Ophir, Colorado

Ophir has the distinction of being the site of the Ames Hydroelectric Generating Plant, the world's first commercial system to generate and transmit alternating current electricity. The plant was built in 1890 and was generating electricity to run the motor-driven stamp mill at the Gold King Mine by the spring of 1891. The electricity was transmitted a distance of about 2 miles with a power loss around 5%, demonstrating that AC current was a more cost-effective method of moving electric power cross-country than DC current.

Ophir was first settled in the 1880s as a residential community serving several mines in the San Juan Mountains southeast of Telluride but has since evolved into a community of high-end second and/or third homes.