Streets

Not long after prospectors found gold in what is now Summit County, mining camps blossomed along the waterways and gulches.  Similar in appearance, they showed little planning or organization.  Selecting a spot near wood and water, they placed their tents and crude log cabins haphazardly on or near claims.  Only later, when claims had to be surveyed, did any semblance of order or organization develop.  A main street, nothing more than a pathway through stumps and boulders lined with tents and rectangular buildings sporting false fronts advertising food, clothing, drink or supplies, appeared.

When the first prospectors and miners arrived in what would become Summit County, no legal or governmental structure existed–no federal, state, county or town governments, no sets of laws–to guide their interactions.  This lack of a structure presented problems.  How did one file a claim?  How did one keep others from stealing that claim?  How could disagreements be settled?  To alleviate the problem, miners and prospectors adopted an idea used in California–the mining district.