post office, two hotels (the Summit House and the Rocky Mountain House), and a sawmill. It eventually had a smelter, as well, which allowed local separation of the silver and lead ores, which are typically found together in the region. At the town's peak, the mountainside around the town was location of numerous mines on the Belle and Blance lodes, operated by the Sts. John Mining Company, after which the nearby ghost town of Saints John is named. Saints John now consists of three cabins near timberline, at 10,764 feet. The town experienced a steep decline after the Silver Bust in 1893. It experienced a slight revival in mining interest in 1940, but has remained fairly quiet since World War II. The town has experienced five major fires throughout its history, including ones in 1949 and 1958 which destroyed many of the historic structures, including the Summit House, which burned in the fire of Christmas 1958. Other fires in the 1970s and 1980s destroyed additional historic buildings and businesses, leaving the town with little current economic base. Presently, the town is experiencing a high surge of interest as the value of real estate in proximity to ski areas and with access to wilderness increases substantially. In 2008, the Town Board of Montezuma and the Summit County Sheriff's Office began vigorously enforcing the county's prohibition of parking on county roads and private property within the town by ticketing and towing illegally parked vehicles. The increased use of the nearby trails by recreational users had created a huge parking problem within the town, causing both safety and quality of life issues for the town residents. It was not uncommon for Montezuma Road to be literally a one-lane road, impeding any emergency vehicles that needed to get through Montezuma. Signs in town now direct recreational users to park their vehicles at the only legal trailhead for the area at Peru Creek, a USFS trailhead north of Montezuma. In addition, the Sheriff's Department has begun to crack down on speeders who do not obey the 10 mph speed limit. In 2014, after a controversial election, the town sued all registered voters to force them to appear in court. Geography At elevation, the town is among the few (perhaps just four) incorporated towns or cities in the United States at elevation higher than . Montezuma is located at (39.581389, -105.867778). According to the United States