Silt History
The town of Silt has a rich and dynamic history.
Native Americans
The Fremont people were Native Americans (Indians) that migrated through Colorado from the Great Basin or Utah area. They moved because they were looking for food. Fremont's were called 'hunter/gatherers' because they hunted for small animals, such as rabbits, and gathered food such as berries and other fruits and seeds.
Most archaeologists believe that between 2500 and 1500 years ago, the existing groups of hunter-gatherers on the Colorado Plateau and eastern Great Basin gradually developed into the Fremont. By 2000 years ago, corn and other cultivated plants were being grown east and west of the central Wasatch Plateau in what is now central Utah, although these early Fremont farmers did not build settled villages, but remained nomadic for most of the year. Between 1250 and 1500 A.D., the Fremont culture vanished. As in the case of the Anasazi collapse, the exact reasons for this disappearance are not known.
The Utes followed the Fremonts and were one of the last Indian Nations to lose their independence. The Utes hunted over wide areas of Colorado and Utah. In 1860, Captain Richard Sopris and his group explored and mapped much of the area north and west in the Roaring Fork Valley, naming the majestic beautiful peak that looms above Carbondale after the Captain. During the 1870's, the first miners began appearing in valley and with the advent of the Sherman Silver Act; many more came over the tortuous trail (Independence Pass) between Leadville and Ute City to seek their fortune. In 1879, battles between the government and the Utes near Meeker, Colorado led to old treaties being cancelled. The Utes were moved to reservations in Utah and Southwest Colorado. Then our area opened for settlement by non-natives in September 1881. By the 1880, there was a town of 300 and Ute City became incorporated under the new name of Aspen.
A series of laws passed in 1906, 1966, 1979, and 1992 forbid the taking of Native American artifacts from federal land, including national forests, parks and Bureau of Land Management land, unless granted a permit to do so. Over the years, states have passed their own laws that restrict the taking of Native American objects from state land, echoing the federal laws. When you find an arrowhead or other artifact enjoy your find and then leave it where you found it. Do not be a thief of time. Let others enjoy the magic of the past. On the Silt Mesa there are some finds of Rock Art. Rock Art was made on the stone in two ways: A petro glyph is a drawing that has been "pecked" or rubbed into the rock and a pictograph was painted onto the rock using pigments.
ROCK ART IF VERY FRAGILE - DO NOT TOUCH IT.
Years of weathering and erosion have taken some toll, but far less than the damage from people touching the soft sand stone. Your fingers leave oils, abrade the rock and are the most significant factor is destroying Rock Art.
