#colorado #breckenridge #realestate
The town of Breckenridge has long served as a highly sought-after travel destination. From a bustling main street that captures the tangible spirit of the American West to nearly 3,000 acres of ski terrain spread across the numerous peaks that serve as its backdrop, the town is a crown jewel of Colorado’s High Country.
But nearly a century ago, Breckenridge’s landscape was a far cry from the vibrant tourism community it is today. Having seen the end of gold and silver booms and amid the grip of the Great Depression, the area’s dwindling population was in dire need of rejuvenation.
“Breckenridge was suffering at that time,” said Larissa O’Neil, executive director of the nonprofit Breckenridge History, which was formally the Breckenridge Heritage Alliance.
In 1936, women in this club, which consisted of the “movers and shakers” of the time, according to O’Neil, discovered a map from 1880 that contained a “donut hole” mistake. Amid the jigsaw puzzle of treaty lines showing the westward expansion of the United States — remnants of conflicts including the Mexican-American war, the annexation of Texas and the Louisiana Purchase — Breckenridge was missing entirely.
“These women took this map, and they ran with that. They ran with it big time,” O’Neil said, adding it would amount to what she called one of the first “viral” campaigns for the area.
