Aspen Colorado
Aspen, first named “Shining Mountains” by the Ute Indians, then christened “Ute City” by early settlers, was renamed to Aspen in 1880 from the abundance of aspen trees in the area, and incorporated in 1881. Aspen, first a silver mining camp in 1876 during the Colorado Silver Boom is now the largest city and county seat of Pitkin County, Colorado. It is located high in the mountains in the west central part of the beautiful Rocky Mountain Region of the state and is part of the Roaring Fork Valley. Surrounded on three sides by Aspen, Smuggler and Red Mountains, Aspen is internationally renowned as a winter and summer resort.
In 1946, the Aspen Skiing Corporation was founded and in 1950 Aspen hosted the FIS World Championships, which confirmed Aspen's status as an international resort.
Aspen has the widest array of arts and cultural events in the state. The city offers an eclectic life style appealing to a wide variety of people from the most physically active to those seeking to enjoy the cultural arts and intellectual pursuits. It is the home of the Aspen Institute, the Aspen Music Festival and School, and is the site of the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. John Denver wrote several folk songs about the town, including “Aspenglow” and “Starwood in Aspen”.
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