History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV, Part 46

Author: Hall, Frank, 1836-1917. cn; Rocky Mountain Historical Company
Publication date: 1889-95
Publisher: Chicago, Blakely print. Co.
Number of Pages: 791

USA > Colorado > History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV > Part 46

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The act providing for the institution of this county was approved by Governor

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Alexander Cuminings. George A. Hinsdale and Jesus Maria Velasquez were members of the Council. The bill was drawn by Mr. John Lawrence, of Saguache, then interpreter to the Mexican members, and was introduced by Señor Velas- quez. It provided for the appointment by the governor of three persons as con- missioners, residents of the proposed new county, who should take measures for its organization and appoint all requisite officers. Therefore, on the IIth of Feb- ruary, 1867, Governor Cummings appointed Nathan Russell, Capt. Charles Kerber and Prudencio Garcia as the county commissioners, and gave the commissions to Mr. Lawrence to take to them. June 18th following Mr. Lawrence convened Messrs. Russell and Garcia in a small cabin near the present Saguache mill and there organized the county. Edward Harris was appointed clerk and recorder; Otto Mears, treasurer, and John Lawrence, assessor. Neither sheriff, county judge, school superintendent, coroner nor surveyor were appointed, but John Evert and Antonio Maran were made justices of the peace.

According to information received from Mr. Lawrence, one of the oldest settlers in the San Luis valley, the name "Saguache" is an Indian word, spelled, as near as it can be translated, thus: Sa-gua-gua-chi-pa, signifying "blue earth," or rather the water at the blue earth, and referred to certain large springs in which blue earthi was found, situated at or near the upper crossing of the Saguache river, some twenty miles above the town of Saguache. Since this place, as well as all the valley bearing the name, was one of the most beautiful for Ute Indian encampments in both summer and winter, it became the resort of traders and trappers from New Mexico, and as they could not or would not pronounce the long and difficult Indian name, they abridged it to the more pronounceable "Saguache," and thus it has stood to the present time.

The first settlement in this region was made in 1865 on Kerber creek, a short distance above Villa Grove, by Capt. Charles Kerber, Lieutenant Walters, George Neidhardt and some others, Germans, all members of company I, Ist regiment Col- orado volunteers, and Loren Jenks and family, the latter formerly residing on the Fountain, just north of Pueblo. The next settlement was made in 1866, on the Saguache river, near the present county seat, by Nathan Russell, who came, accom- panied by a number of Mexican laborers, in the interests of Fred Walsen, now of Denver, and ex-Indian Agent Christian F. Stollsteimer, of Durango. The next occurred in the spring of 1867, when Otto Mears (now president of two rail- roads in southwestern Colorado), John Evert, Wm. J. Godfrey, E. R. Harris and John Lawrence, with some others, and also a number of Mexican laborers, located there, when the organization of the county took place.

The principal industries of the county are farming, stock raising and mining. The principal streams are the Saguache and San Luis rivers, but there are many small ereeks flowing down from the mountains on either side, as Kerber, Carnero La Garita, Chatillon, North and South Crestone, Willow, North and South Span- ish, Cottonwood, Deadwood, Pole and others.

Quoting Prof. Hayden's description-Report of Geological Survey, 1875: "Crossing Poncha Pass from the north, we enter Homan's Park, the northern end of the San Luis valley. Low rolling bluffs present a more broken appear- ance of the country, which fully justifies the separation by a distinguishing name. On either side, mountains of considerable altitude inclose the park. A terminal range of the Sawatch (Saguache) mountains is on the west, the Sangre de Cristo on the east. Through the park runs San Luis creek in a southerly direction. A short distance below the junction of this and Kerber creek the valley proper commences. A vast expanse of level country stretches out to the southward, widening in that direction. All along the eastern border of the valley the Sangre de Cristo follows its course, culminating frequently in peaks that reach over 14,000 feet elevation. Toward the main passes that cut this range, in the vicinity

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of Fort Garland, the valley widens considerably, and retains for some distance further south a width of about forty miles on an average." As above mentioned, San Luis creek flows through Homan's Park, but is soon lost in the sand and gravel of the succeeding plain. Numerous rapid mountain streams rise in the Sangre de Cristo Range, flow but a short distance beyond the base of the mountains, and then share a like fate. On the west side of the valley we observe fewer small creeks, but more that retain their water. Saguache creek is the largest of the more northerly ones, flowing into San Luis creek.

On the southeast are the La Garita mountains, or hills, on the east and north- east the Sangre de Cristo Range, on the west the Sierra Mimbres, locally termed the Saguache Range, and on the north and northwest the Cochetopa hills. The Cochetopa Pass, rendered famous by Col. John C. Fremont's reports, leads north- west to Gunnison and Lake City. A large part of the country lying between is a broad, richly grassed and superior farming section, watered by the Saguache river or creek, which forms the natural drainage of the mountains on either side. This stream, as stated by Hayden, passes into the San Luis, which disappears in the mysterious San Luis lake, some six miles below the boundary line.

The climate and soil are especially adapted to the growth of wheat, oats, barley, alfalfa, native and tame grasses, potatoes and other vegetables, with small fruits, all of which yield profusely. The parts not devoted to agriculture form excellent pasturage for cattle, horses and sheep.

Saguache, the county seat, is situated near the Saguache river, on the west side of the valley. Though not a large town, it is a strong business center, the market and supply point for the surrounding country. The streets are regularly laid out and bordered with shade trees, well graded, and forming highly attractive boulevards. It commands the approach to Cochetopa Pass, the only feasible wagon or railway route across the great range to the northwest. A stage road connects the town with Del Norte and Villa Grove, the latter being the nearest point touched by the Denver & Rio Grande railroad as it comes down from Poncha Pass en route to Alamosa, Antonito, Durango and Espanola, New Mexico. In 1874 the principal men of the town, among theni Otto Mears and Enos Hotch- kiss, constructed a wagon road from Saguache to Lake City, with a view to con- mand the trade of the San Juan country, then being quite rapidly settled.

By reason of the taste and enterprise of its people, this capital has been made the most inviting of all the towns in the San Luis valley. The fertility of the soil and the productiveness of the farms give it strength and permanence. It has three churches-Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist. The Masons and Odd Fellows have flourishing lodges. There is a large, well-built court house of brick, in which the county business is transacted. The town is incorporated, and in 1801 the following constituted the municipal government: Mayor, Henry M. Mingay; trustees, G. W. Kelsey, B. P. Stubbs, L. S. Phillips, O. W. Luengen, F. M. Town- send and J. M. Ellis; city clerk, Lee Fairbanks; treasurer, O. (). Fellows; marshal, John Cline.

In the first settlement of the county only the bottom-lands along the river were taken up,* but as these rich margins were very wide, and only a few feet above the stream, no large irrigating ditches were taken out, and in fact the work was so little that each settler could get water from the river on to his land in two or three days, but there were several arollast or bayous-offshoots from the river that carried large quantities of water when the river was high-that have been utilized and are now known as main ditches. The first was the Nathan Russell arolla,

* Information in regard to early agriculture and irrigation is furnished by Mr. John Lawrence, who is familiar with the entire subject of their beginning.

t Commonly called "Aroya." Mr. Lawrence uses the Spanish word. 20-iv

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which was converted into a ditch in the spring of 1866, which has been improved and extended from time to time until it is now six or seven miles in length, and irrigates a large quantity of land. Near its head Mr. Russell took out a ditch, in 1867, that is used to water a small amount of land, but principally for irrigating the town of Saguache. In 1867 Mr. John Lawrence opened and utilized what is known as the Lawrence arolla, about four miles in extent, to where it returns back to the river. For nearly twenty years, indeed from the beginning, more land was irrigated from this source than from any other single arolla or ditcli in the county. In 1868 James Fullerton opened out the bayou which bears his name. It has since been extended until it is now twenty to twenty-nine miles in length, and waters a larger area than any other of what may be termed the public canals. Excepting those just mentioned, and also those companies that have constructed canals from the Rio Grande river, all the ditches are small and belong to a few farmers.

According to the assessor's returns for 1891 there were 101,451 acres of land under irrigation, and 229,356 acres in pasture. The following is a summary of the crops: Acres of wheat, 2,419; yield, 47,293 bushels. Oats, 2,692 acres; yield, 74,140 bushels. Barley, 525 acres; yield, 14,743 bushels. Very little rye or corn was raised. There were 160 acres sown to peas, which produced 7,141 bushels; 258 acres in potatoes, 39,773 bushels. Much native hay and about 2,000 tons of alfalfa were cut. The people engaged in dairying produced 18,550 pounds of butter. From the various flocks of sheep 51,310 pounds of wool were obtained. Of live stock there were 5,187 horses, 192 inules, 22,850 cattle and 13,718 sheep. The total assessed valuation of taxable property for 1890 was $2,129,011. The gross output of the gold and silver mines subject to taxation is placed at $59.085. There has been a steady increase of value since 1878. The amount returned that year was only $637,607.10. In 1881, when a considerable immigration took place, attracted by the discovery of gold and silver mines on Kerber creek, the total was $1,318,653. The accretions since then, though in no year a large advance, have been steady. Among the larger cattle growers are H. B. Horene and C. S. Dick.

According to the census of 1890 the school population of the county was 962, with an enrollment of 651 and an average daily attendance of 385. There are eighteen school houses valued at $13,100. The public school at Saguache was advanced to a high school in 1890.

The county officers for 1890-91 were: Clerk and recorder, Charles D. Jones; treasurer, Abe G. Wile; county judge, R. H. Jones; assessor, M. White; sheriff, L. L. Thomas; coroner, L. T. Durbin: superintendent of schools, Thomas Lyons; survevor, S. E. Kirkendall; clerk of the district court, C. B. Phillips; commissioners, F. M. Hills, J. H. Williams and Horace Means.

Two weekly newspapers are published in Saguache, the "Crescent," by Capt. H. M. Mingay, and the Colorado "Herald," by Hon. R. H. Jones. Both contain well-digested epitomes of current events, and all the information obtainable relat- ing to the resources and progress of the county. There are a number of strong business houses, the larger known as "The Gotthelf & Meyer Mercantile company." There is one good hotel, the Fairview.

Bonanza, the chief center of gold and silver mining, is situated on Kerber creek, twenty miles northwest of Saguache and some sixteen miles from Villa Grove. In 1880, following close upon the general excitement created by the discovery of great mining deposits at Leadville, when prospectors swarmed over the country, some important veins bearing gold and silver were located in Kerber Creek dis- trict. It was not long before reports of these finds, spreading abroad, attracted large numbers of people, and a considerable mining town, called Bonanza, was built. In the height of its prosperity it is stated that there were from 1,000 to

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1,500 miners in and about this town. Some excellent mines were opened and hundreds of claims located, though only a few proved to be sufficiently valuable to warrant extended operation. After 1882 the population dwindled away, and now there are less than 100 people on Kerber creek. Thousands were expended in developing the principal veins, but their remoteness from railways and markets compelled suspension of work until more favorable conditions shall be supplied.

Moffat, one of the recently established towns in the upper San Luis valley, named for Mr. D. H. Moffat, late president of the Denver & Rio Grande railroad, is situated on the eastern side of the railway between Mirage and La Garita sta- tions. It has fine depot buildings, a large hotel and a number of mercantile houses. It is the shipping point for stock and produce from the Crestone estate, managed by Mr. Geo. H. Adams, and the mining settlement of Crestone. A firm called the San Luis Supply company has a large stock of merchandise.

Carnero is a mining town near the southern boundary of the county, on Car- nero creek, sixteen miles from Saguache. Here a number of gold and silver mines are being prospected in the hope that important results will be developed.

The Crestone Estate, officially known as "Baca Grant No. 4." once owned by ex-Governor William Gilpin, sold by him to Wilson Waddingham, who sub- sequently sold it in England, is a rectangular plat in the northeastern part of the San Luis valley. It was located by the surveyor-general of Colorado in the name of the heirs of Luis Maria Baca, by authority of an act of Congress, approved June 21st, 1860. The tract is 123 miles square and contains very nearly 100,000 acres. It is wholly inclosed by fences. The interior is divided into eight separate inclosures, making altogether over eighty miles of fencing. At the home ranch there is a dwelling house, a large stable, with outhouses used for shops, herders' houses, cattlesheds, corrals, scales, etc .; at the central camp a good house, corrals, stables, etc .; at the southwest and northwest camps, the same. At the head of Cottonwood creek, where mines have been opened, there is a five-stamp quartz mill. Gold, silver, copper, lead and iron ores exist there in paying quantities. The moun- tains are heavily timbered and well watered by numerous streams. The middle belt of rolling prairie consists of about 52,000 acres, all good grazing land, nearly all of it susceptible to cultivation by irrigation. About sixty miles of irrigating canals have been constructed on the estate. The finest portions along the streams and in the lower lands are rich and well adapted to vegetables and small fruits. Of potatoes some very large crops have been raised, as high as 250 bushels per acre, wheat 65 and oats 75 bushels. The manager of this large and valuable estate is Mr. Geo. II. Adams.

Villa Grove is a small farming town in the northern part of the valley. Until the extension of the main narrow gauge line of the Denver & Rio Grande railroad, in 1800, down the valley to Alamosa, it was the terminus of a branch or spur from Poncha Pass, which gave it importance as a shipping point. It, like Saguache, is the center of a large agricultural and grazing section, the nearest point to the chief mining district of Kerber creek. A branch of the railway just mentioned extends thence to the extensive iron mines in Homan's Park, operated by the Col- orado Coal and Iron company. The Chamberlin and Valley View Hot Springs are in the immediate vicinity.

Much prospecting for coal has been done within the last two years, but with what result I am not informed.

Saguache county possesses all the essential elements in the way of natural resources to make a strong, prosperous and populous region. As we have seen by the foregoing, it contains vast areas of superior grain and grass lands, abundant timber on the mountains, many water-courses, and extensive feeding ground for cat- tle, horses and sheep. Its immense veins of iron ore are heavily drawn upon by the large iron and steel works at Pueblo, and it is highly probable that the gold and

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silver deposits, when fully developed under the stimulus of capital and further railway connections that are certain to be afforded, will become large contributors to the volume of the precious metals. The farms here and other properties are not heavily mortgaged, like those in many, indeed most, of the recently created counties. The region has been occupied more than twenty-five years, and its inhab- itants in that time have paid for their possessions and improvements, and in all respects are comfortably situated. The county government has little or no debt. Finally, the San Luis valley, as indicated by the crops raised during the past two years, seems destined to furnish a very large part of the grain of the state.

SAN JUAN COUNTY.

BAKER'S PARK-ROMANTIC SCENERY-SILVERTON AND ITS FOUNDERS-FRANCIS M. SNOWDEN-MINING DISTRICTS-MICKEY BREEN AND CAPT. STANLEY-OTTO MEARS AND HIS RAIL AND WAGON ROADS-THE RAINBOW RAILROAD.

This county was taken from the northern part of La Plata by an act of the First General Assembly, approved January 31st, 1876. Its name is derived from the San Juan Range of mountains. It was shorn of much of its original territory by the creation of Ouray county in 1877, which also embraced the present county of San Miguel, set off in 1883. San Juan is now bounded on the north by Ouray, south by La Plata, east by Hinsdale, and west by Dolores and San Miguel. Its area is 500 square miles. The census of 1890 gave it a population of 1,572, an increase of 485 in the preceding decade. The course of the discovery of mines and of perma- nent settlement in this region will be found in the history of La Plata county, this volume.

The town of Silverton, the capital and seat of the mining industry, is ap- proached from the south via the Denver & Rio Grande railway from Durango, some forty-five miles distant. This line was completed July 8th, 1882. The journey is highly interesting and romantic to the tourist who travels for pleasure and is fond of looking at stupendous mountains. After leaving the richly culti- vated valley of the Animas river, the road bears off to the left, taking to the moun- tain side in order to mount the rapid elevation that must be overcome before en- tering Baker's Park. Thirteen miles north of Animas City is the canon of the Animas river, six to eight miles in length, where the stream by centuries of wash- ing has worn a tortuous channel for itself from the high altitudes to the lower regions. This cañon is 1,200 to 1,500 feet deep in places, and well nigh inaccessible. The very few brave and adventurous men who have partly explored it, according to an old narrative published in 1878, found a number of caves on the southern slope of the mountains, one of which, four miles north of the head of the valley, and three miles west of the river, has been explored by several parties. "It has a grand entrance 22 feet high, 35 feet wide and 90 feet deep, the roof being solid rock. The cave proper is from 3 to 10 feet high, 375 to 400 feet in length, with irregular sides, the widest varying from 2 to 12 feet. The ceiling is pierced with holes and crevices through which water seeps and percolates, evidently passing through mineral deposits. The floor is extremely rough and irregular, numcrous vats being found where water stands in summer, the deposits forming curious and unique incrustations in the sides of the passage and on substances which are placed in it."

The elevation of Baker's Park, according to Hayden's report of 1876, is 9,400

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feet above the sea. It is a mining region and nothing more. It has neither coal, iron nor agriculture as aids to progress. The altitude is too great for the growth of cereals, though some of the hardier vegetables are produced. The winters are long and generally rigorous, with heavy snowfalls. The scenic effects in all di- rections are sublime. The Park, where stands the capital, is surrounded by great ranges, the Sierra Madre on the east, the La Plata chain on the west. Between, flowing down to Durango and beyond, is the clear and pellucid Rio Animas. About the center of the mountains, a little to the north, stands the noble promontory called King Solomon's Peak; to the southwest are two gigantic sentinels, one known as Sultan and the other as Engineer, the latter projecting into and form- ing a part of the boundary between San Juan and Hinsdale counties.

Silverton, the county seat and the only town of importance, is admirably situ- ated in the center of Baker's Park, which contains 2,000 acres or more of smooth, treeless and comparatively level surface, except about the edges, at the feet of the mountain slopes. For some years it was the capital of La Plata county, the now obsolete town of Howardsville, four miles above, being the first county seat. Re- ferring to Hayden's report again, the mountains are pronounced volcanic, the rocks trachytic, with schists appearing beneath in some cases, and in the faces of the almost perpendicular walls that rise 1,200 to 1,500 feet above the town, numerous quartz veins may be traced, some of which have been quite extensively operated. Here, as in all mining sections, the slopes bear evidence in hundreds of pit-holes, dumps, shafts and tunnels, of the restless search for precious metals.

The oldest settler in Silverton, the patriarch of the camp, tall, gaunt, somewhat bent by the weight of years, yet still vigorous and hearty, likewise sublimely con- fident, is Francis M. Snowden, who passed through what is now the southern part of Colorado in 1846 with a detachment of General Kearney's volunteers for the war with Mexico. His first appearance in the San Juan was with the company that left Santa Fé, New Mexico, in 1871, composed of Dempsey Reese, Miles F. Johnson, Abner French, Thomas Blair and others who had explored the region in 1870, and were now returning to it. Snowden and Win. Mulholland joined the expedition, which entered via Del Norte and Wagon Wheel Gap, thence following the old Baker trail. Mr. Snowden built the first cabin in Silverton, a small square house of logs, chinked with mud, and covered by a dirt roof, which he occupies to this clay. In 1800 he removed the old roof and replaced it with one of shingles, which has less inclination to leak and spoil his things. A photograph of the original structure was presented to me by Mr. Snowden, who took me to his modest primitive home and tendered the generous welcome of the typical pioneer. In the unoccupied portion of his lot he has a small vegetable garden, one of two in the town, planted and nurtured just to demonstrate the fact that certain roots that will stand almost anything can be made to grow in Baker's Park. At the time of his arrival in the spring of 1871 there were no houses, no fixed settlers. He is highly respected for his integrity, and has been three times elected mayor of the place. The original town company was composed of Dempsey Reese (now dead), N. E. Slaymaker and himself. Their plat was filed September 9th, 1874.

Mr. Alfred Iles, editor of the Silverton "Miner," has an old rusty rifle, a relic of the Baker expedition, which was found beside a skeleton on Mineral creek. The skull of the skeleton had been pierced by an arrow, showing the resistance of the intrusion by the Indians.

The records of the county clerk's office show that the town of Silverton was incorporated November 15th, 1876, by an order of the board of county commis- sioners as a result of a petition signed by two-thirds of the citizens. Francis M. Snowden, E. T. Bowman, H. L. Brolaski, George Swan and Nick Brown or Braum were appointed trustees, to hold office until the next regular election; "the town to comprise within its corporate limits the existing town of Silverton as per the plat

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then on file, and the space of 1,000 yards additional in every direction, the bound- aries to be marked by stakes to indicate the same."

The major part of the business is confined to a single thoroughfare running through the center, lined with stores, shops, saloons, hotels, etc., while the resi- dences occupy the outer parallels, some of them perched upon the mountain slopes, neat, pretty cottages bearing the appearance of comfortable homes. Below the main artery, along the river front, are various establishments, sampling mills, railway tracks, etc. An excellent water system has been constructed and a volunteer fire department organized. The water is taken from Boulder creek, two and a half niles above, led to a settling reservoir and thence conveyed in pipes and distributed to consumers. A few small trees have been planted along some of the thorough- fares. The main artery of trade is perhaps a mile in length, though not more than half of the distance is built up. The principal mercantile house and general supply store is that of M. Breen & Co. (its head known the length and breadth of the San Juan country as "Mickey Breen"), a strong but not ornate stone building, with commodious warehouses attached, where are stored large stocks of provisions against the long, hard winters, during which there are sometimes many weeks when all communication with the world is cut off by avalanches and snow blockades. This house was established in 1878. Capt. P. Stanley opened the first brickyard, and built the first brick houses in Silverton. There are not many of them, for most of the buildings are of wood. Breen and Stanley are inseparable companions, and are the two men whom every one knows.

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History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV, Part 46

Author: Hall, Frank, 1836-1917. cn; Rocky Mountain Historical Company Publication date: 1889-95 Publisher: Chicago, Blakely print. Co. Number of Pages: 791

Author: Hall, Frank, 1836-1917. cn; Rocky Mountain Historical Company
Publication date: 1889-95
Publisher: Chicago, Blakely print. Co.
Number of Pages: 791