Samuel Clemens, alias Mark Twain, came west to visit the Summit County Mining Camps and his comments were: "Joy sat on every countenance, and there was a glad, almost fierce intensity in every eye, that told of the money-getting schemes that were seething in every brain and the high hope that held sway in every heart."

Prior to the gold rush, the area was the summer home of the Ute Indians and a popular rendezvous spot for trappers and mountain men. In 1859 gold was discovered in Georgia Gulch by a small group of prospectors from the State of Georgia. A mining camp, Parkville, sprouted overnight and by 1860 it contained 1800 voters and served as the county seat. Just west of Parkville, similar goldstrikes were at Breckenridge. A rivalry started between the two towns. In 1862 Breckenridge became the County Seat when the residents usurped the county records by moonlight and moved them to Breckenridge.

Mining camps and stage stops sprouted like overnight mushrooms....Frisco, Dillon, Kokomo, Silverthorne, Wheeler, Montezuma, St. Johns and many others. Many became ghost towns when the Silver Panic hit in 1893. After years of decline, the fortunes of Summit County reversed when "white" gold was discovered. Snow! Today Summit County is the home of four World-Class ski areas, Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Keystone and Copper Mountain.

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