Gillett, Colorado

Gillett is a ghost town in Teller County, Colorado, United States, near Cripple Creek. The site lies in a valley along Colorado State Highway 67 at an elevation of 9,938 feet (3,029 m). Platted in 1894 during the Cripple Creek mining boom, Gillett developed as a rail-related settlement associated with the Midland Terminal Railway. The post office operated from 1894 to 1913. The town declined as local mining and railroad activity waned and was largely abandoned by the mid-20th century. A 1965 flash flood destroyed or removed much of what remained of the town's structures, leaving only scattered ruins and traces of infrastructure. In the late 2010s, a nearby public water stop at Gillette Flats Spring became the subject of a water-rights compliance dispute and related engineering work to keep the spring accessible.