A program of Roaring Fork Conservancy offered in partnership with City of Aspen Parks & Open Space and AHS
Discover the largest industrial site in the history of Pitkin County: a then-state-of-the-art silver processing plant known as the Holden Lixiviation Works. Built on the banks of Castle Creek in 1891 by Edward Royal Holden, the plant led to innovative and sometimes destructive uses of water resources for hydropower and waste disposal. Explore the history, the museum, and the remnants of the “Works” (including the newly reconstructed cable derrick) to learn how one of our most precious resources, freshwater, was utilized in a different era.
