Pioneer times on the East Fork: Jacob Lane and the Murphys
This week we’re continuing with the Jacob Lane biography. He was one of the last persons to live year-round on the east fork of...
Coffee, history and talking cowboy
Coffee and history seem to go together. I know that statement requires an explanation, so here goes.
Way back in 1976, I was working at...
The story turns to Griz
Fur trappers and mountain men entered Pagosa Country starting in the early 1820s. By the end of the 1830s, beaver trapping as a major...
The first Catholic church in Pagosa Springs
Erection of the first Catholic church in Pagosa Springs was announced in a September 1893 Pagosa News item which read, “The Catholics of this...
There were many buildings, but few remain
Town boards of the Pagosa Country frontier during the early 1900s gathered support money from wherever they could find it.
During those early years no...
Pagosa’s Past: Searching for gold in Colorado
By John M. Motter
PREVIEW Columnist
In 1859, thousands of Americans stampeded into the Denver area. The Pikes Peak gold rush was on.
Many of the prospectors...
Pagosa’s Past: Snow, snow and more snow
By John M. Motter
PREVIEW Columnist
A few weeks ago, I wrote a column describing the winter I remember for the most snow fall since I...
Traipsin’, tradin’ and explorin’
We’ve been reviewing the 1776 adventures of an exploration trip led by the Fransciscan fathers Atansio Dominguez and Silvestre Escalante. The purpose of their...
Pagosa’s Past: Pagosa Country pioneers
By John M. Motter
PREVIEW Columnist
Today’s column focuses on the Macht family, early day Pagosa pioneers. I had the privilege some years ago of spending...
Bad news for Pagosa Springs
When Lt. Col. R.E.A. Crofton passed through Pagosa Springs in August of 1880 with a battalion of infantry bound for the new location of...
