Ouray, Colorado

Cochetopa · Jun 30, 2015

I spent the day in the town of Ouray at an antique show that emphasized mining and prospecting antiques. These two photos show the main street one way (uphill) and in the opposite (downhill) direction.

rginn · Jun 30, 2015

Cool place. That drive from Ouray south to Silverton keeps your attention, and no way I would wanna make it in winter.

tamrock · Jul 1, 2015

Sounds like a nice antique show to attend. You see any good buys? I take it you took the name you use is for the Cochetope pass? I took this picture of a 1861 map of Colorado where they spell Cochetope with two O's as "Coochetope"... I'm still wondering what the early folks ever called the trail lined out that went over Cochetope pass on this old original map. The old map was produced before the town of Leadville, Colorado existed, but marks the location of Oro City the placer mining town that proceeded Leadville. RGINN can see how big Summit County once was.

Cochetopa · Jul 1, 2015

tamrock said:
Sounds like a nice antique show to attend. You see any good buys? I take it you took the name you use is for the Cochetope pass? I took this picture of a 1861 map of Colorado where they spell Cochetope with two O's as "Coochetope"... I'm still wondering what the early folks ever called the trail lined out that went over Cochetope pass on this old original map. The old map was produced before the town of Leadville, Colorado existed, but marks the location of Oro City the placer mining town that proceeded Leadville. RGINN can see how big Summit County once was.

There were no bargains at the antique show, but most vendors were willing to dicker over price. Popular items for sale were: miner’s candle stick holders, miner’s lamps and empty blasting cap boxes. All were priced $100+ depending on condition. I saw a blasting cap box in really nice condition sell for $100, asking price was $150. There was a fine arts painter who paints in a photo-realistic style and who had 6 of her still life works with a western mining theme on sale. One was already sold for $2200 when I had arrived, and a 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] had sold for $2300 by the time I left.

This is what I have learned about Cochetopa. It is an Indian word meaning “buffalo emerging”. Cochetopa Pass used to be a super highway for bison migrating between summer time high country grazing in the Gunnison area, and their winter time grounds in the San Luis Valley. By “lined out” I take to mean clearly visible. I can visualize the trampling hooves of bison churning up the terrain as they moved from one seasonal pasture to another. The pass route must have appeared plain as day by just following the animals’ tracks.

rginn · Jul 1, 2015

Wow, I didn't realize people would pay money for those sort of things. I see stuff like that all the time out in the woods (in varying degrees of condition, of course) but I just leave it laying there, and will probably continue to do so. Yeah tamrock, Summit County used to stretch aaaaaaalll the way to Utah.

tamrock · Jul 5, 2015

Cochetopa said:
There were no bargains at the antique show, but most vendors were willing to dicker over price. Popular items for sale were: miner’s candle stick holders, miner’s lamps and empty blasting cap boxes. All were priced $100+ depending on condition. I saw a blasting cap box in really nice condition sell for $100, asking price was $150. There was a fine arts painter who paints in a photo-realistic style and who had 6 of her still life works with a western mining theme on sale. One was already sold for $2200 when I had arrived, and a 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] had sold for $2300 by the time I left.

This is what I have learned about Cochetopa. It is an Indian word meaning “buffalo emerging”. Cochetopa Pass used to be a super highway for bison migrating between summer time high country grazing in the Gunnison area, and their winter time grounds in the San Luis Valley. By “lined out” I take to mean clearly visible. I can visualize the trampling hooves of bison churning up the terrain as they moved from one seasonal pasture to another. The pass route must have appeared plain as day by just following the animals’ tracks.

What I mean there Choch! is on the map I posted there is a dash dot line from the east border going in to Bent's Fort and exiting to the west at the Colorado River, then called the Grand River of this marked trail of this 1861 Colo. map. I've read of this trail that goes over the summits San De Cristo and Cochetopa passes, but I can find nothing of that path across Colorado ever given a name??, such as the Cimarron (not on the map) or Santa Fe trails. I have read that this overland trail was a consideration of the first transcontinental RR. and J C Fremont did explore and survey the possibility of it being a RR over the Rockies to California.

RGINN, if you note, I see that in 1861 the town of Jefferson in Park County is on the map and I always thought Jefferson came later when the narrow gauge RR's came along in the mountain region. That raises my curiosity as to what was Jefferson there for in the early years of the Colorado gold rush. Was is ever a place placer gold was found?? Maybe it was a supply point on the east end of Georgia pass that goes up Michigan Creek and over to Breckenridge that is on the map to the west?. There's not much history of the town of Jefferson that I can find written down.? This map dates Jefferson much older then I ever thought it was. There is some very beautiful gazeland around Jefferson, so it may have only served to supply livestock to the miners moving rapidly in to the rejoin in those times?. I wonder if treasure hunting in and around Jefferson would be worth the effort?

rginn · Jul 7, 2015

More than one Jefferson, tamrock. According to a book I have, Bayou Salado: The Story of South Park (great reference book) Jefferson City, or Jefferson Diggings came into existence in 1860 at the foot of Georgia Past ne of Tarryall. About 2,000 gold prospectors lived and worked the area around there. It's the only town shown in South Park on some 1860-61 maps. It lasted 3 or 4 years. In 1865 two towns started as a real estate venture combined to be called Jefferson. It was intended to be a commercial and distribution center. After that fizzled, the present day Jefferson started up in 1879 at the same location, which is a few miles southeast of the original Jefferson City location.

tamrock · Jul 7, 2015

RGINN said:
More than one Jefferson, tamrock. According to a book I have, Bayou Salado: The Story of South Park (great reference book) Jefferson City, or Jefferson Diggings came into existence in 1860 at the foot of Georgia Past ne of Tarryall. About 2,000 gold prospectors lived and worked the area around there. It's the only town shown in South Park on some 1860-61 maps. It lasted 3 or 4 years. In 1865 two towns started as a real estate venture combined to be called Jefferson. It was intended to be a commercial and distribution center. After that fizzled, the present day Jefferson started up in 1879 at the same location, which is a few miles southeast of the original Jefferson City location.

10-4 on that. I read Bayou Salado many years ago. I think I had the book at one time. I so enjoyed exploring that place back when I lived in bv.