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Shirley

Ghost town · Chaffee County, Colorado

Bonanza quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1959, 1:62,500)
Bonanza quadrangle, USGS topographic map (1959, 1:62,500) · U.S. Geological Survey, Historical Topographic Map Collection · Public domain

Shirley is a ghost town in Chaffee County, Colorado. It is one of 14 former communities in Chaffee County on the federal names register. That ranks the county 2nd among the 48 Colorado counties with a vanished settlement on record.

The U.S. Geological Survey lists Shirley as a historical populated place on the Mount Ouray topographic quadrangle: the name is no longer in official use for a community, whether the settlement was abandoned, absorbed into a neighbouring town or renamed. The recorded location is 38.4244° N, 106.1284° W.

Key facts

USGS quadrangleMount Ouray
Elevation8,652 ft
Nearest living townPoncha Springs, CO
Distance to it7.3 miles
GNIS feature ID189875
Coordinates38.42444, -106.12835

Open the location on a map

What's there now

Shirley is no longer a community in its own right. The nearest living town is Poncha Springs, CO (population 842), about 7.3 miles away in a straight line, and the site sits at roughly 8,652 feet above sea level. Much of the land around former townsites is private; check access before you visit.

Nearby places

Questions

Where is Shirley?

Shirley is in Chaffee County, Colorado, at 38.4244, -106.1284.

How many ghost towns are in Chaffee County?

Chaffee County, Colorado has 14 ghost towns on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.