Historic Trail Map of the Denver 1° × 2° Quadrangle, Central Colorado By Glenn R. Scott Prepared in cooperation with the Denver Public Library, Western History and Genealogy Department Pamphlet to accompany Geologic Investigations Series I-2639 1999 U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey CONTENTS Introduction 1 Unsolved problems 4 Method of preparation of the trail map 4 Acknowledgments 4 Established and proposed toll roads and post roads in the Denver l° × 2° quadrangle 5 Established and proposed toll roads in the Denver quadrangle having certificates of incorporation from the Kansas Territorial Legislature 6 Established and proposed toll roads in the Denver quadrangle having certificates of incorporation from the Jefferson Territorial Legislature 6 Established and proposed toll roads in the Denver quadrangle having certificates of incorporation from the Colorado Legislative Assembly 7 Roads established or proposed under General Assembly Session Laws, Colorado Territorial Corporations and Charters, 1859-1876 20 Post Roads and territorial roads 23 Post Roads 24 More Post Roads 24 Passenger and mail routes 24 Far West Stageline notice to passengers 24 Hints for plains travelers 25 Sources of information on toll roads 25 Mountain passes in the Denver quadrangle 26 Sources of information about passes 28 Some stage companies that operated in the Denver quadrangle 28 Toll road builders 30 Famous western trails 30 Claim Clubs in Colorado 31 Railroads and streetcar lines operated in the Denver quadrangle and vicinity 31 Maps of the two-foot-gauge Gilpin Tramway 34 General sources of information 34 Military and civilian camps, forts, posts, and bases in Colorado 39 Camps listed in Colorado morning reports 51 Selected references about military and civilian camps, forts, posts, and bases 51 Selected references that locate named Mining Districts and named Groups of Mines 53 FIGURES 1. Regional Map of the Overland, Mormon, Smoky Hill, Santa Fe, Cherokee, and Oregon Trails. 2 III INTRODUCTION Peak Express Road and the Smoky Hill North, Smoky Hill Middle (Starvation Trail), and the Smoky Hill South Trails. Colorado contains the equivalent of 14 areas the size of Trending north-south on the east side of the mountains was the Denver quadrangle, and each area contains about 7,200 the Cherokee Trail that branched off from the Santa Fe Trail square miles. The Denver quadrangle contains all or parts of at La Junta, Colorado, and went up the Arkansas River, then 14 counties, named here with their dates of founding: followed Fountain Creek up to Colorado City, and on through Denver to Virginia Dale near the Wyoming border. The Trappers Trail, which came northward from Taos, New Adams 1902 Mexico, was nearly coincidental with the Cherokee Trail Arapahoe 1855 through the Denver quadrangle (fig. 1). Boulder 1859 Clear Creek 1859 Stage lines and stations were established on the Over- Denver 1902 land Trail, the Fort Morgan Cutoff, the Leavenworth and Douglas 1859 Pikes Peak Express Road, and the three Smoky Hill routes. When the trails were built, an effort was made to choose Elbert 1874 level routes; however, very little grading was done, so the El Paso 1859 horses, mules, or oxen were constantly traveling down into Gilpin 1861 valleys and back up the other side or were fording streams. Grand 1874 Diaries of the travelers give accounts of the stages turning Jefferson 1861 over when traversing slopes along valleys. The stages trav- Park 1861 eled as rapidly as the drivers could get the horses or mules Teller 1899 to run. Teams were changed about every 10–15 miles at sta- tions where extra stock were kept in order to provide rested The eastern part of the Denver quadrangle was origi- and vigorous animals that could maintain the schedules. nally in Arapahoe County, which was the western end of These stations were called “swing” stations but they pro- Kansas Territory. The western part of the Denver quadrangle vided little comfort to the passengers, as stops were only west of the Continental Divide was in Utah Territory. long enough to provide for the changing of the teams. According to Brown (1976, p. 13), Kansas Territorial Legis- About every fourth station was equipped with a kitchen and lature established Arapahoe County in 1855, but then abol- dining room so that the passengers could eat meals three ished it in 1861 and divided that area into five new counties: times a day. These stations were called “home” stations. Montana, El Paso, Oro, Broderick, and Fremont, designa- Some of them had beds, but generally the stages did not tions that lasted only a short time. After Jefferson Territory stop for the night and the passengers had to sleep on the was informally established in 1859, the people in that new coaches as they traveled through the night. Because of the territory no longer needed to obey the directives from Kan- sparseness of trees along the stage routes, many of the sta- sas Territory. The formal Colorado Territory was established tions were simply dugouts along the banks of streams or on February 28, 1861, and Colorado officially became a into the sides of hills. Some stations were made of adobe or state in 1876. Settlement of the Denver quadrangle area had rarely of logs or lumber. started in 1858 when gold was first discovered. The first Part of the profit for the stage companies came from problem that faced the gold-seekers was how to get into the the transport of mail and freight. The stage contractors had mountains where the gold was. At that time there were no to bid for the privilege of carrying the mail, and the com- wagon trails, and access was even difficult for walkers petition along some stage lines was very keen, even though because of the bouldery or drowned valley bottoms. the profit was somewhat meager. Although the stage routes Many of the historic trails in the Denver quadrangle were established by the mail contractors to haul mail and were used by Indians long before the white man reached the area. The earliest recorded use of the trails by white men in passengers, the routes were also used by freighters, immi- the Denver quadrangle was in the 1830's to 1850's for trade grants, and gold seekers. During most of the time the trails with the Indians. More intensive use of the trails began after were used, travel was hazardous for several reasons. The 1858 when roads were built into the mountains from the best known reason was that the Indians were antagonized new settlement of Denver. Discovery of gold in the Rocky by the intrusion of the white settlers into their native lands; Mountains in central Colorado in 1858 led to the surveying therefore, the Indians tried to discourage settlement. The and establishment of several new trails from the east to the Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Utes were particularly trouble- future site of Denver, thence to the newly discovered gold some in the Denver quadrangle. Treaties between the tribes fields in the nearby Front Range. These trails included (1) and the government were agreed to, but were not kept by the Overland Trail (a branch from the Oregon Trail), which either the Indians or the white intruders. In the early years ran southward along the southeast side of the South Platte (1858-1863) when there were few travelers into Colorado, River from Julesburg and Greeley to Denver, and (2) the there was much less trouble than in the later years southern part of the Fort Morgan Cutoff, which, as a bypass (1864-1869) when travel increased. The trouble escalated of the Overland Trail, went essentially straight southwest- when the military attempted to prevent the Indians from ward from Fort Morgan to Denver, thus saving nearly 40 harassing the travelers along the stage lines. Retaliation by miles of travel. Coming in from Kansas across the dry the Indians became most active after the Sand Creek mas- plains of eastern Colorado were the Leavenworth and Pikes sacre on November 29, 1864, at a big bend of Big Sandy 0 Figure 1 (above and facing page). Regional map of the Overland, Mormon, Smoky Hill, Santa Fe, Cherokee, and Oregon Trails and their many branches. The Denver trail map covers only parts of the Cherokee, Smoky Hill, and Starvation Trails within the Den- ver quadrangle in Colorado. The route of the Oregon Trail is from Mattes (1969) and its route is described in detail by Franzwa (1972). The route of the Smoky Hill Trail is from Long (1947). Unlabeled location circles are stage stations. Creek in Cheyenne County or Kiowa County, southeast of Even if the Indian Tribes had been peaceful, travel Kit Carson. Travel along all of the stage lines into Colo- along the Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express Road and rado was slowed or curtailed for several months after the the Smoky Hill routes was hazardous because of the lack massacre (Scott, 1975). To protect the travelers along the of water and game. The only source of water was from stage routes, the U.S. government fortified and stationed scarce springs, ephemeral water holes, and a few ephem- troops at some of the existing stage stations. New forts that eral streams. For example, in the summer of 1859 when were garrisoned with other small troops of cavalry were the stage along the Leavenworth and Pikes Peak Express also set up along some of the trails. Travelers were forced Road was operating, the Republican River in eastern Colo- to travel in groups, and the cavalry controlled the number rado held only a few water holes. Even Big Sandy Creek of wagons in each traveling group and provided escorts to was ephemeral and dried up.