On July 1^st, 2024, Grave Consolidated Surveying & Mining Corporation (hereinafter referred to as Grave Corp) posted a Notice of Trespassing Prohibition for the property commonly referred to as the Old Mine located in the Old Town area of Sterling County State Park. This move sparked protests and outrage from local residents who see the Old Town area as an important heritage site and tourist destination. While Grave Corp has owned the location since 1889—and in fact parlayed its profits from said mine to invest in Eclipse Ridge, reinvigorating the local economy—it has not enforced the trespassing prohibition until earlier this month, leading many, both locals and tourists, to visit the scenic Old Town area for day trips and sightseeing.

Grave Corp CEO Leah Grave spoke to Sterling County Sentinel Reporter Aerik Williams on the subject. When asked to explain why Grave Corp has decided to enforce this prohibition, she had this to say: “I want to make sure that Eclipse Ridge understands the position we are in regarding Old Town. We’ve noticed an increase in unauthorized access by individuals or groups. Due to the hazardous and condemned state of Old Town, this raises concerns about Grave Corp’s potential liability for any injuries or harm that may occur on the property.”

Some locals feel Old Town should be returned to the state of Colorado and be maintained and preserved as part of Sterling County State Park. Aerik Williams knocked on doors in the park area and asked residents for their opinions. Anya Murtagh, a local resident with deep familial ties in Sterling County, expressed that she felt the Sterling County Sheriff’s Office is more focused on “chasing kids and history buffs away from Old Town” instead of protecting the town of Eclipse Ridge during the height of tourist season.

She was not the only one who felt that the SCSO’s presence in the state park was onerous. Jona Carnell Sinclair, another park resident living close to the cordoned area of Old Town, stated opposition to the “military grade surveillance tower” and said, “They’ve supposedly got patrols in the area as well to the point where people cannot even go for a stroll around the lake now.” For residents paying to live in the idyllic cabins on Emerald Lake and its immediate environs, the heightened police presence presents an obstacle to their previous habits and impedes their enjoyment of their homes. When asked whether Mr. Sinclair felt the patrols had increased safety for residents, he replied, “If they’d increased safety, I doubt we’d have corpses washing ashore on the banks.”

Certainly Grave Corp could hire private security to monitor Old Town and only call in the Sheriff’s Office when a trespasser had been caught, and some residents expressed reservations about the apparently close relationship between Grave Corp and the SCSO. As the largest employer in Eclipse Ridge, Grave Corp plays an outsized role in local politics and departmental budgets, and some are speculating that the SCSO is in Grave Corp’s deep pockets.

However, an employee of the Sheriff’s Office, speaking off the record, expressed that were it not for the intensity of the backlash to the prohibition, the Sheriff’s Office wouldn’t have gotten involved. The SCSO employee expressed a belief that part of policing is patrolling hot spots, areas of concern, and that if instances of criminal trespass in the area were to diminish, the SCSO would review their strategy for Old Town. Aerik Williams noted that Sterling County is a large, very remote, rural county, and that there is a vast area for the SCSO to patrol, one that receives a huge influx of transient residents during the summer. When asked whether the employee felt adequately supported in their role by their colleagues, they insisted that they were appropriately supported.

While some residents have inquired why Grave Corp has not relinquished ownership of the Old Mine and its adjacent areas to the government, our reporter’s conversation with Ms. Grave sheds some light: “Grave Corp has previously allowed restricted access to the mine. However, as we consider reopening the mine, it is necessary to revoke these permissions at this time until a final decision is made.”

Asked whether the mine is still viable, Ms. Grave responded, “We are working to ascertain whether there might be a bonanza that has recently become visible due to weathering and settling. The course of action we take next is contingent upon factors such as the size, location, and depth. In addition to evaluation the potential environmental impacts and safety concerns associated with assuming operations.”

If true, this explains why the situation at the site has changed recently and why they are so aggressively protecting their rights at the site. The Sheriff’s Office’s degree of involvement and the extent of the surveillance measures taken may or may not be proportionate—this matter remains hotly debated over drinks in Eclipse Ridge’s local establishments—but it is certain that if the Old Mine reopens, it will provide a shot in the arm to the local economy. As it approaches the annual Founders’ Day festivities, Eclipse Ridge cannot deny its origins as a mining town nor the hold that Grave Corp maintains over it into modern times. Whether citizens like it or not, Eclipse Ridge as it is today would not exist without the investments of the Grave family. However, every small town has its past; the challenge is whether Eclipse Ridge citizens can define the future for themselves.