Lake City's First Post Office

Lake City's First Post Office. . , This sign commemorates the location of Lake City's first Post Office in July of 1875. The Barlow and Sanderson Stage and Express Office (1877-1886) was sold to the Colorado and Wyoming Stage, Mail and Express Company in 1884. , The present-day route of the Silver Thread Scenic and Historic Byway follows in large degree two old toll roads , the Del Norte and Antelope Park and the Antelope Park and Lake City. These toll roads were instrumental in bringing settlers into the Lake Fork and Animas valleys in the late 1870s. , Businessmen from Del Norte were responsible for constructing the Del Norte and Antelope Park section which was built in 1873 and 1874, a 55-mile toll road from Del Norte up the Rio Grande to Antelope Springs. The old road continued up and over Stony Pass, eventually dropping down Cunningham Gulch to Howardsville and on to Silverton in Baker's Park. , In order to finance the projected $5,000 cost of the Antelope Park and Lake City section, a company was formed in Del Norte in 1875. Capital stock was sold at $100 per share. Henry Finley, then-president of the Lake City Town Company, offered to construct a portion of the toll road from Lake City to the summit of Slumgullion Pass if the Del Norte contingent would fund construction of the road from Antelope Springs to the pass summit. , Both toll roads proved lucrative investments for the road builders in the mid and late 1870s as prospectors rushed into the new mining areas being opened up around Silverton and Lake City. A large amount of ore was hauled over these routes to Del Norte prior to the arrival of the railroads. , Barlow and Sanderson received the government mail contract to Lake City and initiated regular coach service to Lake City on the Del Norte road beginning in 1876. The company's Concord stages had a capacity of 13 passengers and were pulled by teams of six horses. For ease in resting and changing the stage's teams, stage stops were conveniently located every eleven or twelve miles along the route. In addition to corrals filled with replacement horses, the stops offered food and refreshment and rudimentary overnight accommodations. , Stage stops along the route to Lake City started at “Bunker Hill” on the Shaw Ranch near South Fork and continued with stops at Riverside, Rio Grande (Wagon Wheel Gap), and Antelope Springs. Crossing the range, the stages stopped at Clear Creek (also called Belford) and Powderhorn Station on the upper Cebolla before dropping into the Lake Fork Valley near Lake City. , First class passengers were charged $42 for a one-way trip from Denver to Lake City. From Del Norte to Lake City, a stagecoach trip cost $16.50, which did not include the overnight accommodations or the 75-cent meal. , Slumgullion Pass remained the most difficult part of the trip due to the necessarily steep descent into the Lake Fork Valley. In 1885, George Crofutt, writing his popular tourist book entitled GRIPSACK GUIDE, referred to Slumgullion Pass as a “villainous mountain road.” A nine-mile section of the road near the pass summit was surfaced with logs called “corduroy” ranging from six to twelve inches in diameter. Before the road was corduroyed Crofutt explained, freighters complained of the bad road and high toll, and were wont to cuss the owner of the road at every opportunity. Finally being compelled by the complaints to put the road in passable condition, the owner declared he'd give the freighters something to cuss about. , The glory days of stage travel on the Del Norte and Antelope Park and Antelope Park and Lake City toll roads occurred in the mid to late 1870s and early 1880s. Use of the early thoroughfares was drastically reduced as railroads began to make inroads into the San Juan Mountains during the beginning in the early 1880s. , Rules of the Road , Helpful Hints for Stage Coach Passengers

. The best seat inside a stage coach is the one next to the driver. , . Neither ride in cold weather with tight boots or shoes, nor close-fitting gloves. , . Bathe your feet in cold water before starting and wear loose overshoes and gloves two or three sizes too large. , . When the driver asks you to get off and walk, do it without grumbling. , . If a team runs away, sit still and take your chances. If you jump, nine times out of ten you will be hurt. , . In cold weather abstain entirely from liquor while on the road; a man will freeze twice as quick while under its influence. , . Don't keep the stage waiting. , . Don't smoke a strong pipe inside. , . Spit on the leeward side of the coach. , . Be sure and take two heavy blankets with you, you will need them. , . Don't swear, nor lop over on your neighbor while sleeping. , . Don't ask how far it is to the next station until you get there. , . Take small change to pay expenses. , . Never attempt to fire a gun or pistol while on the road; it may frighten the team and the careless handling and cocking of the weapon makes nervous people nervous. , . Don't discuss politics or religion, nor point out places on the road where horrible murders have been committed, if delicate women are among the passengers. , . Don't imagine for a moment you are going on a picnic; expect annoyance, discomfort and some hardships. If you are disappointed, thank heaven., , Excerpt, Omaha Herald, 1877

Research and text provided by Grant E. Houston. Graphics courtesy of Hinsdale County Museum.