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 nitially
a center of silver processing (which was mined in the nearby high-elevation town of Caribou), Nederland was
revived during World War I by the mining of tungsten, a metal used to harden gun barrels. After some of the
tungsten mines closed in 1919, Nederland's population dropped, until the influx of summer residents in recent years.
Ranching was another common livelihood in this area at the turn of the century.
Hannah Barker's former ranch is now the site of the Barker Reservoir,
visible from downtown.
On the hill above it sits St. Rita's Catholic Church, which marks
the location of first a hotel and then a girls' summer camp. Other hotels, many owned by women, existed in nearby
Eldora as well as in Gold Hill and Ward.
Tourism remains a staple of the local economy.
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