Military route over Elwood Pass never lived up to promise

Photo courtesy John M. Motter
The coming of Gen. Palmer’s narrow gauge railroad to the San Juan Basin dramatically improved the economy. A major plus was the ability of the little trains, most of the time, to move freight through the mountain snowdrifts during winters. The challenge was severe at times, as evidenced by the effort shown here to cross Cumbres Pass.[/caption]

We have been quoting newspaper articles from neighboring communities reporting activities illuminating Pagosa Springs’ history during the formative year of 1879. The following article was in the May 24, 1879, issue of the La Plata Miner.

“Travel is increasing on the southern route from Alamosa … twenty teams arrived in Silverton this past week, coming over the Animas Canyon Toll Road. Five teams loaded with household goods and families went through to Animas Falls on Tuesday. They came by the Conejos cutoff road and report the road good between Silverton and Alamosa. There will undoubtedly be a large travel into Silverton this season by this new route. The road between the Animas Valley and Pagosa Springs is being put in first-class condition and work on the military road will be resumed with a large force soon and when finished the distance to Alamosa will not be over 175 miles over a route that … single teams can easily load 9,000 pounds. Better than that is that the iron horse will be snorting thirty miles south of Silverton within fifteen months.”

Interpretation: Because of its mining boom, Silverton was a major destination in the San Juan Mountains. At first, miners and others bound for Silverton from the east came through Garland City on the east side of the San Luis Valley, then, in succession, through Alamosa, Del Norte, South Fork and up the Rio Grande River to Stony Pass where the Continental Divide was crossed, then down through Cunningham Gulch to the Animas River and then Silverton. It was a difficult, arduous route.

The new, southern route started in the same place but crossed the San Luis Valley through Alamosa, Conejos, then crossed the Continental Divide at Cumbres Pass, reached Pagosa Springs via the Chama cutoff, and onward to Animas City (now Durango).

The hoped-for improvement of the military route entering the San Juan Basin via Elwood Pass and the East Fork of the San Juan River never lived up to its promise.

The iron horse was the narrow gauge railroad that crossed Cumbres Pass and eventually reached the Durango-Animas City area on the Animas River downstream and south from Silverton.

Construction of the railroad changed the transportation map of southwest Colorado. The cities of Alamosa, Antonito, Chama and Durango were created by the railroad. Animas City was soon swallowed by Durango because Durango is where the train went.

After the railroad reached Durango in 1881, freighting and stagecoaches, with minor exceptions, became a thing of the past.