Jack Howe came to mine silver in 1875. Trouble was the silver boom hadn’t started yet and the Ute Indians didn’t take kindly to strangers in their mountains. So Jack homesteaded about halfway up the valley and built a 10′ X 20′ X 6′ high with a dirt roof cabin.
At first, he guided “Sportsmen” hunting and fishing to survive until the real silver boom of 1879 when location, the deciding factor of much of history, made his place the popular stopover from Gunnison to Crested Butte and Gothic.
In a period of 2 years he added a hotel, restaurant, saloon, and post office to his “community”, sometimes called Howeville.
But, alas, along came the railroad in 1881 and ended the demand for the “halfway stop”.
Jack disappeared to unknown digs around 1887. Jack’s Cabin, although Jack’s original structure is long gone, still bears his name.
Rob Quint
Source: “The Gunnison Country” by Duane Vandenbush