Silverthorne/Wildernest

The Town of Silverthorne is relatively young. It was incorporated in 1967 after the completion of the Dillon Dam, however, its roots go back to the mining era. Around 1959, Clayton Hill built a small number of houses and streets in a meadow near where the Silverthorne Pavilion now stands. His initial plan was that these houses would be the living quarters for the Dillon Dam workers. As construction progressed and hundreds of people came to the area it became apparent that there was a need for municipal water and sewer services. In 1967 when Clayton Hill needed a name for the new town he decided to name it after Judge Marshall Silverthorne, the original owner of a placer mining claim that encompassed much of the area.