GHOSTS OF SUMMIT COUNTY

Sneak preview: Dyersville

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Reverend John L.(Father) Dyer, the famous Methodist itinerant snowshoe preacher, discovered the Warrior's Mark Mine, and Dyersville grew up in the the early 1880s. Although the mine was worked until 1908, it never amounted to much, and Dyersville died.

Father Dyer rode the circuit in Minnesota before moving westward during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. Having little money, Father Dyer would walk from Denver to South Park. He carried the mail to many remote towns and camps and located claims for miners to earn few dollars.

Dyer preached wherever he found people who would listen – in saloons, tents, and homes, and he later built churches at both Fairplay and Breckenridge. By late 1879 Father Dyer and his wife retired in Breckenridge. He began prospecting.

His best mine was the Warrior's Mark. Dyer built a cabin and moved to the now growing settlement in 1881. He ended up with only $2,000 for his interest in the mine.

There are still several ruins at Dyersville, including the Dyer cabin. Although it is close to the Boreas Pass Road, the trail down to the site is not for standard automobiles. Across the creek and up the road a short distance are the remains of the Warrior's Mark operations.

Read more – including the remarkable details of father Dyer’s long life – in Ghosts of Summit County, one in a series of concise books on the ghost towns and mining camps of Colorado.

39 sites are included in Ghosts of Summit County:

Adrian	Argentine	Baker's Tank
Boreas	Boston	Braddocks
Breckenridge	Chihuahua	Conger
Delaware Flats	Dickey	Dillion
Dyersville	Farnham Spur	Filger City
Franklin	Frisco	Haywood
Keystone	Kokomo	Larium
Lincoln	Masontown	Mitchell Cabins
Montezuma	Naomi	Parkville
Peru	Preston	Rexford
Saints John	Spencerville	Swan City
Swandyke	Swanville	Tiger
Valdoro	Wapiti	Wheeler

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