Town view of Caribou. Known as The Place where winds were born”, Caribou is located at 9800 feet. Sam Conger was the discoverer of the Caribou mine. He found out from the Arapahoe Indians about their “Treasure Mountain” but was unable to search until they were moved by the government. In August, 1869 he & 5 partners staked the Caribou and Conger mines. The Caribou mine produced an est. $8 million before closing in 1884. It was Caribou which gave rise to Colorado being known as the “Silver State”. Caribou City was organized in Sept, 1870 & by spring, 1871 had over 400 people. Poorman, Sherman, Idaho, No-Name, Sovereign People, Boulder County and other mines were in the area. Caribou was swept by fires in 1879 and 1900, by major epidemics and always by the wind. “