Special to the HT
MEEKER | The role of Leadville in the development of the White River Valley and Piceance was huge.
Leadville and the surrounding mining areas were a giant magnet, drawing miners and entrepreneurs from back East and Europe — gold seekers and adventurers from every social stratum: Civil War veterans, silver-spoon young men, blacksmiths and young teachers. They all wanted something different.
The mid-1860s and 1870s created a rich, 20-mile-square mining district…