BLM LIBRARY 88014165 FRONTIER IN TRANSITION PAUL M. ,6F(pURKE A ffifflSTCDISW ©IF c 3®aJTT[H]M[ES iriSISI (C©L©IBAID)® TODSLEMJ (Q)LP (OTLLCM^ffi)® CULTURAL RESOURCES SERIES DUMBER TEN Bureau of Land Management Library g. 50, Denver Federal Center Denver, CO 8G225 FRONTIER IN TRANSITION A HISTORY OF SOUTHWESTERN COLORADO by Paul M. O'Rourke BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LIBRARY Denver, Colorado 88614165 Colorado State Office Bureau of Land Management U °fLandMana8ement 19eo LX B'dg. 50, Denver Feriorai r„ . 6nter Denver, CO 80225 COPIES OF THIS REPORT ARE AVAILABLE FROM: BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT COLORADO STATE OFFICE RM. 700, COLORADO STATE BANK BUILDING 1600 BROADWAY DENVER, COLORADO 80202 FOREWORD This study represents the tenth volume in a series of cultural resource studies. It was prepared as part of the Bureau of Land Management's Cultural Resource Manage- ment Program and is the second complete history of a BLM district in Colorado. A major objective of the Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior, is the identification, evaluation and protection of the nation's historic heritage and values, particularly those under the management of the Bureau. The history of Southwestern Colorado is designed to provide a baseline narrative for Cultural Resource Management. Paul M. O'Rourke has written a new history of the southwest corner of Colorado and in doing so, has provided a timely and original view of Colorado's heritage and history. This study will become part of the over-all history of Colorado as prepared by the Bureau and as other volumes dealing with Colorado history are written, they too will be made available to the general public. It is my pleasure to present this latest volume of the Cultural Resources Series to the public and to the professional community. It is equally my pleasure to note that this volume is the tenth in the series and is a milestone in that we have published, over the last four years, ten volumes of a highly popular and well regarded series. Of this accomplishment, I am extremely proud. 3^JL^>^UvJU«ju--«-^ DALE R. ANDRUS State Director, Colorado Bureau of Land Management March, 1980 THIS DOCUMENT IS PUBLIC DOMAIN AND MAY BE QUOTED. PLEASE CR ED IT THE AUTHOR OR BLM IF YOU QUOTE FROM THIS WORK. DESIGN BY LEIGH WELLBORN ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS From the times of the earliest human inhabitation down to the present day, the history of southwestern Colorado has been shaped by various stages of resource development. Progressive phases of human occupation in this area of Colorado have also been characterized by a changing attitude toward how such resources as mountain areas, metals and minerals, water, and grasslands should be best used. A Frontier in Transition: A History of Southwest Colorado is a chronicle of such developments and progress on this Colorado frontier. The fact that I have chosen to view the history of southwestern Colorado as a developing resource frontier came about through a gradual and, at times, a slow process. The many volumes of Colorado and Trans-Mississippi West history, to which I make numerous references within the text, actually laid the basis for such a perspective. To the countless historians who have recorded the events of southwestern Colorado's past, I owe my gratitude. The compilation and development of this history, however, would have been impossible without the assistance of many individuals who have pointed the way to such beneficial source material, and who have spent many hours of their free time reading, editing, and advising me on the various drafts of this manu- script. Thanks are due to the staffs at the Western History Department of the Denver Public Library, the Colorado Historical Society, and the Western Historical Collection at the University of Colorado's Norlin Library. For offering data, a concerned and professional perspective along with friendly criticism, I give special thanks to Professor Howard L. Scamehorn of the University of Colorado and to John Albright of the National Park Service. To Don Rickey and Al Alpert of the Bureau of Land Manage- ment, who provided needed criticisms on the first draft of this narrative, I also wish to say thank you. To Dr. Frederic J. Athearn of the Colorado State Office, Bureau of Land Management, and to Dr. Douglas Scott of the Montrose District Office, Bureau of Land Management, who worked with me on all stages of this project, and who allowed me the time and space to pursue the work at hand, I am truly indebted. The direction, the friendly and scholarly concern and criticism offered by all of those people who directly or indirectly contributed to the completion of this manuscript is greatly appreciated. Paul M. O'Rourke Denver, Colorado March, 1980 TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE: Introduction i CHAPTER: Page I. The Natural Setting and Its Relation to Historic Development 1 II. The Ancient Ones 13 III. Exploration and the Fur Trade 23 IV. The Great Reconnaissance and the Rediscovery of the Southwest 33 V. The Utes in Southwestern Colorado: A Confrontation of Cultures ... 43 VI. Early Mining and Transportation in Southwestern Colorado 57 VII. The Permanent Settlement of Southwestern Colorado 77 VIII. Transportation and Mining, 1881-1920 91 IX. Ranching and Agriculture: The Economic Diversification of South- western Colorado 119 X. The Federal Government in Southwestern Colorado 141 XI. Southwestern Colorado in the Modern Era 151 Bibliography 169 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Ancient Ruins of the Anasazi Civilization in Southwestern Colorado ... 19 "The Cantonment on the Uncompahgre" 53 Early Howardsville in the Animas River Valley 62 Sherman, Colorado and the Black Wonder Mill 64 Irwin, Colorado, 1879-1880 67 Pagosa Springs, Colorado in the Early 1890's 85 Pinon Townsite Along the San Miguel River 87 Denver and Rio Grande Work Train on Marshall Pass 97 Coke Ovens at Crested Butte 107 Cattle Running Along Ohio Creek Near Castleton 124 Ashenfelter Apple Orchard Near Montrose, Colorado 131 The Arch at Montrose, Colorado for the Gunnison Tunnel Opening .... 144 Sunnyside Mill at Eureka, Colorado 157 Skiers near Irwin, Colorado, 1883 162 LIST OF MAPS Topographic Map of Southwestern Colorado 5 Montrose District Geographic Map 7 The Extent of Prehistoric Occupation in Southwestern Colorado 16 The Spanish Frontier in Southwestern Colorado 27 The Fur Trapping and Trading Routes in Southwestern Colorado 29 The U. S. Government Expeditions to Southwestern Colorado 38 The Ute Domain 48 Ute Reservation Lands in Southwestern Colorado 51 Otto Mears' Toll Roads in Southwestern Colorado 80 The Formation of Southwestern Colorado's Counties 96 Major Railroad Construction in Southwestern Colorado 106 Coal Mine Regions in Southwestern Colorado 125 Forest Reservations in Southwestern Colorado 135 LIST OF TABLES I. Climatological Data for Southwestern Colorado 8 II. Coal Production in Southwestern Colorado, 1916-1919 108 III. Population Decline in Lake City, Colorado, 1890-1940 112 IV. Early Mining Towns in Gunnison County that have Ceased to Exist .... 112 V. Irrigation Acreage in Southwestern Colorado, 1889-1909 136 VI. Irrigation Acreage in Southwestern Colorado, 1919-1939 136 VII. The Number of Farms and Farm Acreage, 1900-1920 136 INTRODUCTION The history of southwestern Colorado is based on the use and development of minerals and, later, agricultural lands. Because the region was isolated by the Rockies, development by European settlers did not occur until late in Colorado's history. The first recorded European visitors were Spanish explorers of the Dominguez-Escal- ante expedition of 1776. The little group only passed through and failed to leave any physical evidence of themselves. Later, during the early nineteenth century, fur trappers criss-crossed the San Juans in search of the elusive beaver. Antoine Robi- doux established the first fur fort on the western slope along the Gunnison River, but by 1840 it was gone. The second thrust of European penetration was by U. S. Army explorers. First, John C. Fremont, "the Pathfinder", attempted to cross the San Juans in search of a rail route to the Pacific. These efforts were dismal failures. The next try at a Pacific rail route came in 1853 when John W. Gunnison surveyed over Cochetopa Pass, through the Black Canyon and on into Utah, where he lost his life in an Indian raid. The Gunnison route was discarded as impractical at the time, yet in 1880, the Denver and Rio Grande used the identical survey for its mainline to Salt Lake City, Utah. The first mineral seekers were "overflow" from the 1859 Gold Rush along the Front Range. In 1860, Charles Baker discovered gold along the Animas River in the San Juans and a modest rush occurred. However, due to a lack of minerals, the venture was abandoned. The Ute Indians, occupants of the lands in question, also discouraged miners. The question of the Utes was key to southwestern Colorado's development. As long as the Ute Indians controlled land and access to the area, Europeans were kept out. However, a series of treaties, culminating in the 1873 Brunot Treaty, eroded Ute hold while more and more settlers trespassed the San Juans. By 1873, the Utes under the leadership of Chief Ouray, had surrendered most of their lands. Nevertheless, Europeans along the Front Range wanted full access to the San Juans. Their opportunity to displace the Utes came in 1879 when the White River Reservation Utes rose in rebellion and killed agent Nathan Meeker. The citizens of Denver cried "the Utes must go"; and by 1881 they were removed to reservations in Utah and far southwestern Colorado. The removal of the Utes opened southwestern Colorado to European settlement and the region blossomed. Mining, of course, was the prime motivator. The mid- 1870's had seen a renaissance of the mining industry in the San Juans.