Basalt Turns 125, and the Railroad Town Is Still Hiding in Plain Sight on Midland Avenue

"We are so fortunate that much of that founding history is still visible around town today, from historical structures dating back to even before the town's official incorporation to the founding families who, generations later, are still part of this community," Basalt Chamber of Commerce Director Kris Mattera told The Aspen Times ahead of the town's anniversary.

The history goes deeper than a few old buildings. Basalt's street plan is the railroad plan. The routes people drive, park on and walk every day were laid out by two competing rail lines. As of this year, the main street also carries a record of who owned each lot around 1900, engraved into the pavement.

The Street Plan Is the Railroad Plan

The Basalt Regional Heritage Society's sign in Lions Park explains it plainly. Midland Avenue was the Colorado Midland's track. The route now called Two Rivers carried the Rio Grande's rails toward Aspen. The same sign says the yard at Lions Park had a place to turn engines, plus tracks and sidings that could hold 220 freight cars. The last train headed east out of Basalt in August 1918, and by 1921 the rails had been pulled up and roads built in their place.

The triangle of land where the Chamber's red caboose sits, beside Town Hall at 101 Midland Ave., was the original wye. Three tracks met there so trains could turn around. Town Hall went up on that spot in 1976, and the first Christmas tree lighting followed in 1977. The town's December gathering place is the old turnaround.

The Colorado Midland finished its 222 miles of track on November 5, 1887, and its first passengers arrived that December. The town around the junction grew fast. According to the Lions Park sign, within three weeks of the 1887 railroad camp there was a boardinghouse, a store, a restaurant and many saloons. Before any of that, a settlement called Frying Pan grew up in 1882 on the south side of the Fryingpan River to house the men who worked the charcoal kilns. When word spread that the railroad was coming, people moved across the river to what became Aspen Junction.

The Streetscape Wrote the Lot Lines Back In

For most of a century, the railroad history was visible only to people who knew where to look. The Midland Avenue streetscape changed that. Connect One Design's project won a Merit Award in the 2026 CNU Charter Awards. In the Congress for the New Urbanism's write-up, the design team says it researched the street's history closely enough that "each historic property line along Midland is demarcated with an engraved paver stone, illustrating who owned that property circa 1900."

The railroad shows up in other details too. The wooden beams rising from the rain gardens at the crosswalks were chosen to echo the town's historic railroad design. Down at Basalt River Park, a section of railroad track serves as seating during concerts. The driving lanes were sized for large recreational vehicles heading up to Ruedi Reservoir, for fire engines with wide outriggers, and for floats in the Basalt High School homecoming parade.

It took two votes to get here. Residents approved funding in one referendum. Then, with construction well underway, a special election asked whether to stop the Midland Avenue changes, and voters chose 71 to 29 to finish them. In September, The Sopris Sun reported that the Town's proposed 2027 budget continues a trend of lower capital spending, since major projects like the Midland Streetscape "have fully concluded." This October is the first anniversary season with all of that work finished and in place.

A Route Down Midland Before Saturday

The Basalt Chamber's historic walking tour was put together with the Basalt Regional Heritage Society and longtime residents. It starts at Town Hall, and bear-paw markers in the sidewalks guide the way. According to the Lions Park sign, the Heritage Society's walking tour dates to 2003. Here is a shorter version that runs down Midland and ends near the party:

1. The wye, 101 Midland Ave. Start at the red caboose, where trains once turned around.
2. The Snell Building, 104 Midland Ave. Frank Snell was an engineer for the Colorado Midland. He built a house here around 1890, lost it to a fire on the western end of town, and rebuilt it in brick. According to the tour, little about the building has changed except how it is used.
3. The Colorado Midland Depot, 137 Midland Ave. The 1886 depot was the first passenger stop and mail station in the central Roaring Fork Valley. Many newcomers spent their first night on its benches. It burned and was quickly rebuilt. Alpine Bank's Basalt branch at this address describes itself as located in the historic train depot.
4. The Railroad Hotel, 165 Midland Ave. The Colorado Midland Hotel opened in 1896 with 10 sleeping rooms, a dining hall and a saloon. In 1965, as the upper-valley ski areas brought new business, it went back to being a restaurant with apartments upstairs. Today it is Tempranillo, which serves dinner daily from 5 to 9 p.m.
5. The Splendid Spud, near 227 Midland Ave. By 1922, valley farmers grew more potatoes than any other crop. At its peak, the Roaring Fork Valley shipped more than 3.5 million pounds a year.
6. The Swinging Bridge. Turn off Midland between 211 and 227 toward the Fryingpan. A one-lane wagon bridge was built here in 1880 for traffic between Aspen and Glenwood Springs, and it washed out again and again. The town replaced it in 2001 with the current Swinging Bridge.

On the way, watch for the engraved pavers at each property line. They are the only stop on this route added in the last few years, and they record who owned these lots around 1900.

Which Birthday Is It?

The question of when Basalt turns 125 has two answers in print.

If October 8 is correct, Basalt turns 125 today. The sources do agree on the name. The Aspen Junction post office opened on February 13, 1890, and the name changed to Basalt on June 19, 1895. The new name came from the basaltic rock of Black Mountain north of town, now called Basalt Mountain. The Town's own anniversary announcement doesn't name a date, and holds the celebration on Saturday.

Saturday at Arbaney Park

The celebration runs from noon to 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 10, at Arbaney Park. According to the Town and The Sopris Sun, the afternoon runs like this:

• Noon to 2 p.m.: Lunch from the Basalt Lions Club.
• Noon to 2 p.m.: Pie drop-off at the Arbaney Park picnic shelter. Each entrant brings two pies, in one of three categories: fruit, non-fruit, or kids 14 and under.
• 1 p.m.: The 125th anniversary community photo, which, as The Sopris Sun put it, "will enter Basalt's historical record."
• 2 p.m.: Pie judging.
• 3 to 4 p.m.: A traditional Ute dance, recognizing the area's original roots.
• 4 to 6:30 p.m.: Music from Malqueridøs, an Aspen-based Norteño-style band, and A Band Called Alexis.

The Basalt Regional Heritage Society will lead history tours throughout the afternoon. The Art Base will run pumpkin crafts, Basalt Regional Library will host a bouncy house and obstacle courses, local farmers will sell fall produce, and there will be a kids' lemonade stand. Mattera told The Aspen Times that this year's event was inspired by the town's centennial celebration in 2001. Mayor Pro Tem Hannah Berman described it as "one more event to come together as a community," joining the Wednesday concerts, Sunday farmers markets and movies in the park.

The park is part of the town's earliest history too. The charcoal kilns sit at Arbaney Park's drive-in entrance. The Aspen Silver Co. built seven of them in 1884 to supply charcoal to the Aspen smelters. The Town acquired the kiln property as part of the park, and a 2010 preservation project stabilized the kilns that were still standing. The kilns predate the railroad, the depot and the town's name.

The Town is encouraging people to walk, bike, ride RFTA or use Basalt Connect. Anyone who needs to drive can park at Basalt Elementary or Middle School and walk the path to Arbaney Park, and ADA parking is available at the park itself. From Midland Avenue, the Swinging Bridge leads toward the schools and that path.

If you'd like to talk about owning a piece of Basalt's railroad-era downtown, from a home near the old depot to a lot whose 1900 owner is now engraved out front, Tara Slidell would be glad to hear from you. Schedule a Consultation.