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Independence is a ghost town in the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located just off State Highway 82 in the eastern corner of Pitkin County, below the Continental Divide. It was the first settlement established in the Roaring Fork Valley, after gold was struck in the vicinity on Independence Day, July 4, 1879, hence its name. In 1973 it was recognized as a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Independence and Independence Mill Site, one of two ghost towns in the county so recognized. It has also been known historically by other names—Chipeta, Mammoth City, Mount Hope, Farwell, Sparkill and Hunter's Pass. Like other early settlements in the upper Roaring Fork Valley, it lost population over the course of the decade as Aspen emerged as the ideal location for commerce in the region,〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.historycolorado.org/oahp/pitkin-county )〕 and then became the county seat. It was never able to overcome the severe winters that resulted from its location at a high elevation in the mountains, and at the end of the 19th century all but one of the remaining residents abandoned Independence ''en masse'' after a particularly heavy snowstorm to settle in Aspen. It has been a ghost town since at least 1912. The remaining structures, all log cabins of various sizes, are now on land partially in White River National Forest. It is one of the few abandoned mining camps in the state where any buildings are left. In the late 20th century they were restored and interpretive materials added. ==Geography== Independence is located east of Aspen along Highway 82, at above sea level in the narrow, steep valley of the headwaters of the Roaring Fork River, a tributary of the Colorado. Highway 82 passes by the townsite on the north wall of the valley. Independence Pass, at the Continental Divide, is four miles (6.4 km) to the east along the highway. The land is open and cleared, with some wooded portions on the comparatively level ground next to the river.〔 The land on the upper part of the slope is owned by the United States Forest Service, and is in the White River National Forest. The valley walls rise steeply to Independence Mountain to the south in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness and Geissler Mountain in the Hunter–Fryingpan Wilderness to the north. The portion of Independence closer to the river is on private land owned by the Loughren Trust.〔 The remaining buildings are located in a area along the north slope down to the river, on land owned by the Loughren Trust. A total of 26 remain in some form; of those, eight are intact and standing. All are log cabins of varying sizes, some without roofs. The rest have just left foundations.〔 The two are grouped roughly around two areas: the former townsite, and the former mill, roughly apart. The townsite is an area of with 19 buildings and 9 foundations; the mill has the remaining nine in a area. A network of dirt paths allows visitors to walk around the site.〔 One cabin, towards the west end of the site, has been fully restored into a modern residence. It is called the Intern Cabin, since it housed one who lived at the site during the summers to maintain it and offer interpretive tours to visitors. Another large surviving cabin is believed to have served as one of the settlement's general stores. Further west, just below Highway 82, is the large site of the former Farwell Mill, with some supporting timbers still visible.〔Aspen Historical Society, ''Independence Ghost Town'', brochure available at site.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Independence, Pitkin County, Colorado」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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