Emma Burr Mountain

Many have asked this question and answers have been scarce. Jeff Christlieb, a Denver historian, recently did some research on this matter and came up with a possible explanation. A Ute Indian girl named Emma Burr was born around 1903. (Apparently Natives were given an English name as well as an Indian name during this era.) Her Indian name was "Nat-chit-o-witz." She disappeared from the census records in 1910 but reappears in a 1935 Census. This lends credence to the theory that maybe the mountain was named after her somehow. If this is the case, who named it after her and why this particular mountain? Determining when the mountain was named might give us some clues. There are many unanswered questions and Jeff is working at hard at solving this mystery!

This link provides an example of a census done with the Ute Indians in 1905, in which a girl by the name of "Emma Burr" was age two: http://www.geocities.com/lball3466/1905utecensus.html.

A digital copy of the actual record from Ancestry.com can be seen on the right. (Click to view it at a larger size in a new window.)

Two routes seem to be doable for experienced mountaineers.

1) Park on Chaffee County Road 344 in Mineral Basin and reach the mountain's summit via the eastern ridge. Click here for helpful photos.

2) Walk along the Continental Divide from Mt. Kreutzer, a "13er" to the north.

A 4-wheel drive vehicle with some high clearance is required to reach this mountain via South Cottonwood Canyon.