For several centuries prior to Euro-American settlement, the San Juan Mountains were inhabited by the Utes, the indigenous tribe that occupied the…

The San Juan region was investigated and mapped by a series of expeditions during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.  In the late…

The discovery of gold in California in 1849 heightened the need for a transcontinental rail route to access the Pacific coast.  That same year, a…

In 1868, Kit Carson helped negotiate a treaty that forced the Utes to relinquish their lands in the four intermontane basins - San Luis Valley, South…

The infamous prospect party led by Alferd Packer entered the San Juan region in winter of 1873 - 1874.  Led by Packer, the party of 21 prospectors…