Haunted at Timberline Home

Vulcan was active from 1893 to 1919. The sign in the opening photo was created by someone who only recently was living in one of the remaining buildings. Vulcan sits at approximately the same altitude as nearby Gunnison (7,700 feet). Vulcan is a desolate place, covered with sagebrush and old mining waste. The site of the primary mine is a moonscape of rusting tailings (see the virtual tour). Vulcan was named for nearby Vulcan Hill, which is the crater of an extinct volcano. Vulcan was the Roman god of fire. The most interesting part of Vulcan is the remaining chimney mine, shown in the video in the virtual tour. You can still descend into the chimney mine through a series of old wooden ladders. However, it is strongly recommended that you don't...

The photograph below was taken east of Vulcan, near Cochetopa. It shows a shaft house, which housed a hoist—the cable support structure, or headframe, now collapsed but still attached to the house. Also in the area are Iris and Chance. This collection of towns comprised the core population centers at the heart of the Gunnison gold rush that brought tens of thousands of prospectors to the flat and bleak Gunnison Gold Belt.