Breckenridge is 9600 feet (2926 m) above sea level.

Breckinridge was founded to serve the miners working rich placer gold deposits discovered along Georgia Gulch. The town of Breckenridge was formally created in November 1859 by General George E. Spencer. Spencer chose the name Breckinridge after the United States' Vice President of the time, John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky in the hopes of flattering the government and gaining a post office.