, replacing the old 100-foot table.

Several restaurants served railroad workers and patrons over the years. The D&RG Beanery was a 40 – 50 seat diner next to the railroad depot, that served both railroad passengers and workers. The restaurant burned down in the 1930s and was later rebuilt.

Close to where the original roundhouse once stood – the current spot of the Mexican Bar & Grill – previously housed the Whistle Stop Inn Motel and Restaurant, then later Rocky’s Café, and eventually the Turntable Restaurant and Motel (named for the original railroad turntable pit on the railroad property, where locomotives could be turned around).

The Minturn Saloon is one of the oldest structures in town. The building was constructed in 1901. During the last 100+ years, it has been at one time or another, home to various taverns, restaurants, a pool hall, a boxing venue, and even back room gambling for railroaders. There was a fire in the downtown commercial section of Minturn in 1899 and this building is the result of the recovery effort. The pressed tin ceiling panels are original to the building, as are many other aspects.

(originally the D&RG RR YMCA)

The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad YMCA (now the International Trade Center) was used as sleeping quarters for railroad men. The two floors above the lobby were used for sleeping rooms. On the main floor were showers and toilets. In the lobby was a counter where you could buy candy bars and tobacco products. There was also a full basement which was used for town, school, and church banquets.

122 Main Street (Gambles Store)
This building was a grocery store back in the early 1900s. It later became the Gambles Store, which was a discount department store carrying a variety of items. The Gambles store was originally owned by Leonard Leidy, and later by Darell and Valerie Wegert. The Wegerts operated the store until the early 1990s when the mine closed. The building later housed the Cougar Café, Soke Studio Fine Art, and the Cougar Active Academy. This building is now home to 1904 / Progression Brands.

132 Main Street (Drug Store)
This building was the first drug store in Minturn. It was originally owned by Joker Roberts, and later Bob Orr and his wife. The drug store was also a popular spot to get ice cream and milkshakes. The store changed hands several times, later to Harold and Olive Goodale, and then to Leonard Leidy in March of 1957. Leidy opened the partition between the drug store and Gambles, allowing him (and later the Wegerts) to operate both businesses. This building is now home to Sunrise Minturn.

Across from the Minturn Saloon was the Eagle River Hotel, originally built in 1892 and fully renovated in 2024. Little is known about the original owners. In the 30s, it was run by Millie and B.D. Price. The hotel was three stories high. The first floor had a dining room with a big kitchen and walk-in icebox. The hotel, now called the Eagle River Inn, was about the same size then as now, but has changed in several ways such as the location of the front door and stairs on the back of the building. The cooking stoves were coal-fired. There was a large walk-in cooler, cooled by ice. Nelson Brothers Dairy delivered milk and cream here. There was a large dining room for three meals served daily. The hotel’s first floor was used for living quarters and a dining room. The upper two floors were used for lodging. There was a small anteroom at the front entrance where candy and magazines were sold. Off the anteroom was a bigger room used for playing cards. The hotel also had a basement with a coal-fired boiler that heated the entire building. Steam radiators were used.

Many railroaders and businessmen stayed in the hotel. Today, this newly renovated hotel is available for individual and group bookings, as well as special events.

The Minturn Water Tank dates back to 1941, when it held water to serve the Town and feed steam engines on the railroad tracks to the east. It was a venture between Minturn and the railroad. The railroad kept water along the tracks, but not enough to fill the 10,000 gallons of water needed to power each coal-fired steam engine. So the tank was built and a pipe carried water from the tank across the Eagle River under a bridge to the rail yard. The tank served the railroad and the Town for several years, but was decommissioned in the early 1990s due to infrastructure challenges.

Several Catholics settled in Minturn in the late 1890s and early 1900s. James P. Carrigan, who was appointed pastor of St. Stephen’s in Glenwood Springs in 1910, began making monthly visits to celebrate mass in Thomas Minturn’s section house. With his encouragement, local Catholics formed St. Patrick on September 13, 1913.

Thanks to a $500 gift from the Catholic Extension Society and funds raised by parish suppers and plays, a chapel was constructed in the fall of 1925. Howard G. Bayers built the one-story, 24-by-36-foot structure for $1,270.

Ben Nelson built this house in 1881. The Nelsons were Scandinavian entrepreneurs, who at one point were the largest landowners in Minturn. The Nelsons had two sons, Arthur and Sigfried. Art and Sig both married women by the name of Helen. Hence the name Helen’s House. The enterprising family farmed lettuce and operated a creamery named Nelson Dairy. Across the street from Helen’s House, Nelson Street pays tribute to the family. The home changed ownership only once out of the Nelson family when Jane Rohr and Larry Stone acquired the property in 2004.

The Williams Café and Bar once occupied this building, and was in operation from 1940 to 1973. The original owners were Dave and Agnes Williams. Upstairs were apartments, and the lower floor had a restaurant, bar and card tables. Gambling was popular here in the early days and Dave Sr. had connections with bootleggers and kept his establishment open through prohibition. Dances were held at the cafe over the years, often lasting until 2am.

Their son, Dave Jr. and his wife Marie, took over operation after Dave Sr.’s death. Dave and Marie owned the cafe until its closure in 1973. Dave Jr. had much to do with the development of downtown Minturn.

The cafe was damaged in November 1959 following a blast which broke three windows and damaged several bricks where it was believed that a stick of dynamite had been placed. The Williams Café closed on December 1, 1973, after thirty-three years of business. Chili Willy’s opened around 1983/84, and operated here until July 2010. Magustos Pizza & Burger Pub now occupies the building.

The Minturn Mercantile was built in 1891 out of river rock. It was the Walmart of the early 1900s, through the 1930s. Small portions of the building remain, incorporated into the Minturn Country Club, but it was then a two-story rock structure. It housed a general store and dance hall for more than75 years. In 1930, it was the biggest store in Minturn and stocked a little bit of everything from produce, canned good, dry goods, etc. Outside of the store on the west was a gas service pump. There was very little cash for groceries and no bank in town then. You charged your groceries for two weeks and when payday came on the railroad you paid your bill.

In addition to operating the Williams Café and Bar, Dave and Marie Williams also opened this motel. They bought the building and remodeled it into Minturn’s first motel. Dave also converted one of the units into a liquor store. Marie mostly ran the motel, while her sisters ran the café and bar.

In December of 1964, a fire damaged three units in the building. Another fire broke out in September of 1965, causing significant smoke damage. In 1976, the Williams Motel and Liquor Store was for sale at a price of $86,000. It is not clear who purchased the property, but it appears to have sold on June 1, 1977, for $55,000.

This building is now home to Alpine Kind and Evoke Outdoors Bike Shop.

(originally the Presbyterian Church)

This Presbyterian Church was built in 1906 and served as a Presbyterian denomination for 96 years until the congregation outgrew its walls and rebuilt a larger church just outside of Minturn. The high-peaked windows are original, and many of the light fixtures are a century old! Two of the six original lights date from the early 1900s and came from the old County seat in Red Cliff, while the other four were made in the 1920s to match.

Holy Toledo is now a boutique consignment shop, carrying only high-end, current labels from all over the world.