Tiny town and railroad DENVER COLORADO | USA Diaries

A quick look back over the last century and more

Like most Colorado mountain towns, Tiny Town has had its share of boom and bust cycles.
Currently enjoying a period of growing interest from Colorado families, along with stable, non-profit stewardship, Tiny Town is emerging from the shadow of COVID-19. We hope that will soon be just another footnote in Tiny Town’s history.

Year Event
1915 On the location of the Denver-Leadville Stage Coach Station George Turner begins building Turnerville to entertain his young daughter. Turnerville was the precursor of Tiny Town.
1920 Turnerville grows large enough to be open to the public.
1924 The beginning of Tiny Town’s heyday. It included 125 buildings with a grocery store, barber shop, two lakes, pool room, hotel, school and church. The town also boasted a genuine pueblo structure with Indians from a New Mexico reservation. During this period, 20,000 persons per year drove up hazardous dirt mountain roads from Denver to view this magnificent site.
1927 By this time Tiny Town had become as well known as Buffalo Bill’s Grave and Pike’s Peak. The project outgrew George Turner’s spare time and he sold out.
1929 Flood damages Tiny Town.
1932 Another flood damages Tiny Town.
1935 A disastrous fire destroys the Indian pueblo and all the principal buildings of Tiny Town. Fortunately, the miniature businesses and residences were untouched by the flames.
1948 A stroke of the pen may have been more devastating to Tiny Town than these floods and fires. On January 28, 1948, plans were approved to reroute Highway 285 from in front of Tiny Town. This took it from the everyday view of those who used 285.
1965 The Given and Turner families (no relation to George) restore Tiny Town.
1966 Tiny Town closes and is put up for sale; no buyers were found.
1969 A disastrous flood destroys Tiny Town, leaving a nightmarish, debris-strewn ghost town.
1972 Lyle Fulkerson, model train buff and master mechanic, begins another Tiny Town restoration. This project involved the entire Fulkerson family and included a zoning change, widening and deepening of Turkey Creek, and regrading of the railroad bed.
1977 Lyle Fulkerson is killed by a runaway train car on his way to Tiny Town.
1978 Tiny Town closes and falls into disrepair.
1980 Four families again decide to reopen Tiny Town, this time including pony rides and a puppet theater.
1983 Tiny Town again is closed to the public.
1987 The Northern Colorado Chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), a trade group made up of professional property managers, adopts Tiny Town as a civic project and pledges to revive the remaining structures. Lots in Tiny Town are leased at public auction, raising $6,000 for The Children’s Museum in Denver. Winning bidders pledge to rebuild individual houses to original specifications. This rebuilding of Tiny Town is professionally planned and managed using the strict guidelines IREM encourages from its members.
1988 Volunteers returned 50 refurbished or new structures to the site. Tiny Town reopened July 4th with 11,000 visitors that weekend. Due to this enthusiastic public reception, it was decided to extend hours to weekends through Labor Day. There were also 40 lots sold for new buildings to be returned in 1989.
1989 Members of IREM and other volunteers establish THE TINY TOWN FOUNDATION, a non-profit corporation, to operate the town on a day-to-day basis while ensuring the village’s long-term success. Over 60,000 people visit Tiny Town’s 65 structures in 1989.
1990 Tiny Town now boasts over 80 colorful structures for its 75th Anniversary Season. With half the track completed by opening day, Tiny Town had The World Famous Tiny Town Railway in operation by midsummer.
1991 This year proved to be the most successful year so far in Tiny Town’s history, with over 90 buildings and three operating trains. 100,069 people came to enjoy the park.
2011 Several buildings built back the 1920s by Tiny Town’s founder, George Turner, were discovered in a nearby property and donated to Tiny Town. After restoration, they were placed on display in a new exhibit area called Turnerville.
2012 A new locomotive is commissioned for Tiny Town. The design is the Mason Bogie, a type used on several historic Colorado railroads.
2014 Locomotive #12, the Mary Ross, is placed in service.
2015 Tiny Town’s 100th Anniversary celebration lasts all summer.
2016 A new caboose is commissioned for Tiny Town.
2018 The new caboose is placed in service.
2020 Tiny Town is closed all season due to COVID-19 pandemic.
2021 Tiny Town reopens to the public under COVID-19 guidelines.