Silverthorne: The Judge's Claim

Silverthorne is named for Judge Marshall Silverthorn, who first came to the area as a prospector. He served as judge of the Miners' Court in Breckenridge and claimed a section of the Blue River in eighteen eighty-one. The gold on his claim turned out to be sparse.

But his name outlasted his mining career. The area along the river eventually became a ranch community, and when the town formally incorporated in nineteen sixty-seven, it took the judge's name with one letter dropped: Silverthorne instead of Silverthorn. It now anchors the eastern end of Summit County's ski corridor.