Alta, Colorado: Where Nikola Tesla's AC Power Was First Put to Work

Alta, Colorado is a San Miguel County ghost town between Telluride and Rico, on the National Register of Historic Places and remarkable both for its high-altitude gold mining operations and its central role in the Edison-Tesla "War of Currents." It operated from 1877 until 1948, when its mill burned.

01Why Was Alta Founded?

Alta was founded in 1877 as the center of the Alta-Gold King mining area, up in the San Juan Mountains at an elevation of 11,800 feet. The Gold King Mine was discovered in 1878, and operations quickly expanded. Unlike most gold camps, Alta produced a full suite of metals — gold, silver, copper, and lead — which allowed it to remain profitable as any single metal's price fluctuated.

The location was brutal. High-altitude winters bury the site in snow for months. Access was difficult. Supplying the mines with coal, timber, and equipment was ruinously expensive, and the cost of steam power to run the mill was choking the operation's margins.

02The Tesla Connection

In the late 1880s, Lucien "L.L." Nunn took over the Gold King Mine's operations. The coal bills were unsustainable. Nunn turned to George Westinghouse and Nikola Tesla, who were then developing alternating current transmission technology — a system that could carry electricity long distances with minimal loss, something direct current couldn't do.

Nunn built the Ames Hydroelectric Plant on the San Miguel River below Alta in 1891. It was one of the world's first commercial AC power plants, sending current 2.6 miles uphill to the Gold King Mine. The system worked. Electricity bills collapsed. The proof of concept proved AC transmission viable for industrial applications — contributing to the eventual defeat of Edison's DC system in the "War of Currents."

Alta's mines became among the first in the world powered by alternating current. That technological inflection point happened at 11,800 feet in a Colorado mining camp most Americans have never heard of.

03What Happened to Alta?

Alta's mining operations continued far longer than most Colorado camps — 71 years, from 1877 to 1948. The multi-metal production base helped. So did World War II, which revived the mines briefly as wartime metal demand spiked.

In 1948 the Alta mill burned. Without a mill to process ore, the operations could not continue. The fire effectively ended Alta as a functioning mining town. Residents left over the following years.

04Can You Visit Alta Today?

Yes. Alta is accessible from Telluride via Alta Lakes Road, a reasonably well-maintained dirt road that climbs from the San Miguel River valley up to the 11,800-foot townsite. Most visitors combine a trip to Alta with nearby Alta Lakes — a popular high-altitude fishing and photography destination.

Visit Telluride — the regional tourism office — provides current access information. The site is not a staffed museum, but preservation signage explains the history. For visitors interested in the intersection of mining history and the history of electricity, Alta is unique in the American West.

05What Remains of Alta Today

Alta is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Several original buildings still stand, including the boardinghouse and miners' cottages. The site's owners work with the City of Telluride and San Miguel County on preservation — stabilizing the boardinghouse, rehabilitating a cottage, maintaining the structures against the severe high-altitude weather.