Silver Plume purchases 200 acres to preserve history

McCloskey likened the land purchase to a 200-acre museum, due to all the historical signi cance the area holds.

e area is also home to a bighorn sheep herd, which the land purchase will protect by designating the area as open space.

BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE OLOVE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

e town of Silver Plume recently purchased 200 acres of Brown Gulch and Republican Mountain in an e ort to protect cultural resources, preserve open space and protect the history of the town.

On Jan. 30, town o cials closed on the historic land purchase after raising $600,000 in just shy of a year. e town of around 200 people saw donations from businesses, foundations and individuals from the community.

e land the town purchased has a history for Silver Plume that won’t soon be forgotten. e purchased area includes 95 mining claims and what was once the Mendota Mine, which saw its heyday in the late 1800s.

Doug Watrous, founder of Jack Pine Mining, was a xture in the Silver Plume community for years, known for his passion for mining. Fabyan Watrous, Doug’s wife, managed Jack Pine mining until her death in 2017. She served as a Clear Creek County Commissioner for many years and was also an important facet in the community, according to Fabyan Watrous’s daughter, Debbie Rutzebeck, who sold the town the land.

Doug acquired multiple mining claims from his father in Clear Creek County, but Mendota Mine in Silver Plume was always his “pride and joy,” Rutzebeck said.

“ e family believes he would be