Frisco's history began with the Ute Indians who first traveled the region now known as Summit County.
The first white men to come through this area were known as "mountain men" who trapped in the high mountain lakes for the thick coat of the beaver. The mountain men trapped in this territory from 1810 to around the 1840's.
The 1870's ushered in mining to the area. Founded in 1873 (officially chartered in 1879) by Henry Recen, the Town of Frisco quickly developed thanks in part to the locale's many mines. By 1882 the permanent population reached 250 with two railroads, many businesses, hotels and saloons, not to mention "loads of mines." The mining boomed lasted until 1918.
Along with the rest of the country, Frisco was hit by the Depression; by 1930 Frisco's permanent population had dropped to only 18 people. Frisco was one of the few old mining towns to keep going. Many of the smaller, less accessible mining towns were deserted. Frisco persevered and by 1946 the population had increased to 50.
Frisco, with a current population just under 2,800 full-time residents, remained a sleepy town with a sprinkling of summer tourists until the ski industry - which now attracts some 3 million people a year to the area -- brought a new boom era to Summit County.
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