MDVIP - Basalt, CO

ABOUT BASALT

Basalt was first named Aspen Junction after the railroad junction which led to present day Aspen, Colorado. Aspen Junction was a territory serving Aspen to Leadville Mining towns, with the Railroad Junction, also going West and South to Carbondale and Glenwood Springs. The Aspen Junction, Colorado, post office opened on February 13, 1890. The town was first served by the Colorado Midland Railroad, but the railroad was later bought by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad in 1901.

The Aspen Junction post office was renamed Basalt on June 19, 1895, and the Town of Basalt was incorporated on August 26, 1901. The name was chosen for the basaltic rock formations on Basalt Mountain.