%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Fort Uncompahgre http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-uncompahgre <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Fort Uncompahgre</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-08-15T16:13:03-06:00" title="Monday, August 15, 2016 - 16:13" class="datetime">Mon, 08/15/2016 - 16:13</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-uncompahgre" data-a2a-title="Fort Uncompahgre"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Ffort-uncompahgre&amp;title=Fort%20Uncompahgre"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Fort Uncompahgre was constructed in 1828 by <strong>Antoine Robidoux</strong>, a trader based out of Mexican Santa Fé. The <a href="/article/nineteenth-century-trading-posts"><strong>trading post</strong></a> was situated about two miles down from the confluence of the <a href="/article/gunnison-river"><strong>Gunnison</strong></a> and <strong>Uncompahgre</strong> Rivers near the present-day community of <strong>Delta</strong> in western Colorado. The precise location of the fort has been lost due to the shifting bed of the Gunnison River, but Robidoux chose the area because it afforded abundant timber for construction and firewood as well as pasture for pack animals. It was also a favored gathering spot of the <a href="/article/northern-ute-people-uintah-and-ouray-reservation"><strong>Ute Indians</strong></a> and a natural ford nearby offered an easy river crossing.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Utes apparently encouraged the presence of a trader in their territory so they could obtain firearms. Although Spanish law and, later, Mexican law prohibited the sale or trade of firearms to Indians, such activities might be conducted at a remote, rugged location without much fear of official sanction.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Robidoux established several trails for supplying Fort Uncompahgre. The first of these, known as the Mountain Branch of the <strong>Old Spanish Trail</strong>, led north out of Santa Fé, up into the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-luis-valley"><strong>San Luis Valley</strong></a>, northwest across <strong>Cochetopa Pass</strong>, then down into the Gunnison valley to the fort. This was a challenging route, but if not snowbound, it was much shorter than following the main branch of the Old Spanish Trail. The second trail, known as Robidoux’s Cutoff, was used for goods imported from St. Louis. The cutoff left the <a href="/article/santa-f%C3%A9-trail-0"><strong>Santa Fé Trail</strong></a> near <a href="/article/bents-forts"><strong>Bent’s Fort</strong></a>, proceeded westward to the vicinity of present-day <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pueblo"><strong>Pueblo</strong></a>, then around the south end of the <strong>Wet Mountains</strong> and over Mosca Pass into the San Luis Valley. Here it joined with the Mountain Branch. The cutoff was advantageous because it was far shorter than freighting the goods north from Santa Fé and avoided Mexican customs, where taxes reached as high as 30 percent.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Little is known about the construction or layout of Fort Uncompahgre except that it was on the south bank of the Gunnison River. Few travelers passed through the fort because of its remote location. There are no known contemporary descriptions of the fort, but it probably resembled Fort Uintah, another fort Robidoux built in present-day eastern Utah. Fort Uncompahgre probably consisted of a few crude log buildings surrounded by a fence of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cottonwood-trees"><strong>cottonwood</strong></a> pickets. This type of construction would have been acceptable to the Utes, who were sensitive about permanent structures built on their lands.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Accounts indicate that the fort had between fifteen and eighteen male employees. These men would have been responsible for trading, limited trapping, preparing hides and skins, and bundling fur packs. Additionally, the cottonwood pickets and log structures would have needed continual maintenance and replacement as the soft cottonwood rotted. Transportation to the area was difficult and expensive, and anything that could be made or grown locally would reduce costs significantly. Employees probably raised a garden, which may have included corn, wheat, beans, lentils, potatoes, melons, and squash. Sheep or goats were probably also kept at the fort.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Robidoux’s employees were all Mexicans, probably from the Santa Fé area. Employees typically worked under a one-year contract and would be paid in trade goods received at the end of their service. At the time, Nuevo México (as the northern colonies of Old Mexico were known) had a surplus of labor and wage rates were approximately $5 per month for skilled craftsmen, while unskilled labor was worth no more than $2 per month.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The primary structure on the post would have been the trade room, where <strong>trappers</strong> and Indians would have brought their skins and furs to be graded and weighed. They could then choose from a selection of trade goods displayed in another area of the trade room. The living quarters of the <strong>trader</strong> or his principal would have adjoined the trade room. Other structures on the post probably included a storage building for the furs, a kitchen/living quarters for the post cook, and a blacksmith/carpenter’s shop.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In September 1831, authorities in Santa Fé granted Robidoux a license for a second trading post near the confluence of the Whiterock and Uintah rivers. This post, known as Fort Uintah, served both Anglo and Mexican trappers as well as Ute and sometimes Shoshoni Indians. Rufus Sage, in <em>Rocky Mountain Life</em>, described this fort from his visit in the early 1840s as follows: “Robideau’s Fort is situated on the right bank of the Uintah . . . The trade of this post is conducted principally with the trapping parties frequenting the Big Bear, Green, Grand, and the <a href="/article/colorado-river"><strong>Colorado</strong></a> Rivers, with their numerous tributaries, in search of fur-bearing game. A small business is also carried on with the Snake and Utah Indians, living in the neighborhood of this establishment. The common articles of dealing are horses, with <a href="/article/beaver"><strong>beaver</strong></a>, otter, deer, sheep, and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rocky-mountain-elk"><strong>elk</strong></a> skins, in barter for ammunition, fire-arms, knives, tobacco, beads, awls, &amp;c.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1837, the Hudson’s Bay Company was becoming competitive in the area, and to hold them back, Robidoux built a third post—Fort Robidoux—near the confluence of the Green and White rivers in present-day Utah. Fort Robidoux was probably just a temporary post, and in 1838, when the Hudson’s Bay Company withdrew from the Uintah Basin, it was abandoned.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Toward the end of the 1830s, the price of beaver pelts declined precipitously. To make up for lost revenues, Fort Uncompahgre increased its trade in California horses and Indian slaves. Although Spanish and, later, Mexican authorities prohibited the taking of new slaves, the prohibition was not enforced. Powerful tribes would capture women and children of their weaker neighbors and sell them in the northern colonies (New Mexico), where demand was high for laborers and wives. In the 1830s, boys between the ages of eight and twelve years were valued at $50 to $100 in trade goods, and girls were worth approximately twice as much.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>By 1841, other developments were changing the economics of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fur-trade-colorado"><strong>fur trade</strong></a>. The Oregon Trail had opened up, taking a steady stream of emigrants across the plains to Oregon and California. In addition to emigrants, the trail became a major route for hauling freight that supplied posts such as Fort Hall and Fort Bridger. The resulting lower freight costs, combined with industrial expansion in the East, meant the prices for trade goods were much lower than what Robidoux could offer with his Santa Fé–based operations. The Indians concluded that the Santa Fé and Taos traders, including Robidoux, had cheated them for years.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>During summer 1843, hostilities broke out between Utes and Mexicans in the Santa Fé area. Warfare spread up the San Luis Valley and into the Gunnison Basin, engulfing Fort Uncompahgre.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Although it was known as a fort, Robidoux’s structure was designed more as a holding area for livestock and to secure trade goods and furs; it was never intended as a defensive structure during war. With one exception, all of the Mexicans were slaughtered and their women taken prisoner. Only a single Mexican trapper, Calario Cortez, escaped the carnage. He arrived in Taos fourteen days later, hungry and exhausted.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Utes also captured an American visiting the fort. He was later released with a message for Robidoux telling him that the furs, hides, and buildings were intact, and that the Utes’ quarrel was with the Mexicans, not the Americans or the French. The Utes’ motivation for leaving the fort unscathed is uncertain. Did they expect that Robidoux would return to the fort as if nothing had happened, or were they trying to lure him back so he too could be killed? It is also not known why the Utes did not attack Fort Uintah, which was also staffed by Mexicans.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Fort Uncompahgre was left vacant for about two years before local Utes destroyed it. Robidoux never returned to the Uintah Basin to trap or trade for furs.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1990 Fort Uncompahgre was reconstructed upriver from its presumed original location, on land owned by the city of Delta. There has been renewed interest in the fort in recent years, and in 2015 the reconstructed fort was reopened to the public.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Adapted from the Old Spanish Trail Association, “<a href="https://ostcolorado.org/fort-uncompahgre/">Fort Uncompahgre</a>,” n.d.</strong></p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/miller-chris" hreflang="und">Miller, Chris</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fur-trade" hreflang="en">fur trade</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/nineteenth-century-fur-trade" hreflang="en">nineteenth century fur trade</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/antoine-robidoux" hreflang="en">antoine robidoux</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fort-uintah" hreflang="en">Fort Uintah</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/19th-century-trading-posts" hreflang="en">19th century trading posts</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/trading-posts-colorado" hreflang="en">trading posts colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ute-indian-tribe" hreflang="en">Ute Indian Tribe</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/gunnison-river" hreflang="en">gunnison river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/old-spanish-national-historic-trail" hreflang="en">old spanish national historic trail</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/delta-colorado" hreflang="en">delta colorado</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Ken Reyher, <em>Antoine Robidoux and Fort Uncompahgre: The Story of a Western Fur Trader</em> (Ouray, CO: Western Reflections, 1998).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Rufus B. Sage, <em>Rocky Mountain Life, or, Startling Scenes and Perilous Adventures in the Far West during an Expedition of Three Years</em> (1859; repr., Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>C. Gregory Crampton and Steven K. Madsen, <em>In Search of the Spanish Trail: Santa Fe to Los Angeles, 1829–1848</em> (Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 1994).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Joseph J. Hill, “Antoine Robidoux, Kingpin in the Colorado River Fur Trade, 1824–1844,”<em> Colorado Magazine</em> 7 (July 1930).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.southernute-nsn.gov/history/">History of the Southern Ute</a>,” Southern Ute Indian Tribe, 2016.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="http://interpcolorado.org/">Interpretive Association of Western Colorado</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ron Kessler, <em>Old Spanish Trail North Branch and Its Travelers: Stories of the Exploration of the American Southwest</em> (Santa Fe: Sunstone, 1998).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Douglas M. Knudson, <em>Characters of the Old Spanish Trail</em> (South Fork, CO: Sylvan Trail Books, 2013).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Greg Mac Gregor and Siegfried Halus, <em>In Search of Dominguez &amp; Escalante: Photographing the 1776 Spanish Expedition through the Southwest</em> (Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press, 2011).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jeremy Miller, “<a href="https://www.hcn.org/issues/44.5/following-the-old-spanish-trail-across-the-southwest">Following the Old Spanish Trail across the Southwest</a>,” <em>High Country News</em>, April 6, 2012.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="http://www.mman.us/fortuncompahgre.htm">Mountain Men and Life in the Rocky Mountain West—Fort Uncompahgre</a>,” Malachite’s Big Hole, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://oldspanishtrail.org/">Old Spanish Trail Association</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p>Douglas D. Scott, “Robidoux’s Fort on the Uncompahgre and the Matlock Homestead: The Case of the Missing Resources,” <em>Southwestern Lore</em> 48 (December 1982).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Elizabeth von Till Warren, “<a href="https://ostcolorado.org/history/">The Old Spanish Trail</a>,” Old Spanish Trail Association, 2004.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 15 Aug 2016 22:13:03 +0000 yongli 1692 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Delta County http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/delta-county <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Delta County</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1249--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1249.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/delta-county"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Delta_County_0.png?itok=zKlQ8N20" width="1024" height="741" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/delta-county" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Delta County</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Delta County, home to abundant fruit orchards, was established in 1883.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-03-04T10:21:32-07:00" title="Friday, March 4, 2016 - 10:21" class="datetime">Fri, 03/04/2016 - 10:21</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/delta-county" data-a2a-title="Delta County"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fdelta-county&amp;title=Delta%20County"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Delta County covers 1,149 square miles of the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/gunnison-river"><strong>Gunnison</strong></a> and Uncompahgre River valleys in west central Colorado, including the southern part of <strong>Grand Mesa</strong> and the northern part of the Uncompahgre Plateau. The county is bordered to the north and west by <a href="/article/mesa-county"><strong>Mesa County</strong></a>, to the east by <a href="/article/gunnison-county"><strong>Gunnison County</strong></a>, and to the south by <a href="/article/montrose-county"><strong>Montrose County</strong></a>. US Route 50 runs across the southwest corner of the county, while Colorado Route 133, following the north fork of the <a href="/article/gunnison-river"><strong>Gunnison River</strong></a>, enters the county from the east and links with State Route 92 near Hotchkiss. Delta County has a population of 30,952.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The county is named for the confluence of the Gunnison and <strong>Uncompahgre</strong> Rivers, which meet at the county seat of <strong>Delta</strong> (pop. 8,915). Other prominent towns include<strong> Orchard City</strong> (3,169), <strong>Cedaredge</strong> (2,163), <strong>Paonia</strong> (1,497), and <strong>Hotchkiss</strong> (968). Agriculture has been and remains the economic backbone of the county, which contains more than 250,000 acres of farmland. Delta County is one of the top fruit-producing counties in the state, and also ranks high in sales of vegetables, potatoes, milk, poultry, eggs, and sheep products.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Native Americans</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>From about the mid-sixteenth century until the late nineteenth century, the Delta County area was primarily inhabited by two distinct bands of Utes: the Parianuche, or “elk people,” and the Tabeguache, or "the people of Sun Mountain."</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Both groups followed centuries-old seasonal migration routes, tracking game such as <a href="/article/rocky-mountain-elk"><strong>elk</strong></a>, <a href="/article/mule-deer"><strong>deer</strong></a>, and <strong>bison</strong> into the high country during the summer and wintering in lower places such as the Gunnison and Uncompahgre valleys. In addition to hunting, they gathered a wide assortment of roots, including the versatile yucca root, and wild berries.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Explorers and Traders</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1776 the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/spanish-exploration-western-colorado"><strong>Dominguez-Escalante</strong></a> expedition from New Mexico recorded contact with Parianuche Utes—the Spanish called them “Zaguegunas”—just west of present-day town of Delta. The Spanish expedition was likely the first group of Europeans to enter the area. Trappers and traders were the next whites to arrive in the first two decades of the nineteenth century. The trader <strong>Antoine Robidoux</strong> set up a fort near Delta in 1828. The <a href="/article/nineteenth-century-trading-posts"><strong>post</strong></a> featured Colorado’s first general store west of the Continental Divide and served as a supply hub and staging area for many of the region’s trapping expeditions. Trading at <a href="/article/fort-uncompahgre"><strong>Fort Uncompahgre</strong></a> persisted until 1844, when Utes burned it down.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Removal of Utes</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In an effort to protect the many mining claims along the Front and Sawatch Ranges, the federal government confined the Utes to nearly the entire Western Slope of Colorado by a <a href="/article/ute-treaty-1868"><strong>treaty in 1868</strong></a>. But in the next decade, the Hayden Surveys traversed and mapped the Western Slope. Ranchers and prospectors followed and began squatting on Ute lands.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1879 the McGranahan brothers set up a store in the town of Delta. Farther north, growing tensions between whites and Utes on the Western Slope exploded that year with the <a href="/article/meeker-incident"><strong>Meeker Incident</strong></a> at the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/white-river-ute-indian-agency"><strong>White River Indian Agency</strong></a> in present-day <a href="/article/rio-blanco-county"><strong>Rio Blanco County</strong></a>. Utes at the agency killed Indian Agent <a href="/article/nathaniel-meeker"><strong>Nathan Meeker</strong></a> and ten others. The conflict terrified whites all over Colorado and became the impetus for Ute removal. A new treaty in 1880 took all of the Utes' land in western Colorado, and by 1882 most of those who remained were shunted onto a new reservation in eastern Utah.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Fast on the heels of Ute removal came white occupation. Along the north fork of the Gunnison, Ohioan Enos Hotchkiss had already scouted a town site in 1880, and he returned to legally found the town of Hotchkiss in 1881. The Uncompahgre Town Site Company was also established in 1881, and it changed the name of its site to Delta in 1882. That year, the narrow-gauge <strong>Denver &amp; Rio Grande Western Railroad</strong> also arrived, and Delta was incorporated. The town became the county seat when Delta County split from Gunnison County in February 1883. A few miles to the northwest, the town of Paonia was founded by two other members of Hotchkiss’s party: Sam Wade and William Clark. The town was incorporated in 1902.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Surface Creek Valley</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Northeast of Delta, the Surface Creek valley includes Orchard City and Cedaredge. State Route 65, a Colorado Scenic Byway, runs through the middle of the valley. The highway leads to the top of Grand Mesa (11,333 ft.), one of the largest flattop mountains in the world. More than 300 beautiful lakes lie atop the mesa, along with several lodges and the Grand Mesa Visitor Center at Cobbett Lake.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The area of Cedaredge was first settled by Fred Leonard, who had the first <a href="/article/homestead"><strong>homestead</strong></a> in the upper valley in 1881. Leonard sold his homestead to Pierre Settle, who later sold it to Henry Kohler and others who formed a large cattle ranch known as the Bar I Cattle Company. The first post office opened December 4, 1894. In 1905, a ten-acre parcel was set aside to start the town of Cedaredge, which was incorporated in 1907. Cedaredge is the gateway to Grand Mesa and the home of Pioneer Town Museum and a Heritage Trail through town with several Historic Buildings and a Golf Course. The area is still a farming area with cattle ranches, fruit orchards, and vineyards.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Orchard City includes the small communities of Cory, Eckert, and Austin. Cory was established about 1895 with the creation of a US post office. There was a small store and later a lumberyard that supplied the upper Surface Creek area. Eckert was established in 1884 by Adelbert States and was named after his wife; the couple opened the first grocery store. Eckert’s post office was established in 1891. The valley’s first school was established in 1884. Austin was established in about 1885 by A. E. Austin Miller. To serve the orchards in the upper valley, several packing sheds were established as well as a canning factory. By 1902 a rail depot provided shipping for the area’s fruits and other farm produce.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Range Wars</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Fruit was not the only lucrative industry in early Delta County. Ranchers began filtering into the area soon after the farmers. For instance, the ranching community of Crawford (pop. 442), located at the north entrance to <a href="/article/black-canyon-gunnison"><strong>Black Canyon National Park</strong></a>, received its first post office in 1883. Cattle and sheep ranchers quarreled over grazing rights during the late 1880s. Tension only increased during the Panic of 1893, when beef prices fell and sheep ranchers bought up large tracts of land from cattle ranchers. In 1890, a group of cattle ranchers formed the Cattle Growers Protective Association, a group that became known as the “Night Riders” on account of their violent attempts to scare sheep ranchers off cattle-grazing land in Delta, Mesa, and Montrose Counties. These range wars continued into the twentieth century; in 1917 a duel between sheep supporter Marshall Sampson and cattle supporter Ben Low left both men dead.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Agriculture and Development</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>By the turn of the century, Delta farmers were already making a name for themselves: after the Denver &amp; Rio Grande Western installed a standard-gauge line in 1906, Delta County apples were shipped as far away as England. Then, large-scale <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/irrigation-colorado"><strong>irrigation</strong></a> projects undertaken by the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/bureau-reclamation-colorado"><strong>Bureau of Reclamation</strong></a> between 1904 and 1917 doubled the amount of irrigated land on the <a href="/article/western-slope"><strong>Western Slope</strong></a> and led to an agricultural boom in Delta and other counties. By that time, there were some 6,000 farms across Delta, Mesa, Montrose, and <a href="/article/garfield-county"><strong>Garfield</strong></a> Counties. Delta County farmers brought their produce to the market towns of Delta and Paonia, both of which grew substantially. Between 1900 and 1910, Delta County’s population increased from 5,487 to 13,688.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Agricultural abundance helped Delta County develop quickly. The first telephone lines arrived in 1901, and the county was electrified the following year. Thanks to fundraising efforts by the Delta Women’s Club, the town’s first library went up in 1911. Many <a href="/article/tuberculosis-colorado"><strong>tuberculosis</strong></a> patients came to Delta County during this period, believing that the region’s dry <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-climate"><strong>climate</strong></a> would improve their health. But beginning in 1908, this rumor was dispelled and the influx of tuberculosis patients ceased.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As they were in the eastern part of the state, <a href="/article/sugar-beet-industry"><strong>sugar beets</strong></a> were particularly lucrative for Delta farmers in the twentieth century, and the labor-intensive crop brought about demographic changes. German immigrants worked the beet fields in the early twentieth century and settled in the area with their families. By the time the Holly Sugar Factory went up in Delta in the early 1920s, immigration restrictions during <a href="/article/colorado-world-war-i"><strong>World War I</strong></a> had reduced the number of German immigrants, who were replaced by Mexican field-workers. Amidst widespread racial anxiety in the 1920s, local whites forced the children of Mexican families to attend separate schools until the 1940s. Currently, Latinos make up about 11 percent of Delta County’s population and account for nearly a third of the city of Delta’s population.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Today</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Today, Delta County remains one of the most important agricultural areas in Colorado. It was estimated in 2007 that about 70 percent of the apples and more than half of the pears grown in Colorado came from Delta County farms. In 2012 the county ranked second among all Colorado counties in sales of fruits, tree nuts, and berries, as the county’s 2,500 acres of orchards produced nearly $7 million in sales.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Ronn Brewer of </strong><strong>Delta County assisted with this article.</strong></p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/delta-county" hreflang="en">delta county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/delta-colorado" hreflang="en">delta colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/delta" hreflang="en">Delta</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/uncompahgre-valley" hreflang="en">uncompahgre valley</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/gunnison-valley" hreflang="en">gunnison valley</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/gunnison-river" hreflang="en">gunnison river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/uncompahgre-river" hreflang="en">uncompahgre river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/hotchkiss" hreflang="en">hotchkiss</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/paonia" hreflang="en">paonia</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-orchards" hreflang="en">colorado orchards</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Carl Abbott, Stephen J. Leonard, and Dave McComb, <em>Colorado: A History of the Centennial State</em>, 3rd ed. (Boulder, CO: University Press of Colorado, 1994).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Hazel Baker Austin, “Surface Creek Country” (Cedaredge, CO: n.p., 1977).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>David Bradford, Justin McConkey, R. B. LeValley, Larry Allen, Brian Farmer, and Joe Sperry, “Rocky Mountain Woolies: Raising Sheep in the New West,” <em>Rangelands</em> 25, no. 1 (February 2003).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Ronn Brewer, <em>A History of the Surface Creek Valley and</em> <em>the Town of Cedaredge: Celebrating 100 Years</em> (Cedaredge, CO: Lifetime Chronicle Press, 2008).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Crawford Chamber of Commerce, “<a href="https://www.crawfordcountry.org/19199">Crawford History</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Theajo “TJ” Davis and Royal C. “Whitey” Huff, Sr., <em>The Uncompahgre Valley </em>(Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2010).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“Delta County,” <em>Colorado County Histories Notebook </em>(Denver: History Colorado, 1992).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Paul M. O’Rourke, “Frontier in Transition: A History of Southwestern Colorado,” <em>Cultural Resource Series </em>10 (Denver: Bureau of Land Management, 1992).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Virginia McConnell Simmons, <em>The Ute Indians of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico </em>(Boulder: University of Colorado Press, 2000).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>US Department of Agriculture, “<a href="https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2012/Online_Resources/County_Profiles/">2012 Census of Agriculture County Profile: Delta County Colorado</a>,” National Agricultural Statistics Service.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p><a href="http://www.delta-co.gov/">City of Delta</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="http://www.deltacountyco.gov/">Delta County</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://townofpaonia.colorado.gov/">Town of Paonia</a></p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 04 Mar 2016 17:21:32 +0000 yongli 1179 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org