Frisco History

Frisco’s Interesting Past

Frisco’s history began with the Ute people, Colorado’s first and longest remaining inhabitants of the region now known as Summit County. The first white men to come through this area were known as “mountain men” who trapped beaver for their fur in the high mountain lakes from 1810 into the 1840s.

The 1870s ushered in the mining industry. Founded in 1873 (officially chartered in 1879) by Henry Recen, the Town of Frisco quickly developed thanks in part to the locale’s many mines. By 1882, the permanent population reached 250 people with two railroads, many businesses, hotels and saloons. The mining boomed lasted until 1918.

Along with the rest of the country, Frisco was affected by the Great Depression. By 1930, Frisco’s permanent population had dropped to only 18 people, but Frisco was one of the few mining towns to survive, with ranching remaining the only industry. After rancher Bill Thomas offered free plots of land to Denver residents under the condition they build cabins on their plots within a year, the population had increased to 50 people by 1946.

With a current population of approximately 3,000 full-time residents, Frisco remained a sleepy town with a sprinkling of summer tourism until the 1960s, when the ski industry – which now attracts millions of people each year to the area — brought a new boom era to Summit County.