Ridgway in Ouray County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)
True Grit Landmark #1
Railroad Depot (house across street)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 18, 2025
1. True Grit Landmark #1 Marker
Mattie arrives at the Fort Smith train station to claim her father's body. The movie's depot was a freight storage structure modified from the original Rio Grande Southern depot, which had been moved south 100 yards. The train was a Rio Grande Southern caboose (re-lettered M-K-T for Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad) pulled by a jeep.
Ridgway Sites:
1 — Railroad Depot 2 — Gallows 3 — Livery Stable 4/5 — Undertaker & Chen Lee's Place
6 — Courthouse Facade 7 — True Grit Cafe 8/9 — Saloon & Grocery, Jail Wagon
Ouray Sites:
10 — Ouray County Courthouse 11 — Outlaw Restaurant
Order sites appear in movie: 8, 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 9, 5, 3
Erected by Jenny Cheek, Larry Harley, Weaver Family Foundation, Ouray County Ranch History Museum & Ridgway Chamber of Commerce. (Marker Number 1.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment • Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical year for this entry is 1969.
Location. 38° 9.137′ N, 107° 45.314′ W. Marker is in Ridgway, Colorado, in Ouray County. It can be reached from North Railroad Street just north of Sherman
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in the Western Slope. It is also in the American Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: True Grit Landmark #2 (within shouting distance of this marker); True Grit Jail Wagon (within shouting distance of this marker); Ridgway Depot Outbuilding (within shouting distance of this marker); True Grit Landmark #3 (within shouting distance of this marker); History of Ridgway / Gateway to the San Juans (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); D&RG(W) Caboose 91 (0575) (about 300 feet away); RGS Coach 252 Restoration (about 300 feet away); RGS Motor 1 (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 18, 2025
2. True Grit Landmark #1 Marker
Looking east from Hartwell Park across North Railroad Street. Today the Ouray County Ranch History Museum occupies the former Ridgway Railroad Depot site (in the background).
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. True Grit Filming Landmarks
Also see . . .
1. True Grit (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: True Grit is a 1969 American Western film directed by Henry Hathaway and produced by Hal B. Wallis. Starring John Wayne as U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn, the story follows Marshal Cogburn and Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Glen Campbell) as they are hired by a young girl, Mattie Ross (Kim Darby), to apprehend the outlaw who killed her father.(Submitted on August 27, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Filming took place mainly in Ouray County, Colorado, in the vicinity of Ridgway, around the town of Montrose, and the town of Ouray. (The script maintains the novel's references to place names in Arkansas and Oklahoma, in dramatic contrast to the Colorado topography.)
2. True Grit Filming Locations (Movie-locations.com).
Excerpt: In the movie, “Fort Smith, Arkansas” is the main square of Ridgway, an old railroad town on the Uncompahgre River in the San Juan Mountains. Ridgway was once the northern terminus of the(Submitted on August 27, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)Rio Grande Southern Railroad and was built to serve the nearby mining communities of Telluride and Ouray. In fact, the railroad was one of the factors in choosing the town as a location for the film, but that’s all changed.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 18, 20253. Ouray County Ranch History MuseumFormer site of the Ridgway Railroad Depot. It is located on the east side of North Railroad Street. Hartwell Park, where this historical marker is located, is on the west side of North Railroad Street.
In the Eighties, the Uncompahgre River was dammed to form the Ridgway Reservoir. The rail line had to be abandoned, and the town itself came close to being submerged. The railway station, at which Mattie Ross (Kim Darby) first arrives, has since become redundant and now houses the Ouray County Ranch History Museum.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 26, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 118 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 27, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
