Abandoned Mine Site of Freak Accident that Killed Colorado Mayor

WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter this property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.

Colorado has a lot of history, and a good chunk of that history comes from the popular gambling town of Central City.

In addition to being home to the notoriously haunted Central City Masonic Cemetery, Central city is also home to the now-abandoned Coeur d'Alene mine which, among other things, is the location of a freak accident that claimed the life of the town's mayor at the time.

Location of Colorado's Coeur d'Alene Mine

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As mentioned above, the Coeur d'Alene Mine is no longer functional but much of it still remains in Central City, Colorado. The old mine is located on a hill that overlooks the gambling town fairly close to the Masonic Cemetery that is notoriously haunted and is also the neighbor of a group of small homes and buildings, also abandoned.

Much like its neighboring cemetery, Central City's Coeur d'Alene mine has a bit of a dark history.

A Freak Accident at Colorado's Coeur d'Alene Mine

Legend has it that back in 1940, the mayor of Central City met an untimely fate as in addition to running the town, he was also a miner. The story goes that the man, Charles Richards, was working in the mine and a spark set off a box of explosives that blew up, killing him.

What's At Colorado's Coeur d'Alene Mine Now?

While the mine has since shut down and is now totally abandoned, there are a lot of things left behind there, as well as the area surrounding it.

For example, the building that housed the mine is still sitting abandoned, and just down the road is a large stone building with a memorial on top of it. In addition, there are a handful of homes and buildings nearby that are all abandoned as well.

Take a virtual tour of this piece of abandoned Colorado history and its surrounding area: