The Hermit of Arbourville, Colorado

Hermit-pic,-2By Carol Mobley

 

   Today Arbourville, Colorado is a ghost town located in Chaffee county, 5 miles below Chaffee City/Monarch. It was established after Nicholas Creede discovered silver on Monarch Mountain in 1879. It is also known as Arborsville and Arbour-Villa. Arbourville was known for the brothel which served as a gathering place for miners and traders, the only one in the Monarch area. The parlor house was the main attraction in Arbourville and attracted customers from far and wide. In 1880 as many as 50 houses a week were built, all being occupied as soon as they were finished. Today all that remains of Arbourville is a Colorado ghost town but the memory of Frank E. Gimlett lingers on.
   Frank Gimlett aka the Hermit of Arbourville, born on July 22, 1875, moved with his parents to Junction City, Colorado in 1879. He attended school in Salida where in 1889 was listed in Report of Public Schools having been present at examination for the month of March 1889. He married in 1897 and had two children. And, if that is all that we knew about his life, he would be unremarkable but Frank was more than unremarkable.
Hermit-pic,-1   As described by Muriel Woole in Timberline Tailings: Tales of Colorado’s Ghost Towns and Mining Camps, Frank E. Gimlett was found ³startling to behold, with long hair and a massive beard he looked like a hairy stowaway from another time.²
   A writer and a misogynist he took up residence in Arbourville after the mining town had been abandoned. Under the pen-name ³The Hermit of Arbor-Villa² he authored a nine-volume account of his hermit adventures in the West, titled Over Trails of Yesterday, Stories of Colorful Characters that Lived, Labored, Loved, Fought, and Died in the Gold and Silver West. These 9 booklets he sold for $.50 primarily to tourists traveling through Salida and it was this income that sustained him and his wife.
   Gimlett was enamored by Ginger Rogers and felt Mt. Aetna should be renamed Ginger in her honor. He went so far as to petition President Roosevelt who declined his request citing the expense of updating maps and other geographical material. He advocated the reinstatement of the gold and silver monetary standard, writing petitions and speaking on the radio.
   Frank lived in Chaffee County until his death on February 1, 1952. He was a miner, built and sold homes, sold coal and feed and was an accomplish pianist and author. For more information about Frank Gimlett visit http://salidaarchive.info/hermit-of-arbor-villa/.
   Postcards are a perfect way to discover history. Each postcard has a history lesson whether it be the image on the front of the card, the message on the back, the stamp used or the postal cancellation. The Denver Postcard and Paper Ephemera Show is January 19 & 20, 2018 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. There will be a wide range of postcards, photographs, books and other gems of history you can buy. For more information call Carol or Bill Mobley at 303-761-3755. Take a copy of the ad on page 5 for a $1.00 admission discount.

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