In 1859 Breckenridge was settled following the discovery of gold in Blue River. The Dredge Bar & Restaurant is an authentic mining tool from the 1800s. Some of the historic mining shacks are still located on the hill and can be seen while skiing at Breckenridge!
The largest gold nugget ever found in North America was discovered in Breckenridge on July 3, 1887 by a man named Tom Groves. The single nugget weighed 151 oz and was about the size of an adult human head. The nugget was dubbed "Tom's Baby" because Mr. Groves paraded it around town like a new born child. Whatever happened to the nugget is still one of the great mysteries surrounding Breckenridge.
Drinking, gambling, and prostitution was rampant and like most mining towns of the era, Breckenridge was not the most pious of communities. Father Dyer set up a local parish and was determined to set the town straight. When he refused to stop ringing his church bells and waking up the hungover residents of Breckenridge, the townspeople used dynamite mining caps to blow up his church steeple. No more bell.
The Gold Strike Saloon was one of the first businesses of it's kind in town and still remains today, making it the oldest continuously operating saloon west of the Mississippi River.
Breckenridge got it's name when the town wanted a post office. The townspeople thought they could increase their odds of getting one if they named their town after the nations V.P. John Breckinridge. The idea worked and Breckinridge got it's post office. But when civil war broke out in 1864 John Breckinridge sided with the south and the pro union citizens of Breckinridge wanted the town's name changed. The answer was easy, change an i to an e and it's been Breckenridge ever since.
Today the gold rush is over but the powder rush is running strong! Breckenridge, Vail, Beaver Creek, and Keystone are operated under common ownership making lift tickets at each resort one of the best values in the industry!
