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Silt – A Brief History

The little town known as Silt began as George Ferguson’s Ranch after the Ute Indians’ land was opened up to homesteading in 1881. Mr. Ferguson operated a ferry so the first settlers could cross the Grand River (known today as the Colorado River) until the first bridge was built in 1908.

The area was named Ferguson until 1889, when the Denver and Rio Grande Junction Railway named their section house and depot “Silt” after the powdery soil in the area. The name Silt most likely stuck after Mr. Ferguson passed away in 1892.

Agriculture was prevalent in the area with sugar beets as the primary crop. After harvest, the beets were loaded onto trains in Silt and shipped to the Holly Sugar plant in Grand Junction for processing.

Henry Hasley bought Ferguson’s ranch in 1899. Mr. Hasley had the town of Silt surveyed and platted in 1907. The citizens tried to incorporate the town in 1912. Due to the railroad not wanting to be taxed by the town it took three more years to become a town. The Town of Silt was the last town incorporated in Garfield County in 1915.

After several buildings were lost to fire one winter evening in 1917, it was decided the town needed a water system complete with wooden pipes. A couple of these wooden pipes were used into 1970s! Silt boasted over twenty businesses before the Great Depression including a bank, lumber yard, movie theater, pool hall, grocery and mercantile stores, with several bars and restaurants. The town had very little growth until the oil shale boom and bust of the late 70’s and early 80’s. Among other things, Silt benefited by getting its streets paved for the first time by 1982. Since then, the town of Silt has more than doubled in size due to housing developments, a business park, and a river preserve along the Colorado River. 

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#1. Easy access to downtown Silt from I70 – Enjoy the Local Coffee Shop and/or the spectrum of Restaurants on Main Street

Silt is an easy exit off of I70, past the larger town of Glenwood Springs. We stopped by on our trip to the Colorado Western Slope region and were pleased to discover an active Main Street with several vibrant businesses. In addition to easy access gas station, there is much more to experience!

• Miner’s Claim Restaurant – Google Maps – This is an award-winning restaurant! See the Minors Claim website for the interesting history (celebrity name dropping from time spent in Aspen) of its owner (Christian) and head Chef (Oscar). It has a beautiful outdoor shaded patio. We will definitely stop here on our next visit!
• MAYANS TACOS – Google Maps – a popular Food Truck
• Taqueria garcia – Google Maps – another popular Food Truck
• La mora pizza – Google Maps – highly rated local pizza
• Wild Coffee in Silt – Google Maps – we stopped here for Coffee … good coffee, breakfast burrito and vibe!

#2. Pick up some snacks or groceries at the colorful local market on Main Street

We were happy to see a Main Street food market that was easily accessible on foot.

• La Placita Supermarket – Google Maps

#3. Visit a particularly cute shop on Main Street

We didn’t actually stop here (dang it… somehow, we missed noticing it!) but were impressed with the 5-star reviews and attractive photos on Google Maps reviews!

• The Whimsical Wagon – Google Maps – “The Whimsical Wagon was established in 2004 by Carol Back. Her vision and dream were to establish a fun store with many great items for her customers to shop and enjoy… We are very pleased to have been voted #1 Gift Shop in Garfield County consistently from 2019 through 2024 and look forward to being your #1 Gift Shop in years to come!!!  We also are honored to have been voted #1 Woman Owned Business for 2024 Locals Choice!“

#4. Park downtown Main Street, stretch your legs and walk around! Silt has many attractive historic buildings and an outdoor Museum Park a couple of blocks away

We enjoyed our walk down Main Street, appreciating several historic buildings with active businesses and attractive mid-century modern Library building. We also walked to the nearby Silt Historical Park to see their open-air display.

• Silt Historical Park – Google Maps

#5. Many regional Parks close by – and an Alpaca Farm!

A little online research after our visit indicated there are a variety of popular parks near Silt, as well as an Alpaca Ranch that welcomes visitors. Come for the food and stay for the day!

• Sopris Alpaca Farm – Google Maps – popular Alpaca Ranch near town; you can hand feed an alpaca and shop their lovely boutique!
• Rifle Falls State Park – Google Maps
• Harvey Gap State Park – Google Maps
• Silt River Preserve – Aspen Valley Land Trust (avlt.org) – What a great concept! check out the regional land trust and its impact on establishing area wildlife preserves and parks.

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