Climax Molybdenum Mine created a company town for its employees and built an area across the mine and over from the ski area they called Fremont Trading Company.
According to the Colorado School of Mines website:
The Fremont Trading Company was opened on Freemont Pass in the mid 1930s and operated by George Coulter, brother of the resident superintendent of the Climax Mine. The Freemont Trading Post, essentially a company store, sold provisions and miners’ supplies, and operated a bar, a service station and slot machines. The ready availability of credit for Climax employees from payroll deductions and Trading Post tokens and chits, and the lack of alternatives made the Trading Post one of the most successful general stores in Colorado despite its high prices. By the mid 1950s the Trading Post had been transformed into a modern shopping center, offering a range of services and goods to Climax employees.
https://mountainscholar.org/handle/11124/10301
My grandfather took these photos in the late 1940s when he was first employed at Climax.
The road running in front of the Trading Company is Highway 91.
W R Allen Photography 