Numbering about 80 mounted and unmounted albumen prints, most are by Breckenridge photographer Otto Westerman. Included among the collection are photographs related to the Finding family, such as portraits of both Agnes (Finding) Miner and her mother, Martha (Silverthorn) Finding, the Finding family posed in front of their Breckenridge home, and Charles A. Finding's hardware store on Main Street, Breckenridge. Of interest are the albumen prints dating from the late 1890s that were showcased in a small 12 panel album. Removed for preservation purposes, these prints are of local residents and snow covered landscapes taken during the “Big Snow” of 1898-1899. Several photographs are of men, women, and children either posed near or peering through the openings of snow tunnels that were used to access Main Street, Breckenridge businesses.
The BHA Oral History Project's aim is to understand and share more of Breckenridge’s contemporary history and culture, specifically from the late 1950s until the 1990s. The recorded interviews help BHA preserve its “contemporary” history and memorialize the highlights, challenges and developments that shaped Breckenridge and its community.
In the 2000s the Town of Breckenridge and Summit County Open Space and Trails Department contracted with Eric Twitty, Mountain States Historical, to complete a large scale, multi-phase inventory of the Upper Blue River drainage’s important historic prospect, mine, logging and settlement sites. Funded by a Colorado State Historical Fund grant and the Town of Breckenridge, the project focuses on sites within a U-shaped concentration of hard rock and placer mines commonly referred to as the “Golden Horseshoe”. The project area also includes sites located throughout Bald Mountain or dispersed around the North, Middle, and South Forks of the Swan River. Mine Sites Inventories identify sites for historic preservation, recommend management actions, and gather data for academic studies of the mining industry and associated settlement. Inventories include: modern topo maps of the area, general site history, historic photographs (if available), artifact/site mapping of what remains, and site significance.
Personal papers created by various individuals for their descendants or friends describing first person accounts and/or their family's experiences related to Breckenridge, Colorado from the 1850s up to 1899. Topics include: wagon trains; gold rushes; Native Americans; the "Big Snow" event of 1898-1899.
Card mount photographs, portraits, and other photographic materials donated by various sources to Breckenridge History. Subjects include people, landscapes, businesses and industries relevant to Breckenridge and the greater Breckenridge area.
Collection of 1970s-1990s tourist guidebooks, town brochures, town walking guides, and miscellaneous ephemera published by the Breckenridge Resort Association (BRA).
Diary belonging to an unidentified Breckenridge, Colorado resident. Circa 1911. Handwritten entries begin on Sunday, January 1, 1911 and end Sunday, December 31, 1911. Contents appear to be a daily log of weather, work activities, and social life. Bound in dark red leather with plain front and back covers; embossed with "The Excelsior Diary 1911". Printed pages include a church calendar, astronomical information, monthly calendars for 1911, lists of states and territories, values of foreign currencies and more.
8mm film footage shows scenery along Boreas Pass Road and North Main Street, Breckenridge, Colorado. Also, views driving Highway 9 north to Frisco, Colorado. Other film clips feature skiing, a Blue River wash out north of Breckenridge, and the Ullr Parade on Main Street in 1965.
J. Frank Willis gave this souvenir album as a gift to his sister, Pauline (Willis) Merritt. The album contains photographs by Breckenridge photographer Otto Westerman. Various subjects include town views, mine site landscapes, railroad tracks through gulches and Willis' property on Gibson Hill. Some are of the Ten Mile Canyon outside of Frisco, Colorado and one photograph is of Tom's Baby (the largest piece of wire gold found in Colorado).
Postcards and photographic material created by photographer John Albert Topolnicki Sr. featuring the Colorado natural landscape, mountains, abandoned mine sites, ski areas and similar subjects. His photographs are considered the best historical record of Breckenridge Ski Resort and Summit County, Colorado landscapes in the early 1960s-1970s.
Enlarged photo print/poster adhered to foam core enclosed in silver metal picture frame (no glass). Original photograph by well-known photographer, Shorty Wilcox. Shows evening view of Breckenridge, looking east from Shock Hill. Circa 1972. Signed, lower right corner: "To the Dobbins, Breckenridge Memories, Shorty Wilcox".
Sheet film negatives circa 1910-1920s showing snow slides blocking the railroad in Ten Mile Canyon. Also, views of mine sites and structures east of Breckenridge and near Montezuma, Colorado.
Digital objects (images and records) created by Breckenridge History of original photographs and sheet film negatives from Summit Historical Society's holdings in Dillon, Colorado. Represents various people and industries relevant to Breckenridge and the greater Breckenridge area, circa 1870s-1900s. Includes images of placer mining operations, gold dredges, the railway and railroad facilities, and buildings along Main Street, Breckenridge.
Town of Breckenridge, Colorado historical records, including Minute Books, financial statements, invoices, cancelled checks and miscellaneous receipts from the 1890s-1900s, with gaps.
The Town of Breckenridge completed Cultural Resource Surveys for buildings and structures within the Historic District to assess properties’ eligibility for individual listing in the National and State Registers, for local landmark designation, and whether or not they qualify for National Register listing as contributing resources within the historic district. Cultural Resource Surveys include historical and architectural information for each building and structure. Surveyed properties are widely-dispersed throughout the Historic District, including addresses on Adams, French, Harris, High, Main and Ridge Streets, on Lincoln and Washington Avenues, and on Ski Hill and Wellington Roads. Properties are in the following historically platted additions and subdivisions: Abbett’s, Bartlett and Shock, Snider, Stiles, Valley Brook Cemetery, and Yingling and Mickles. The survey area comprises approximately 72 acres.
Breckenridge residents Jan M. Radosevich and Anne Ostyre-MacDonald prepared and submitted the National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form in 1980 on behalf of the Town of Breckenridge, Colorado.
