Historical Markers and War Memorials in Montrose County, Colorado
Montrose is the county seat for Montrose County
Adjacent to Montrose County, Colorado
Delta County(19) ► Gunnison County(33) ► Mesa County(26) ► Ouray County(18) ► San Miguel County(1) ► Grand County, Utah(27) ► San Juan County, Utah(47) ►
Touch name on this list to highlight map location. Touch blue arrow, or on map, to go there.
Over a billion years ago, molten rock was squeezed into fissures forming the light-colored bands which thread Black Canyon's otherwise dark walls. You are standing on one of these bands. As the hot fluid slowly cooled and hardened, minerals formed . . . — — Map (db m158993) HM
At 2300 feet, Painted Wall is the highest cliff in Colorado. If the Empire State Building stood on the canyon floor, it would reach slightly more than halfway to the top of the cliff.
The patterns that inspired the name Painted Wall were created . . . — — Map (db m159001) HM
On Morrow Point Dam Road, 1 mile north of U.S. 50, on the left when traveling north.
Promoters called this the "Scenic Line of the World" to entice travelers to see western Colorado by rail. The Denver & Rio Grande guidebook Around the Circle invited readers to join the trip: "Unlike many of the Colorado canyons, . . . — — Map (db m158937) HM
On Morrow Point Dam Road, 0.1 miles north of U.S. 50, on the right when traveling north.
The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad opened up vast new markets to sheep and cattle ranchers. Cimarron grew to become one of the busiest loading stops in Colorado.
Breeding stock wintered in valleys to the west. Trains or spring drives brought cattle . . . — — Map (db m158946) HM
Near Morrow Point Dam Road, 0.1 miles U.S. 50, on the right when traveling north.
The Gunnison River carved Black Canyon through a 50-mile block of rock called the Gunnison Uplift. Look up to the slopes above to see the edge of the uplift. The Cimarron River cut through its walls and into the canyon creating a geographic . . . — — Map (db m158945) HM
On Morrow Point Dam Road, 0.1 miles north of U.S. 50, on the right when traveling north.
When you build a new railroad, what possible difference can 20½ inches between rails make? In the 1880s, the decisions to use a narrow gauge here in the mountains opened up trade across Colorado.
In 1863 Congress set the standard guage for . . . — — Map (db m158942) HM
On Morrow Point Dam Road, 0.1 miles north of U.S. 50, on the right when traveling north.
Like a snarling dragon, the river kept an endless attack on the rail bed in the canyon. Slumping soils on the hills near Cerro Summit pushed tracks toward nearby creeks. Keeping the tracks east and west from Cimarron in good working shape was a . . . — — Map (db m158986) HM
Fir logs, up to 30 feet in length, formed the base for the diversion dam. Although built in the winter when the river was sluggish, pumps were needed to divert the flow around the construction site. The dam is used to fill the tunnel when the water . . . — — Map (db m120247) HM
Near Chipeta Road north of U.S. 550, on the right when traveling north.
The Spanish empire's influence on the American southwest began long before the 1776 journey of Dominguez and Escalante. Indeed, Spanish conquistadors, in search of gold and silver, explored the region as early as 1540. Santa Fe, the capital of New . . . — — Map (db m120221) HM
Near Rim Drive Road, on the right when traveling west.
Standing here, it is difficult to imagine anyone trying to cross the canyon or navigate its waters. Like hikers today, the Utes and early explorers faced rigorous hardships.
In 1900, William Torrence led a crew to explore the possibility of . . . — — Map (db m120242) HM
On North Rio Grande Avenue north of West Main Street, on the left when traveling north.
Bull Whackers and Mule Skinners
Discovery of gold and silver in the 1870s in the San Juan Mountains south of Montrose created a demand for freighting services to haul equipment and supplies into the mines and carry out ore bound for . . . — — Map (db m120127) HM
Early Irrigation in the Uncompahgre Valley
In the late 1800s, local irrigation companies constructed canals and ditches to divert water from the Uncompahgre River for farming and City use. Water was scarce and there was not enough for City . . . — — Map (db m158987) HM
On North Rio Grande Avenue north of West Main Street, on the left when traveling north.
This plaque commemorates the establishment of
the City of Montrose. First called Pomona, the
original 320 acre townsite was laid out in January
1882 by O.D. Loutsenhizer and Joseph Selig. They
were assisted by A. Pumphrey, John Baird, . . . — — Map (db m120006) HM
On Chipeta Road north of U.S. 550, on the right when traveling north.
As Father Escalante so appropriately recorded in his diary, the
Dominguez Escalante expedition was made “in behalf of the Light."
Dominguez and Escalante were Franciscan priests, and their religion
strongly influenced the course of their . . . — — Map (db m120222) HM
On Townsend Avenue (U.S. 550) at 1st Street, on the left when traveling south on Townsend Avenue.
Instrument of Surrender
[not transcribed]
The End of the Second World War
After 1364 days, 5 hours and 14 minutes, World War II, Pacific, ended officially at 0904 September 2, 1945 with the signing of this Instrument of Surrender on . . . — — Map (db m159102) HM
Surveyors took daily measurements to ensure that drillers, powdermen, muckers, and haulers stayed on course inching their way toward the valley. Crews at the other end plowed toward the canyon. Using points across the river, as well as in the . . . — — Map (db m120245) HM
On Townsend Avenue (U.S. 550) at 1st Street, on the left when traveling south on Townsend Avenue.
Erected through the cooperation of
federal · state · and local governments
by Works Progress Administration
Dedicated to the enrichment of human lives
A record of permanent achievement — — Map (db m159106) HM
Near Chipeta Road north of U.S. 550, on the right when traveling north.
On July 29, 1776, two Franciscan priests, Fray Francisco Atanasio Dominguez
and Fray Silvestre Velez de Escalante, led their eight companions out through
the gates of Santa Fe and into the heart of the American southwest. Their
five-month . . . — — Map (db m120225) HM
On East Main Street, on the right when traveling north.
Within a few years, one generation passes and another comes on the scene. If those who follow are to have any notion of what it was that went before, it must fall to those who possess a tie to the past to preserve what may be known. In that . . . — — Map (db m120137) HM
On East Main Street, on the right when traveling north.
Within a few years, one generation passes and another comes on the scene. If those who follow are to have any notion of what it was that went before, it must fall to those who possess a tie to the past to preserve what may be known. In that . . . — — Map (db m120138) HM
On East Main Street, on the right when traveling north.
Within a few years, one generation passes and another comes on the scene. If those who follow are to have any notion of what it was that went before, it must fall to those who possess a tie to the past to preserve what may be known. In that . . . — — Map (db m120139) HM
On East Main Street, on the left when traveling north.
Within a few years, one generation passes and another comes on the scene. If those who follow are to have any notion of what it was that went before, it must fall to those who possess a tie to the past to preserve what may be known. In that . . . — — Map (db m120141) HM
On East Main Street, on the left when traveling north.
Within a few years, one generation passes and another comes on the scene. If those who follow are to have any notion of what it was that went before, it must fall to those who possess a tie to the past to preserve what may be known. In that . . . — — Map (db m120142) HM
On North Rio Grande Avenue, on the left when traveling north.
Within a few years, one generation passes and another comes on the scene. If those who follow are to have any notion of what it was that went before, it must fall to those who possess a tie to the past to preserve what may be known. In that . . . — — Map (db m120144) HM
On West Main Street, on the left when traveling north.
Within a few years, one generation passes and another comes on the scene. If those who follow are to have any notion of what it was that went before, it must fall to those who possess a tie to the past to preserve what may be known. In that . . . — — Map (db m120146) HM
On South First Street at South Uncompahgre Avenue, on the left when traveling north on South First Street.
Within a few years, one generation passes and another comes on the scene. If those who follow are to have any notion of what it was that went before, it must fall to those who possess a tie to the past to preserve what may be known. In that . . . — — Map (db m120147) HM
Near Chipeta Road north of U.S. 550, on the right when traveling north.
It took bold men to ride into a bold land—a land of raging rivers,
burning deserts, towering mountains, and rugged canyons.
The land of the Southwest through which Dominguez and
Escalante travelled in 1776 was awesome in beauty and . . . — — Map (db m120226) HM
Near Chipeta Road north of U.S. 550, on the right when traveling north.
The Dominguez-Escalante Expedition
Just south of here on August 27, 1776, the Spanish explorers Dominguez and Escalante met a Ute Indian whom they called El Surdo (The Deaf One). They were seeking a route west, the two Spaniards . . . — — Map (db m120219) HM
On West Main Street at Townsend Avenue, on the right when traveling north on West Main Street.
The Tunnel That Made the Desert Bloom
Early settlers in the Uncompahgre Valley found getting water to the fertile but arid soil an ongoing challenge. Originally, irrigation water from the Uncompahgre River was diverted onto the land through . . . — — Map (db m120134) HM
On U.S. 550, 0.1 miles south of Chipeta Road, on the right when traveling north.
From this tree one George Bikford was lynched for alleged robbery and horse stealin' in Montrose County.
Bikford at one time rode with the Daltons and was said to have participated in the Coffeville, Kansas Raid.
Footnote:
The following . . . — — Map (db m186922) HM
On Chipeta Road at U.S. 550, on the right when traveling north on Chipeta Road.
They called themselves "Nuche," meaning "the people." The Ute Indian people lived in a land of diversity - from dry desert-scrub to verdant river valleys, from dense forests to high mountain meadows. To survive, they had to know where to find plants . . . — — Map (db m186957) HM
On Chipeta Road north of U.S. 550, on the left when traveling north.
The Utes
An Abundant Earth
The bountiful food resources of the Uncompahgre Valley normally allowed the Tabeguache Utes a life free from hunger. Elk and deer ranged through the valley in profusion, as did antelope, mountain sheep, beaver, . . . — — Map (db m120289) HM
Near South 1st Street near South Uncompahgre Avenue.
For hundreds of years, American Indians were virtually the sole inhabitants of western Colorado. Isolated by the towering mountain peaks and rugged canyons and plateaus, members of the Ute Indian tribe lived relatively undisturbed here until their . . . — — Map (db m120148) HM
On Townsend Avenue (U.S. 550) at 1st Street, on the left when traveling south on Townsend Avenue.
We dedicate this memorial to all
veterans, men and women, who
served in any branch of the Armed
Services of the United States of
America in the past - the present -
and in the future - to preserve
the right for us to be free . . . — — Map (db m159094) WM
On East Main Street at Cascade Avenue, on the left when traveling east on East Main Street.
The town of Montrose was originally known as Pomona, but early settler and town father, Joseph Selig, suggested the name Montrose after a favorite character in Sir William Scott's popular novel, The Legend of Montrose.
Uncompahgre . . . — — Map (db m120135) HM
