Gunnison History Tracker
331 Elk Avenue
Tony's Conoco
1940-1996
Tony Mihelich
Built in 1883 as a blacksmith shop, a addition was built in 1911, when this building started to be used as a gas station. This was also the first independent store in Crested Butte, although most miners could still not shop here because the mine paid in scrip, no cash, that could only be spent at the Company Store.
The Crested Butte Hardware Store was ran by Tony Mihelich, when he became a part of the company in 1940, and ran the longest running independent Conoco, 56 years, which in 2000 the Conoco Corp. presented Tony with a plaque .
The Crested Butte Hardware Store closed in 1996, when Tony passed away at the age of 93 years old. Five years later, the building became the home of the Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum.
The Crested Butte Mountain Heritage Museum in 2017, went through a $500,000.00 rehab to the building, with the help of donations from the community, and a $200,000.00 Matching-Grant, from the folks at History Colorado. The lead paint was removed, and any boards that needed replaced were taken care of. The roof is also being replaced, the front door & windows are being rehabbed and ADA approved, and the furnaces needed to be replaced to meet code.
Crested Butte Mt. Heritage Museum
2001-Present
