Columbine was named for Colorado's state flower. The Columbine Mining Camp is listed on the Colorado Inventory of Historic Sites. It developed as a result of gold finds at higher elevations, travel over The Laramie Trail and the opening of a new road from the railhead at Rawlins. The camp probably started in 1880 or 1881 but it was not until 1897 that James R. Caron laid out an 11 acre townsite. A restored saloon and general store are reminders of a bustling mining camp that served as a major way-stop for travelers, stages and mail deliveries from Routt County's nearest railroad 115 miles to the north.

Two mines flourished:

The Master Key Mine operated until 1936 and is listed on the Colorado Inventory of Historic Sites. Manager, Tom E. Kleckner, who dyed his whiskers red and claimed that "nothing is done except by doing" is said to have chased his wife from the cabin at the mine to Columbine with a butcherknife because she could not locate the gold lode for him. Major discoveries were not recorded until 1919. Reports indicate that this is the only mine in northwestern Colorado where workers were ordered to drill through a solid vein of silver in search of a lode.

The Minnie D Mine was one of the most productive mines in the Columbine area and was named for Dan Stukey's first wife. Stukey's brother, Chris, an oldtime Routt County miner, owned and operated the mine at one time. In 1906 new rails were laid in the mine to correct unsafe conditions. The mine is still worked sporadically.

Source: The Historic Guide to Routt County, copyright 1979 by The Tread of Pioneers Museum