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        <title>Telluride and Real Estate Blog</title>
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        <description></description>
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    <guid>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/q4-2025-telluride-real-estate-activity-report/</guid>
    <link>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/q4-2025-telluride-real-estate-activity-report/</link>
        <author>stevec@tellurideproperties.com (Steve Cieciuch (Chet-chu))</author>
        <title>Q4 2025 Telluride Real Estate Activity Report </title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 



To read the Q4 2025 Telluride Real Estate Activity Report please click &quot;Read Full Post&quot; and then click here

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    <pubDate>Tue, 13 Jan 2026 13:57:00 -0700</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/expanded-air-service-into-montrose-for-winter/</guid>
    <link>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/expanded-air-service-into-montrose-for-winter/</link>
        <author>stevec@tellurideproperties.com (Steve Cieciuch (Chet-chu))</author>
        <title>Expanded Air Service Into Montrose For Winter</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 
Fifteen nonstop flights from 13 major hubs on six airlines


Article by Amy M. Peters, Telluride Daily Planet Contributor - October 20, 2025


An American Airlines jet takes off from Montrose Regional Airport in an undated photo. (Courtesy photo)





Colorado Flights Alliance (CFA) recently announced expanded air service into Montrose Regional Airport (MTJ) for the winter 2025-26 travel season. With 15 nonstop flights from 13 major hubs on six airlines this winter, overall air capacity is up 3-4 year-over-year with significant additions to MTJ’s Los Angeles service and new flight service from Nashville (BNA) to MTJ in March.






United Airlines will more than double its Los Angeles (LAX)-MTJ service this winter, operating daily flights over the holidays and increasing from two to five flights weekly Thursday-Monday through the rest of the winter season. United will add mainline 737 jets on Saturdays from Houston (IAH) increasing that service by 17 this winter.






United’s New York/Newark (EWR) and Chicago (ORD) will operate daily except from early-January to early-February when both will run weekly. Flights to and from San Francisco (SFO) will run daily during the holidays and twice weekly on Saturdays and Sundays during the rest of the winter season. These winter route offerings on United will end Easter weekend, April 5.




United will fly larger 737 and A319 mainline jets several times daily from Denver (DEN) to MTJ. American Airlines will also fly 737 jets twice daily from Dallas Ft. Worth (DFW) to MTJ, logging a small increase in overall capacity.






“United runs mainline jets year-round now with regional jets occasionally added when there are multiple daily flights,” explained CEO of Colorado Flight Alliance Matt Skinner. “DFW runs mainline jets all year except November to early-December and mid-April to mid-May when they operate regional jets.”






Southwest will feature four destinations out of MTJ this winter with the addition of flights to and from BNA operating on Saturdays in March. 






“Southwest has been flying from Nashville into Steamboat successfully for the last several seasons,” Skinner noted. “We welcomed their offer to fly these four flights this spring to test the market.”






Southwest will continue year-round DEN service with one to three daily flights to MTJ. Southwest flights between MTJ and Dallas Love Field (DAL) will run two to five times weekly from Dec. 19-April 7 while Southwest flights between MTJ and Austin (AUS) will operate on Saturdays in March.




Delta will continue daily service from Atlanta (ATL) to MTJ beginning Dec. 20 and ending March 29. 






Breeze Airways returns for its second season with twice weekly flights on Wednesdays and Saturdays to and from John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, providing another option for Southern California travelers traveling to MTJ. 






Skinner reported that winter flight bookings started strong early, but have been softer since Labor Day. 






“Noting these are early numbers, current winter bookings are down about 7 with holiday bookings down about 9,” he reported. “The holidays will fall into a two-week pattern again this year making for a quieter early December.”






Skinner said future goals for maximizing MTJ winter flight capacity include adding service from the northwest and southeast as well as continued growth of current flights.




“With our tourism demand, we offer far more options than Durango or Grand Junction in the winter,” he added. “Grand Junction has flights to six hubs with about 75 of our capacity while Durango has flights to three hubs and about 70 of our capacity.”






Denver Air Connection will continue offering year-round daily air service between TEX and DEN. Denver Air service between Phoenix (PHX) and TEX runs from Dec. 18-April 7 with travelers able to connect through United and American networks.






Last month TEX introduced a new fixed-based operation (FBO) 30,000-square-foot Hangar 30 with office space for flight departments, rental car service garages, snow removal equipment storage and a campus pump station for water and fire suppression.






“This is turning out to be an historic year for TEX,” said the airport’s manager, Kenneth E. Maenpa. “With the completion of over $30 million in improvements including the new FBO Hangar facility and $9.5 million in aviation improvements for new Taxiway B3, a 100,000 square foot aircraft parking apron and earthwork for future hangar development.”






With October being prime booking season for holiday and winter lodging, the Telluride Tourism Board’s executive director, Kiera Skinner, reports that holiday lodging bookings are currently flat compared to last year’s season. 




“With the Christmas holiday falling in the middle of the week again this year, the first week — Dec. 20-27 — is slower and then picks up over New Year’s week — Dec. 29-Jan. 4,” she explained. “Occupancy during the first week is currently pacing behind 2, while total occupancy over the second week is pacing 2 ahead.”






Lodging bookings for the winter 2025-2026 season are pacing 4 ahead of last season. 






“All months are currently tracking ahead with the exception of March which is down 3 year-over-year,” she added. “Paid occupancy for winter is pacing 5 behind last season, indicating that an increase in owner bookings is contributing to the positive total occupancy metrics.”






For full flight schedules and booking links, visit coloradoflights.org/schedule.



To read the original Telluride Daily Planet article, please click this link. 












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    <pubDate>Wed, 29 Oct 2025 10:40:00 -0600</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/q3-2025-telluride-real-estate-activity-report/</guid>
    <link>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/q3-2025-telluride-real-estate-activity-report/</link>
        <author>stevec@tellurideproperties.com (Steve Cieciuch (Chet-chu))</author>
        <title>Q3 2025 Telluride Real Estate Activity Report</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 




To read the Q3 2025 Telluride Real Estate Activity Report please click &quot;Read Full Post&quot; and then click here

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    <pubDate>Thu, 16 Oct 2025 09:22:00 -0600</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/four-seasons-telluride-breaks-ground/</guid>
    <link>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/four-seasons-telluride-breaks-ground/</link>
        <author>stevec@tellurideproperties.com (Steve Cieciuch (Chet-chu))</author>
        <title>Four Seasons Telluride Breaks Ground </title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 



Bloomberg Article by Natalie Wong - September 24, 2025



JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. provided a $417 million construction loan for the development of a Four Seasons Resort and Residences just outside of Telluride in Colorado.


The $1 billion project — from real estate development firms Merrimac Ventures and Fort Partners — broke ground with the construction loan as well as additional financing from CanAm Enterprises, according to a statement Wednesday. The project will be the region’s first luxury residential or hotel development in more than 15 years, the firms said.


The development sits on a 4.4-acre (1.8-hectare) site and will include 26 private residences ranging from two to five bedrooms, as well as 43 hotel residences ranging from one to four bedrooms. It will also have 52 hotel keys with views of Mount Wilson, Campbell Peak and Palmyra Peak. Residents will have exclusive amenities like a ski valet, fitness center, spa, indoor lap pool and outdoor hot tub. Pricing for the remaining units starts at roughly $4 million. More than 30 of the project’s inventory has been sold. Completion is expected in 2028.



To see the orignial Bloomberg article please click this link. 
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    <pubDate>Wed, 24 Sep 2025 13:46:00 -0600</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/q2-2025-telluride-real-estate-activity-report/</guid>
    <link>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/q2-2025-telluride-real-estate-activity-report/</link>
        <author>stevec@tellurideproperties.com (Steve Cieciuch (Chet-chu))</author>
        <title>Q2 2025 Telluride Real Estate Activity Report</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 



To read the Q2 2025 Telluride Real Estate Activity Report please click &quot;Read Full Post&quot; and then click here
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    <pubDate>Tue, 15 Jul 2025 10:37:00 -0600</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/collective-community-action-helps-spare-public-lands/</guid>
    <link>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/collective-community-action-helps-spare-public-lands/</link>
        <author>stevec@tellurideproperties.com (Steve Cieciuch (Chet-chu))</author>
        <title>Collective Community Action Helps Spare Public Lands</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 
The measure to sell off 1.2 million acres of land has been removed from the Senate budget bill


Article by Sophie Stuber, Assistant Editor - Telluride Daily Planet - July 1, 2025





Hikers descending Ajax Peak near Telluride. Public land advocates earned a victory this week when a provision to sell off up to 1.225 million acres of BLM land in the West was removed from the Senate tax and spending bill. (Photo by Sophie Stuber/Telluride Daily Planet)



After an overwhelming public outcry against a proposal to sell off millions of acres of public lands, the provision was removed from the Senate tax and spending bill on Saturday. The plan would have seen the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) sell up to 1.225 million acres of lands across 11 western states — dedicated to developing new housing — exempting national parks, national monuments and designated wilderness areas.


Although these public lands were intended to be used for housing, there was no provision mandating that it be deed-restricted or affordable housing. The latest iteration of the amendment also removed clauses that encouraged first selling isolated land tracts as well as not allowing sales for “less than fair market value.”


The measure ended up being unpopular, and people on both sides of the aisle came out against the sell-off of public lands.


“We have to speak up against this drastic shift of public lands policy towards private interests and extraction. We have to remember the intrinsic benefits of these ecosystems are irreplaceable,” Sheep Mountain Alliance program director Ruthie Boyd told the Daily Planet.


The San Miguel County Board of Commissioner (BOCC) submitted several letters in opposition to any measures to sell off public lands.


Colorado’s representatives Jeff Hurd, Republican, and Joe Neguse, Democrat, released a joint statement urging the Senate to remove public lands sales from the bill.


“Colorado’s public lands belong to the people and are held in trust for future generations. They don’t belong to political appointees or outside interests. Neither of our districts asked for this land sale, and any efforts to sell off these shared spaces are deeply unpopular with the hunters, ranchers, fishermen, recreationists, conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts,” the statement reads.


“It’s time for folks on both sides of the aisle to come together for the common good and stand with us in our bipartisan effort to be good stewards of America’s prized public lands,” Hurd and Neguse concluded.


Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, had originally introduced an even more extensive proposal that would have mandated the BLM and the U.S. Forest Service to select and sell between 2.2 million and 3.3 million acres of public lands that would also prioritize oil, gas and timber interests on public lands. Locally, some of the most cherished areas in the San Juans, including Ice Lake Basin, Grant/Swamp Pass and the the Jud Wiebe Trail area, would have been eligible for sale — as well as much of Telluride Ski Resort terrain, since the current legislation does not exclude special use permits for ski areas.


After strong opposition from public lands advocates on both sides of the aisle, Lee walked back the proposal and excluded Forest Service lands from the updated proposal — but opponents said it was not enough.


“The removal of Mike Lee's provision to sell 3 million acres of public lands is of course a big win, but the fight isn't over,” Boyd said. “We must remain unwavering in our support for all public lands. Call your senators. Don't let them forget, this is one of the most unpopular ideas they could possibly have.”


After continued opposition, including from the Republican party, the public lands measure was struck entirely from the budget bill. Several Republican senators in the West said they wanted to remove the proposal, and hunters and anglers also spoke out against the proposal.


“Public lands are the whole core of where we can go and enjoy our outdoor activities — our hunting and fishing,” Craig Grother, Colorado board member for Backcountry Hunters &amp; Anglers (BHA) told the Daily Planet in June.





(Photo by Sophie Stuber/Telluride Daily Planet)



Backcountry Hunters &amp; Anglers has been working with San Miguel County and several other counties in Colorado, as well as the state legislature, to draft resolutions opposing the wholesale sale or transfer of public lands.


“We're obviously wanting to keep public lands and have them stay public. It's our inheritance from visionaries like Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot,” Grother said.


Public lands are key for hunting and fishing, as most permitted activity is done on these lands. The San Juans are the headwaters of main streams and rivers and provide clean water for both humans and fish alike.


There are still several provisions in the Senate budget bill that would impact the environment, including cutting tax credits for solar and wind projects and adding a new tax on clean energy projects.


The Trump administration also recently announced a decision to open 59 million acres of Forest Service land to development, by revoking the “roadless rule” and opening forests to timber harvesting and other resource development. Rescinding the rule would also remove protections along nearly 94,000 river miles, according to data from Conservation Science Partners.


“Forests serve as carbon sinks, helping to offset some of the impacts of climate change. They provide critical ecosystem services and are economic drivers for recreational and industrial benefits alike. The roadless rule protects these forests for a reason, including some of our oldest forests,” Boyd said.


Colorado would be exempt from the roadless reversal because of a different agreement negotiated with the Forest Service. But many other states are not in the same position.


“This decision isn't one about ecosystem management or fire safety. It is another attempt by the Trump administration to hastily sell off public lands under the guise of forest management and economic development,” Boyd said. “Wildfires are four times more likely to start in areas that have roads, so it doesn't improve fire safety as the administration claims.”


The Senate passed their bill with a 51-50 vote on July 1, with Republicans Susan Collins, Thom Tillis and Rand Paul joining Democrats to vote against it. Vice President J.D. Vance broke the tie.



To read the Telluride Daily Planet article please click this link.



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    <pubDate>Sun, 06 Jul 2025 14:00:00 -0600</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/summer-update-from-the-telluride-mountain-club/</guid>
    <link>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/summer-update-from-the-telluride-mountain-club/</link>
        <author>stevec@tellurideproperties.com (Steve Cieciuch (Chet-chu))</author>
        <title>Summer Update From the Telluride Mountain Club </title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 






Telluride’s trails don’t maintain themselves—but your support can help get the job done. This summer, TMtC is stepping up in a big way. They have added trail crew staff to keep your favorite trails maintained and easily accessible, but need your help to fully equip them for the season ahead. From May 30th to June 13th, they are raising $15,000 to cover essential gear and training to kick off trails season in Telluride.


This $15,000 investment will go directly toward:




New chainsaws and hand tools to remove downed trees


An e-bike to help our team cover more ground


Safety equipment and certifications to protect our crew




We’re filling critical maintenance gaps on our public lands and every dollar helps. Click here to learn more about TMtC’s work in the community—and why your support matters.
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    <pubDate>Fri, 30 May 2025 10:38:00 -0600</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/public-comment-is-open-for-telluride-ski-resort-projects/</guid>
    <link>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/public-comment-is-open-for-telluride-ski-resort-projects/</link>
        <author>stevec@tellurideproperties.com (Steve Cieciuch (Chet-chu))</author>
        <title>Public Comment is Open for Telluride Ski Resort Projects</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 
The Forest Service is evaluating proposal for replacing lifts, expanding ski ways and tree clearing


Article by Sophie Stuber, Telluride Daily Planet - 5/13/25





A map showing the proposed upgrades to Telluride Ski Resort. Staff at the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests (GMUG) are conducting an environmental assessment for the project, and the public comment period is open until the end of May. (Image courtesy of Telluride Ski Resort/US Forest Service)



The public comment period is currently open for proposed Telluride Ski Resort construction on Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests (GMUG) land. GMUG staff is conducting an environmental assessment (EA) for Telluride Ski Resort for several projects that Telski proposed in their 2017 Master Development Plan and to 2023 and 2024 amendments. The plans would be on National Forest land and adjacent private lands within the existing ski resort boundaries.


Since this is the scoping period, it is in early stages.


“This is to help (GMUG) create fully proposed action, and they'd like to get any kind of major concerns out of the way before they start their environmental assessment,” Starr Jamison, San Miguel County director of natural resources and climate, said during a BOCC meeting on May 7.


The county commissioners discussed whether to submit scoping comments for the draft, or to wait until the next draft.


“I think it's really important to provide comments at one point in the process,” Commissioner Galena Gleason said.


Telski intends to replace Lifts 7 and 8, widen the Galloping Goose Skiway, build the Lift 9 Jaws Skiway, transform the existing High Camp warming hut into a full service restaurant, build a new mountain bike connection trail, make the installations on the Heritage Trail permanent, and conduct tethered logging projects for forest health.


With these projects, Telski says the goal is to “improve the guest experience at TSR by addressing existing lift operational challenges and expanding recreational opportunities.”


Both the existing Lift 7 and Lift 8 are from the 1970s and are reaching the end of their operational lifespan. For Lift 7, Telski has not made a final decision for the new lift, but is considering a fixed-grip triple, a fixed-grip quad, or a detachable quad with a total capacity between 1,200-2,400 people per hour. The new lift would have generally the same alignment as the existing chair. For Lift 8, which brings skiers and riders over to Lift 9, the resort is looking at an upgraded fixed-grip double, triple, or quad chair with a capacity of 950-1,200 people per hour.


The master plan includes a proposal to widen the Galloping Goose Skiway from the Bald Mountain saddle to a zone by the Madison ski run. The trail would be extended by about 30 feet, and the project requires excavation and the construction of a 600-foot retaining wall for slope stability and soil retention.


Off Lift 9, Telski plans to build a new ski trail that is a better, less steep egress route for skiers and riders than the existing slope. The “Jaws Skiway” could also allow the resort to open Lift 9 earlier in the season since it would have access to the current snowmaking system.


The High Camp warming hut at the top of Lift 12 is the site of a new proposed full service restaurant. The warming hut currently offers food and beverage options that are prepared offsite, but the new restaurant would have the capacity to make everything onsite. The expansion requires electrical upgrades and new composting toilets.


An earlier project was shut down due to permitting issues.


“For those who aren't familiar with the previous restaurant project that the Telluride Ski Resort initiated without proper permitting, sadly, the county — together with the Forest Service — had to shut it down, and it's been sitting there for almost two years, not completed,” Commissioner Anne Brown said.


The environmental assessment includes plans for an additional mountain bike trail, Green Tech, that would be a spur off the east side of the Tommyknocker trail. The new trail would be hand built and rockier than Tommyknocker to offer more varied terrain. Both are still intended for beginner riders — but different styles.


The Heritage Trail in Grouse Glade features an interactive historical timeline of


the San Juan region, local geography, a ski-through trail of the Ute Indian Tipi, a ski-through pioneer chuck wagon, a historic mineshaft, and other historic local buildings and infrastructure. The exhibit was built in the summer of 2024 under a temporary approval from the Forest Service, but Telski wants to make the Heritage Trail permanent and allow the installation to stay year round.


Aside from resort upgrades, Telski is also planning to do some work to improve forest health, using tethered cut-to-length logging equipment to mitigate hazardous fuels, remove hazard trees and improve recreational skiing opportunities. Cutting and removing dead and dying subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce trees can also help with combatting spruce beetle infestations. Cut-to-length tree harvesting operations are less costly than using helicopters and minimizes soil disturbances, compared to slash and burn techniques.


For the logging operations, Jamison noted that the project needs to comply with local regulations and environmental concerns.


“We just need to make sure that we're looking at lynx habitat, wetlands, fens, weed mitigation,” she said.


The public comment period is open until May 29. Electronic comments are preferred and can be submitted to: TellurideSkiEA@segroup.com. Scoping comments help assist GMUG staff finalize the environmental assessment and decide how to move forward.



To read the original Telluride Daily Planet article please click this link. 

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    <pubDate>Wed, 14 May 2025 09:15:00 -0600</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/q1-2025-telluride-real-estate-activity-report/</guid>
    <link>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/q1-2025-telluride-real-estate-activity-report/</link>
        <author>stevec@tellurideproperties.com (Steve Cieciuch (Chet-chu))</author>
        <title>Q1 2025 Telluride Real Estate Activity Report</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 



To read the Q1 2025 Telluride Real Estate Activity Report please click &quot;Read Full Post&quot; and then click here
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    <pubDate>Mon, 05 May 2025 11:26:00 -0600</pubDate>
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    <guid>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/how-telluride-got-its-name/</guid>
    <link>https://www.telluridearearealestate.com/blog/how-telluride-got-its-name/</link>
        <author>stevec@tellurideproperties.com (Steve Cieciuch (Chet-chu))</author>
        <title>How Telluride Got Its Name</title>
    <description> <![CDATA[ 
Article by Ted Wilson Telluride History Club The View - April 1, 2025


Photo by Steve Cieciuch



Redvale, the small town between Norwood and Naturita, might have inadvertently solved the mystery of who gave Telluride its name. I’ll come back to that.


According to the Town of Telluride’s website, Telluride “was founded in 1878 and was originally known as Columbia. It was renamed in 1881 to avoid confusion with another mining camp. Telluride was reportedly named after tellurium, a gold bearing ore, although a popular myth attributes the name to people saying, ‘To hell you ride’ upon departing for the mining camp.”


Countless books, articles and websites share similar explanations, with the twist that tellurium was never found here, thus adding to the mystery as to why the name “Telluride” was chosen.


Let’s eliminate “to hell you ride.” That’s just a nickname that came later.


It’s probably more accurate to say that Telluride was named after telluride, rather than tellurium. Gold or silver combined with tellurium is called a telluride ore, known in the mining world back then.


Telluride was only the name of our post office at first. The dominant explanation is that the Postmaster General rejected “Columbia” since there was a mining camp with the same name in California, and thus the possibility of too much misdelivered mail. The original post office application for town can be viewed online in the National Archives. It was submitted in 1878, but at some point, the handwritten name “Columbia” was crossed out. Written above it was “Telluride.”


So, for about a decade, you had a town called Columbia with a post office called Telluride. In old newspapers, some business ads used Telluride, some used Columbia. News articles wrote it as “Columbia (Telluride),” and so on. It must’ve been annoying. In 1887, a petition signed by 169 voters “praying that the name of the Town of Columbia may be changed to that of Telluride” was unanimously approved by the town council and that was the end of the confusion.


Except, the confusion persists today. Why “Telluride”?


Let me introduce George Savage Andrus, who was very much in the thick of things when Telluride was just a mining camp called Columbia. Andrus was the mayor in 1880, served as treasurer on the Board of Trustees (town council) and held other government positions. He was a mining engineer and U.S. deputy mineral surveyor. He built a mill near Pandora. He helped form the Masonic Lodge in Telluride — in his cabin. Andrus sold Telluride the land that would become Lone Tree Cemetery (for so cheap it could almost be considered a donation). L.L. Nunn is listed as being part of those land transactions in town minutes, so Andrus was also connected with that local legend.


Back to Redvale and this forgotten article buried on page three of The Telluride Journal on February 17, 1910: “The town of Redlands, down the San Miguel river in Montrose county, has changed its name to Redvale. The change was brought about through the establishment of a post office, it developing that California has a town and post office named Redlands, and because of the similarity of the abbreviations of ‘Col’ and ‘Cal’ the authorities foreseeing confusion in mail matters declined to grant the petition for the Redlands office so it was changed to Redvale. The same conditions are to blame for the name of Telluride. When the camp first started and the town was laid out, it was called Columbia and so incorporated. When application was made for a post office it was found California had a Columbia post office and the petitioners were instructed to search out another name. Under the impression that tellurium was a frequent ore hereabouts the name Telluride was suggested by Geo. Andrus an assayer and metallurgist then located here, now at Globe, Arizona, and this name was adopted. It is not known that a pound of tellurium has ever been found in this camp. But what’s in a name anyhow?”


This newspaper article might be the closest we’ll get to a first-hand account of who came up with what is now a world-famous town name. When the article was printed in 1910, the editor of The Telluride Journal was Francis Edward Curry, and the owner was Charles Fremont Painter. Curry started the first newspaper in our valley in 1881. He must’ve been a deep well of local knowledge. Painter was the mayor right after Andrus and they served on town government together. They were also fellow Masons. Curry and Painter knew Andrus, personally.


Was Andrus, a U.S. deputy mineral surveyor, wrong about the presence of telluride ores in our mountains? There are several accounts of prospectors discovering tellurium veins here. Maybe they misidentified them. That mystery lives on.


Still, trusting in Curry and Painter’s newspaper article, I would sign a petition that gives George Savage Andrus credit for our town name.



Ted Wilson is a local history buff who volunteers on the San Miguel County Historical Commission. Contact Ted with stories from our region’s rich past: tedtelluride@gmail.com. References: Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection (Colorado State Library). Notes on Town of Telluride Council Meetings (Rev.), 1880-1977, compiled by Pam Pettee.



To read the full Telluride Daily Planet article please click this link. 
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    <pubDate>Wed, 02 Apr 2025 14:46:00 -0600</pubDate>
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