Abundant fur-bearing game attracted trappers to the area
1800s
Prospectors followed the trappers, spurred on by the Elizabethtown gold rush and construction of the Big Ditch.
1860s
The first area land was homesteaded by Ed Westoby and the three Mallette brothers, Orin, George, and Sylvester.
LATE 1800s
Red River’s population soared in the 1890s with “get-rich-quick” fever. The good and bad moved in by the hundreds, including the dreaded Black Jack Ketchum who took time out from robbing to charm the ladies at area dances. The first log schoolhouse was built. Mrs. Ida Phipps was the teacher. The original structure burned in 1915 and was replaced by the Red School House, which still stands and now houses the museum. Red River’s population reached 3,000 and had 15 saloons, four hotels, two newspapers, a barbershop, a hospital, a sawmill, and an active red- light district. Turn of the century mining failures caused Red River to become a ghost town that flickered back to life when mining was reactivated. Gold, silver, and copper mines operated in the Red River area until 1925. Most were located in Bitter Creek, Goose Creek, Pioneer, Mallette, and upper Red River Canyons. Molybdenum was discovered in the lower Red River canyon. The mineral’s importance as a hardening and strengthening agent in the manufacturing of steel was proven after World War I.
1890s
1896
HISTORY You can see the remains of gold, silver and copper mines, and compounds throughout Red River. Mining runs in our blood and still has a big claim in our town’s history. People rush here today for many other reasons obviously, but the rush to get rich is how we began.
1900
1912
1916
1921-22
The first “moly” mill was built. In 2011, the mine was declared a Superfund site and current owner Chevron Mining Inc. closed it in 2014.
1920s – 1930
Red River was designated “mountain play-ground” by tourists escaping the dust bowl.
1928
Jack Munden built tourist cabins on the site of the present-day Riverside Lodge. The Pioneer Camp site once held cabins built by Will Johnson.
1930
A grocery store and gas pump were built. At the same time, Mr. Clapper’s rental units at the Grandview location were built. Horace Johnson put in a grocery store across from the Miners’ Hospital. Red River’s excellent climate, beautiful scenery, and varied activities – skiing, snowmobiling, fishing, hunting, horseback riding, square dancing, sightseeing, etc. – assure the growth and continuation of Red River’s exciting history.
1930 – PRESENT
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