Summit Historical Society

06/23/2026

Frisco Snapshot this Tuesday is Hacienda Real owned and managed by Luis Flores. Our snapshots are designed to high.ignt locals making history.

06/23/2026

Great program. See you there.

Our first lecture of the summer is this Wednesday, June 24, at 12:00pm in the Old Community Center on 3rd Ave & Granite St. Bob Schoppe will give a presentation covering the history of the two narrow gauge railroads that served Summit County. Their growth and decline, along with their influence on the county's towns and inhabitants, are covered.

06/22/2026

Frisco Snapshot features Butterhorn Cafe, a must do for st least one day during your visit. It’s where you can meet locals all year long.

06/20/2026

Jon "JK" is a legend in the adaptive sports world, and his 2025 induction into the Colorado Snowsports Hall of Fame, alongside his 2014 Paralympic Hall of Fame induction, tells you everything you need to know.

A Summit High School ski coach in his early career, JK's greatest passion has always been helping people succeed in outdoor and adaptive sports. He guided a blind skier at the 1992 and 1994 Winter Paralympic Games, winning a bronze medal in cross-country skiing, leading the first U.S. female to win any cross-country Paralympic medal. As Head Coach of the U.S. Paralympic Cross-Country Ski Team from 1998–2010, his team earned 11 Paralympic medals.

In 2021, JK himself lost a leg to a blood clot. True to form, he channeled his own experience into his recovery with the same positive attitude he has given to athletes for decades.

JK currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Breckenridge Outdoor Education Center. A true inspiration.

Read more about Jon at: summithistorical.org/colorado-150/june/

Research compiled by Summit Historical Society Colorado 150 Committee and Blair Miller, Frisco Historic Park & Museum Manager

Photo Credit: New York Times

06/20/2026

Great article about our historical boat tours in partnership with Dillon Marina since 2014. Yes, we have tours this summer

Summit Historical Society boat tours offer jam-packed lesson connecting Dillon Reservoir’s past and present

Full story in the comments

06/19/2026

The Deming family arrived in Frisco from Nova Scotia in 1890, homesteading a ranch in West Frisco and planting roots that still run deep in Summit County today.
Son John, miner, saloon owner, and rancher, married Nellie Rose in 1902 and fathered seven children before dying of pneumonia at just 46, leaving Nellie to survive by taking in laundry while the children did whatever they could to help.
The family's stories are the stuff of pioneer legend — from youngest son Chick pushing a heavy cart from the post office to the depot for $10 a month, to the heartbreaking journey of a sobbing Nellie riding a flatbed rail car through a November wind to get her injured son to the Leadville Hospital.
On a lighter note, John started a beloved tradition of setting off dynamite at 4 a.m. every Fourth of July, much to the town's annoyance, and Chick carried it on well into his thirties.
Deming Mountain in the Gore Range stands as a fitting tribute to this hardworking, adventurous, and colorful family.

Read more at: summithistorical.org/colorado-150/june/

Research compiled by Summit Historical Society Colorado 150 Committee and Blair Miller, Frisco Historic Park & Museum Manager

The Deming Brothers, L-R Neil, Paul, Bobby, Bob and Harold, c. 1940’s
Credit: Frisco Historic Park & Museum

06/18/2026

Frank Wiborg had already made his fortune in printing ink when he arrived in Frisco in the late 1890s — just as the town was on the verge of becoming a ghost town. He invested heavily in modernizing the Excelsior Mine, including damming North Tenmile Creek to build a power plant that generated electricity for the mine's equipment and interior lighting.
The plant produced more power than the mine needed, so Wiborg sold the surplus to the town of Frisco — bringing electric light to Main Street for the first time. When the mine ran dry in 1913, the town reportedly went nearly two decades without power.
The former Excelsior Mine office building is still standing today, now owned by the Town of Frisco.

Read more at: summithistorical.org/colorado-150/june/

Research compiled by Summit Historical Society Colorado 150 Committee and Blair Miller, Frisco Historic Park & Museum Manager

Frank Wiborg. Photo, public domain, c. 1910.

06/17/2026

Henry Learned came to Colorado in search of gold and ended up leaving a permanent mark on Frisco's history. While working as a railroad scout, Learned posted a sign reading "Frisco City" on Henry Recen's cabin in 1875 — a common tactic of the era used to lure railroad companies to an area by naming towns after them. The Frisco Line never came, but the name stuck.
Learned went on to own local mines, manage the Kitty Innis Mining Syndicate, and serve the community as mayor, postmaster, justice of the peace, and notary. Not bad for a gold seeker who never struck it rich.

Read more at: summithistorical.org/colorado-150/june/

Research compiled by Summit Historical Society Colorado 150 Committee and Blair Miller, Frisco Historic Park & Museum Manager

Kitty Innis Mine
Photo Courtesy: June Ann Recen Kingston Collection. Courtesy Frisco Historic Park and Museum

06/16/2026

Frisco Snapshot - Alpine Bank has 3 locations in Summit County - Frisco, Dillon, and Breckenridge. Community based and great supporters of Summit County

06/16/2026

Great history

This beautiful specimen is Colorado's state mineral. For can you name that mineral?