St. Elmo, Colorado is one of America’s best-preserved ghost towns. It’s like a movie set or a town that’s literally frozen in time. St. Elmo is located 10,000 feet deep in the Sawatch Range, 20 miles southwest of Buena Vista. It is one of the coolest places we went on our trip to Colorado.

St. Elmo was founded in 1880, and quickly grew to a population of 2,000 people because of the promise of gold and silver mining. Within just 10 years the town had reached its peak, with the establishment of a telegraph office, General Store, a town hall, five hotels, a local newspaper, school, and of course Wild West saloons and dancing halls.

At its peak, the Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad line ran through the town, and there were over 150 patented claims for mines.  Unfortunately within just four decades the mining industry began to decline. In 1922 the railroad stopped running, and the town was abandoned.  The miners left to search for gold in other places. Then the rest of the people slowly trickled away, until finally St. Elmo’s postmaster died in 1952, and it was considered abandoned.

Today St. Elmo Historic District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Though it’s technically considered a ghost town, people still live in St. Elmo, and tourism to the town brings in loads of people every year. There are ATV trails, fishing, and the general store is open all summer long.

We ended up meeting a lady who works there some, and she told us a fascinating story about a lady nicknamed “Dirty Annie.” Annabelle was the oldest of three siblings, and her parents were some of the most prominent people in town. Her mother thought they were “above” the others in town who were involved in the saloons and dance halls, so she sheltered her children from social life. The children worked hard at their parents’ hotel and store, which were considered the cleanest and most well managed in town.

Just like every other mining town of that time, the honeymoon was over and everyone left – except for two people: Annabelle and her brother Tony. They continued to live there cut off from the outside world, without plumbing or electricity. Eventually Annabelle stopped bathing and taking care of herself and the buildings. The store and the hotel smelled like rotten food, tobacco, and garbage. Annabelle was rarely seen in town, but when she was people noticed she never took off her stocking cap. The truth was that her hair had become so dirty and matted that it was stuck to the cap and grew out of the holes. She also carried a rifle with her to protect the town. The locals began calling her “Dirty Annie.”

Not too long after this Tony and Annabelle were sent to a mental institution for their own protection, but were eventually released. Tony died soon after and Annabelle died in a nursing home in 1960. Or did she? After Annabelle’s death visitors reported several strange events. Once some children were playing in the hotel when suddenly all the windows and doors banged shut and the temperature dropped 20 degrees. Another time a visitor noticed a young woman in a white dress standing at a window in the hotel. The legend is that Annabelle continues to protect the hotel from vandals and trespassers. When we were there someone had put a mannequin in that window. Creepy!