USA > Colorado > History of the State of Colorado, Volume III > Part 31
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Geology .- The geological history of the county has been but little investigated, the
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HISTORY OF COSTILLA COUNTY.
most complete review being found in Hayden's United States Geological Survey, report of 1875, and in a pamphlet by Prof. Stevenson. Without going into details it may be reviewed as follows: The whole of this division of the valley was once covered with basalt and trachyte outflows from the Ute and San Antonio Mountains. This was partly eroded, and all of Costilla County in a post-basaltic period, except the northern was covered by water, forming the southern of what has been called for convenience, "Coronado's Lake." The presence of. this vast mass of water facilitated, if it was not the cause, of the formation of extensive glaciers in the mountains. Owing to the presence of the volcanic hills between the Culebra and Trinchera Creeks, the Rio Grande River poured its waters into this lake, finding an outlet below the Ute Mountain. Glacial action forming by erosion a channel through these hills, the present channel of the Rio Grande River was created, which, subject to the erosions of those waters, has attained a depth of over two hundred feet in places, the walls of the cañon being entirely of basalt, and exhibiting in many places a columnar structure. Evi- dences of the basaltic outflow are found in the San Pedro Mesa, its continuation the San Luis Mesa, the Fort Garland Mesa, and the hills along the Rio Grande River, near the confluence of the Culebra River and the Rio Grande, and the range of hills extending from this point northward. Just south of the mouth of the Culebra River is found a small hill rising to a height of perhaps seventy feet above the surrounding prairie, the ground in its immediate vicinity being covered with scoriæ, the top of the hill presenting the appearance of a perfect little volcano, the basin filled with scorie and soil resulting from the decomposition of the walls, the basin having at present an extreme depth of about seven feet, with a diameter of about one hundred feet.
The mountain region shows everywhere evidences of an extensive and long-con- tinued metamorphosis. Small outcrops of the carboniferous have been found in the Sierra Blanca group, near the Mosco Pass, in Greyback Gulch, and on the Ute Creek, the red carboniferous sandstone forming, according to Hayden, "a large portion of the Sangre de Cristo Range, * * flanking its metamorphic center on either side, dipping with the slope of the mountains, and extending as far south as the Costilla Peak, in isolated patches beyond the Trinchera Peak, its southern exposures being accompanied by gray shales containing inoceramæ and ostræ." Some outcrops of limited extent of sandstones and limestones are found along the entire length of the range, probably detached fragments of the carboniferous beds, that escaped the metamorphosis of the main portion of the beds, changing them to granites, and gneisses, and schists.
The fact of no cretaceous or jurassic beds having been found on the western slope of the range, may be explained on the hypothesis that the main range had already, previous to the jurassic period, been uplifted to a sufficient altitude to prevent the over- flow of waters on its western slope.
Beds of drift are found, very extensive south of Fort Garland, and the foot of the mountains between the Seco Creek and the Ballejos Creek, consisting of a succession of low gravel hills, having in every respect the appearance of moraines, or glacier terminal deposits.
In regard to mineral deposits, in Costilla County, but little can be said. At one time the finding of some veins of mineral in Greyback Gulch, caused considerable excitement; also on the eastern slope of the Culebra Peak, though this was east of the
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county line. Along the slopes of Sierra Blanca, the finding of veins has been reported on numerous occasions. Along the entire range, the gravel of the stream beds will show several "colors." South of Costilla County in Colfax County, New Mexico, extensive placer mines are found in the . Moreno Valley. Some seven miles from San Luis, on the Rito Seco, the El Plomo mine is to-day being worked. The ore is a galena, associated with different forms of copper ore, and iron pyrites. No regular vein is found there, the ore occurring as a deposit. Its extent has not yet been deter- mined. Just below the mine at a distance of some eight hundred yards or more, are found outcrops of a very fine grained quartzite. The county has been but little pros- pected, and so far as the prospect for future mining developments is concerned, that will depend upon the skill and perseverance of the coming prospector, every indication tending to show that the mountains contain the mineral wealth so anxiously sought after. This short review of Costilla's future mineral developments may be fittingly closed by quoting the language of Mr. Hayden in the report just referred to: "The conclusion was reached that in case the existence of ore of a paying quality and quan- tity should be established in those veins, their geological character will warrant their persistency, to any depth that may be reached by mining operations."
History .- There is no evidence obtainable of any settlement in the county previous to 1849. The larger half consists of a grant, the southern half, embracing some 300,000 acres, is in Costilla County, extends also into Taos County, New Mexico, and is known as the Costilla estate. The northern half, embracing about 450,000 acres, lies entirely within the limits of Costilla, and is known as the Trinchera estate; the whole tract embracing nearly a million acres in Colorado and New Mexico, is known and was deeded by the Mexican government in 1844, confirmed in 1860, and patented in 1871. by the United States government under the title of the "Sangre de Cristo Grant." A brief history of this grant, as the cause of the first settlements in Costilla County, as an important item also in its future development, and as misrepresented in Bancroft's (Hubert Howe) Works, and confounded with the Miranda & Beaubien grant located on the eastern slope of the range, in Las Animas County, this State, and Colfax County, New Mexico, in a footnote on page 594, Vol. XXV, will not be inappropriate.
The tract was granted on the petition of Luis Lee and Narciso Beaubien, residents of Taos, Taos County, New Mexico, by Manuel Armijo, then political and military governor of the northern department, on the 30th of December, 1843, with instructions to Juan Andres Archuleta to give possession to the petitioners. The prefect referred the act of giving possession to Miguel Sanchez, justice of the peace of the third demar- cation, in which demarcation the land lay, and on the 12th day of January, 1844, pro- ceeded to the land petitioned for, with the petitioners, and as witnesses, having with him Ceran St. Vrain, Manuel Antonio Martin, Juan Ortega, Juan Ramon Valdez and Pedro Valdez. The act of giving possession, in the words of the justice of the peace, was as follows: "After the erection of the fifth and last mound I took them (petitioners) by the hand, walked with them, and caused them to throw up earth, pull up weeds and other evidences of possession." The land so granted included the rivers Costilla, Culebra and Trinchera. The land was granted under provisions of the Mexican gov- ernment for colonization purposes. Nothing was done in the matter of colonization however-both Luis Lee, and Narciso Beaubien, having been killed in the Taos mas-
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HISTORY OF COSTILLA COUNTY.
sacre of January 19th, 1847-until, in 1848, after the signing of the treaty of Guade- lupe Hidalgo, when one George Gold attempted to start a colony on the Costilla River. This enterprise failed, partly on account of insufficient energy, and largely on account of the land being the possession of Charles Beaubien, who inherited the posses- sion of one-half interest at the death of his son Narciso, and who bought the remaining half from the administrator of the estate of Luis Lee. In the next year the first actual colony was started by Charles Beaubien, locating on the Costilla River, almost on the site where the house and store of Mr. Ferd Meyer now stands, about half a mile south of the southern boundary line of the State, but at one time, before the establish- ment of the boundary line on the thirty-seventh parallel of north latitude, and since the territorial organization of Colorado in the limits of Costilla County. The colony starting with but a few cabins was reinforced the next year by additional colonists, all of them Mexicans, with the exception of three or four Americans or foreigners who established stores. In the next few years colonies were established at San Luis, in the fall of 1851, the original site being about three-fourths of a mile below the present site of the county seat, and in 1852 and 1853 settlements at San Pedro on the Trinchera and in San Acacio. In 1854-55, further settlements were started at San Francisco and at Chama. Among the earliest settlers were Faustin Medina, Ramon Rivera, Mariano Pacheco and others. The first store was established in 1851 in Costilla by Moritz Bielshowski and William Koenig, this store passing into the hands of Mr. F. W. Post- hoff, and after him becoming the property of Mr. Ferdinand Meyer, who has been one of the most earnest workers for the good of the county.
In 1867 another store was established in Costilla, in the Colorado portion of the town, by Mr. Louis Cohn,-who later on in 1871 or 1872, located his business in San Luis. In 1869 or '70, the mining excitement on Greyback Mountain led to the for- mation of a town near there, called Placer. This town has passed through three periods of activity; first, when the original mining excitement formed it; later on when the Denver & Rio Grande Railway built through the Canon of the Sangre de Cristo, and stopped work during the winter of 1877-'78, at Placer; and later still at the revival of the mining excitement, but has now become reduced to a population of about sixty, chiefly maintained by the railroad. The round houses of the Denver & Rio Grande were located there. In 1878 the road named above was completed to Alamosa. Ever since the organization of the county, in 1863, San Luis has been the county seat. The original settlers soon after the formation of the first settlements, met with many draw- backs and troubles on account of the Indians, when they united for mutual protection, , a portion being delegated to the watching and care of the crops, a portion to the manu- facture of bows and arrows, as in 1854 the settlements of San Luis, then known as La Culebra, only enjoyed the possession of two guns, one of which was a musket, and still another portion caring for the stock, consisting mainly of sheep and goats, a few oxen, perhaps a few cows, and one or two horses. Plowing was done with the primitive Mex- ican crooked stick. When the Indian disturbances reached their worst stage, the United States government established a military post at Fort Massachusetts, on Ute Creek, a short distance north of Fort Garland. Shortly after the post was moved to Fort Garland, and for a number of years subsequent to the disappearance of Indian troubles, it was maintained, indeed until 1883, when it was abandoned and the buildings,
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HISTORY OF COSTILLA COUNTY.
site, etc., reverted back to the Trinchera Estate Company. From two to four companies of troops were stationed there. The coming of the soldiers and the distribution of the large amount of money required for their maintenance, brought a period of general prosperity throughout the county. Nothing of historical interest transpired between 1856 and 1886, beyond the building of a flour mill at San Luis, by Messrs. St. Vrain and Harvey E. Easterday. This mill, after becoming the property of Mr. Easterday, was bought by a Mormon association, who sold it a few years later to Messrs. Cohn & Salazar. The mill has been improved somewhat, so as to run by steam. Originally it could only be run by water power. It is not large enough for grinding the wheat that is raised here. The winter of 1885-1886, was very severe, nearly one-half of the stock, sheep, cattle and horses, died; in many instances the loss exceeded seventy per cent. Since then, favorable seasons have added to stock so that growers are now again on the same footing as regards numbers, that they were in 1885. The northern portion of the county being only government land, has been entirely taken up within the last three years, the postoffices of Coryell, Streator, Japato and Garnett, resulting from such settle- ment. This year the Denver & Rio Grande has built a cut-off, shortening the distance to Denver by fifty or more miles. On this cut-off there is a tangent of fifty-six miles. Previous to 1886 there were but few American farmers in the county. Since the settle- ment of the northern portion, the Trinchera Estate Company has been introducing settlers, having placed their lands on the market. Owing to the fact that on the Cos- tilla estate, there are still a number of land questions to be decided, which will soon be concluded, there have been no attempts made to colonize that portion. The lands are, however, on the market. A colony of Mormons bought a tract on the Costilla River, and have just laid out a town site, which has been called East Dale. They have con- structed a large dam, which has a rise of sixteen feet, and forms a reservoir covering over eighty acres, with a storage capacity of 13,000,000 cubic feet, or over 112,000,000 gallons. On the Trinchera estate two large canals have been constructed, for the irri- gation of some 18,000 acres of the arable lands of the estate.
Political .- The political history of the county since its organization, can be briefly recounted. With the exception of the years 1881-'82, when small Democratic ma- jorities were returned, it has given Republican majorities varying from 100 to 300, out of a total, varying from 400 when the county was organized, and almost entirely Mex- ican, to a present vote of over 850, in which the Mexican and American voting elements are very nearly balanced.
Valuation of Property, etc .- The present assessed valuation of the county amounts to $1,250,000, while the debt slightly exceeds $21,000. This amount has accumulated from the building of bridges, a well-arranged and commodious as well as attractive courthouse, and other improvements. The administration of the county has always been very conservative, so that the present rate of taxation only amounts to nineteen mills on the dollar, making it one of the best in the State as regards amount of debt and rate of taxation.
Among those who have exercised the control necessary to the proper adminis- tration of county affairs, and therefore in local politics, Mr. Wm. H. Meyer stands at the head. While he came to the county in 1867. as a young man, he has since interested himself in all matters relating to its progress, and has assumed the leadership of the
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HISTORY OF COSTILLA COUNTY.
Republican party. He has assisted in the real work of administration by holding office, first in the Territorial legislature; then as a member of the Constitutional Convention, a member of the legislature of the State (both as representative and senator), filled the office of lieutenant governor and ran for governor the next year, but was defeated. Among others prominent in the political affairs are Mr. C. F. Meyer, for a long time county clerk; Mr. A. A. Salazar, who has represented the county in the State legislature, and is one of the most prominent merchants; Mr. Charles John, who filled the office of Clerk and Recorder four terms, and Mr. Manuel Sanchez, all Republicans. Messrs. Louis Cohn and N. Nathan have upheld the Democracy of the county with unabated energy, and have also represented it in the capacity of State legislators. Some of the older and more active of the early settlers have passed away. Among them, David Gallegos, Juan Miguel Vijil, Harvey E. Easterday, Juan Ignacio Jaquez, and others.
The future development of the county depends largely upon the discovery of min- eral in paying quantities. The fact of coal not being found in this region, is naturally a great drawback. The rainfall varies from seven to twelve inches on the prairie portion, and from twelve to twenty inches in the mountain portion. All cultivation is carried on by means of irrigation, the number of irrigations varying with the season. In the southern portion the canals and ditches so far constructed are capable of carrying from ten to twenty cubic feet of water per second, and the total area of the land thus rendered irrigable amounts to about 50,000 acres, while the northern portion is covered by many canals, together with extensions of the largest in the valley, rendering fully 120,000 acres of land irrigable. This, in connection with about 20,000 acres or more of natural meadow, and nearly 10,000 acres of mountain valleys, where crops can be raised, gives us a total of 200,000 acres, that are, with the facilities for irrigation now existing, susceptible of occupation and cultivation. But few experiments, and those within recent years, have been made in fruit raising, but give every indication of future success, while in the matter of hay, alfalfa will largely constitute the future hay crop.
By storage reservoirs, and a system of canals, together with the economical distri- bution and application of water, every atre of prairie land could be brought under cultivation, and this will be, undoubtedly, one of the features of development within the next few years, and will make Costilla, on account of its superior soil, one of the best if not the best agricultural county in the San Luis Valley.
Notes .- Ist. For earlier county boundaries, see General Laws Colorado, 1864, 161-52-7; 1868-9.
2d. The contract for the survey of the Southern boundary of Colorado, was given to Governor Gilpin, who, then owning the Sangre de Cristo grant, intended to include the southern portion of the grant now included in Taos County, New Mexico. Gilpin failed to comply with his contract, so that the matter of F the Grant Line failed to affect the southern boundary, the survey being made in 1867, by Captain Darling and Colonel Pfeiffer.
3d. The Sangre de Cristo grant was sold by Charles Beaubien to Governor Gilpin in 1864; he sold it to an English company, retaining an interest, they disposing of the southern portion to a Dutch syndicate, hence the division of the grant into the Costilla estate and the Trinchera estate.
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HISTORY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY.
DOUGLAS COUNTY.
ORIGINAL AND PRESENT BOUNDARIES-THE BIRTHPLACE OF COLORADO-GREEN RUSSELL'S ORIGINAL CAMP-SOME OLD SETTLERS-LUMBERING IN THE PINERIES- FIRST COUNTY ORGANIZATION-TRIALS OF THE PIONEERS-THE OLD SANTA FE STAGE LINE-CASTLE ROCK-PRESENT INDUSTRIES.
This county lies between Arapahoe on the north, Elbert on the east, El Paso south, and Jefferson on the west. It is thirty miles wide from north to south. The Platte River, by its irregular course, shortens the northern boundary line about two townships over the southern, but the average width from east to west, is not far from thirty miles. This area of about goo square miles is well watered by the Platte and by Plum and Cherry Creeks, with their affluents. It was organized in 1861, and named for the famous statesman, Hon. Stephen A. Douglas. Originally it extended to the Kansas line, its boundaries being defined as follows: "Commencing at a point where the range line between ranges 68 and 69 intersects the first correction line south; thence east on said correction line to the eastern boundary of the Territory; thence south on said boundary line to the second correction line south; thence west on said correction line to where the said line intersects the line of the Indian Reserve; thence along the boundary of said reserve to the point where the western boundary of said reserve intersects the second correction line south; thence west on said line to the Platte River; thence down the center of said river to the point where it intersects the first correction line south; thence east to the place of beginning."
Frankstown, named for Hon. J. Frank Gardner, was made the county seat. A map of the Territory corrected from the public surveys of 1866 to accompany Hol- lister's history of the mines of Colorado, shows that the "Indian Reserve" was the home of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians, including what at a later time was known as Bent, and the southern part of Elbert Counties. A part of the southern boundary of the original Douglas, was the Big Sandy above the second correction line. Douglas was the mother of several counties, Elbert being the first, segregated by the legislative act of February 2d, 1874, with Middle Kiowa as the county seat; later Castle Rock became the capital of Donglas, instead of Frankstown. Elbert then included all the territory between the eastern boundary of Douglas to the Kansas line and a part of the Indian Reserve, down to the northern boundary of Bent County. In 1887 Elbert was divided, Kit Carson County being established on the east and the remainder not included in the present area of Elbert, forming the northern part of Lincoln and Cheyenne Counties. Although Cheyenne County obtained a part of its
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HISTORY OF DOUGLAS COUNTY.
area from Elbert, no part of it was included in the original boundaries of Douglas as fixed in 1861.
We come now to some interesting primitive history, compiled from notes furnished by Mr. J. F. Gardner, one of the oldest and most respected residents of the county, by which it appears that Green Russell and the Cherokees first discovered gold near the head of the east branch of Cherry Creek in June, 1858, at a point which since has been known as Russellville, five miles southeast of the present Frankstown, on the old Santa Fé trail, from Denver to Pueblo and Santa Fé. There is nothing now to indicate their camp but some old foundations of cabins that have rotted down or been removed. There are the remnants of a house that was built some years afterward, and kept as a hotel and stage station for the Santa Fé line, operated by Barlow, Sanderson & Co., and later by Mr. A. Jacobs of Denver. In the early summer of 1859 there was a sawmill at Russellville, built, it is believed, by Wilhite & Rogers.
The first settler to remain any length of time, was a German named Jacob Bower, and near by were two others of the same nationality named Jacob and Benedict Schultz. The first of these still resides there, but Benedict is a resident of Frankstown. The next settler between Russellville and Denver at that period was Matthew Steel, at what is now known as Melvin's. Mr. Gardner states that in the autumn of 1859, he went with a company employed by Thomas Bayand, to work in a sawmill, located four miles east of Frankstown, remaining there until June, 1860, when George M. Chilcott and himself purchased a shingle mill, on Cherry Creek. Chilcott remained only part of the summer. In the summer of 1862 a large band of Arapahoe Indians camped near his cabin. They had been out on the plains, and while there had a battle with their ancient enemies, the Utes, from whom they captured a squaw and an Indian buck, whom they brought with them. "They were there a week or ten days when Kit Carson came out and camped with me. He called in a number of the head men and held council with them, demanding the captives, but for a long time they refused to give them up. He finally told them that unless they complied with his demands, there would be a great war, which immediately settled the controversy in Carson's favor. The captives were surrendered, and they accompanied Carson to Denver."
The first county commissioners of Douglas were John L. Boggs, Sylvester Rich- ardson and Joseph Hipley; sheriff, Charles Parkinson; clerk and recorder, J. F. Gardner; treasurer, Noel Webber, all appointed in the spring of 1862. When the county was created by the legislature in 1861, Mr. G. M. Chilcott, who was a member of that body, caused the capital to be located at Frankstown, where the county business was transacted for three years; then the records were taken to the old California Ranch about four miles south. The business was executed there for a few years, when it was decided to erect some county buildings. They were scarcely begun however, when the discovery was made, that these improvements were not situated at the actual county seat. The Territorial legislature being then in session, a bill was passed changing the seat to Frankstown-and legalizing all that previously had been done. The California Ranch building was erected in the winter of 1861-'62 by Charles Parkhurst.
We find in this brief narrative, historic facts of the first importance, the very begin- ning of gold mining in Colorado, and the beginning of settlement as well, for it was here at Russellville of which only a trace remains, that the first yellow metal was panned
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