Chaffee County Courthouse built by Ray Lines Post 64 American Legion Architect De Morduant Approximate cost $120,000 Completed 1932 — — Map (db m293500) HM
[Roll of Honored Dead]
Frank J. Coscarelli • Jack Rundell • Joe A. Barnhill
Frank Holman • Roy J. Barnhill • John T. Fowler
Raymond Thorpe • John N. Maestas • Cyril J. Coster
Theodore D. Benjovsky • Laverne F. Knipp • Philip F. Scholl . . . — — Map (db m158549) WM
Frustrated in their attempt to climb Pike’s Peak on November 27, 1806, Zebulon Pike and his party of 15 trudged on through South Park looking for the Red River, southern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase. After crossing Trout Creek Pass, the . . . — — Map (db m127876) HM
A legacy of hard work and dedicated workers When operating, the smelter ran 24 hours a day. Work was physically demanding and often tedious, but the men were proud of their accomplishments. Many smelter workers and their families lived near . . . — — Map (db m293384) HM
Salida hosts the nation's oldest whitewater paddling festival the third weekend of every June. This four-day festival blends a world-class whitewater competition with raft racing and light-hearted events. FIBArk began in 1949 as a bet between two . . . — — Map (db m293297) HM
Following ancient paths The history of Chaffee County as part of the United States began in 1803, with the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France. But human history was established here centuries earlier. Many of the hiking trails . . . — — Map (db m116085) HM
Salida sprouted within weeks of the arrival of the railroad. Homes and businesses couldn't be built fast enough, and many families spent time camped along the Arkansas River. In its first edition The Mountain Mail newspaper reported that . . . — — Map (db m293397) HM
Life changed rapidly in the Upper Arkansas River Valley with the arrival of European explorers and the United States settlers. Spanish presence in the area and their interaction with local Utes was recorded as early as 1626, but official . . . — — Map (db m293431) HM
Up, up, up the Pass! This popular walking and bike path follows a portion of the Monarch Spur, the railroad branch that crossed the Arkansas at the Salida railyards and stretched west to the mining camp of Maysville and up to the quarry below . . . — — Map (db m293396) HM
With the acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the United States had extensive new lands to explore. In search of a new border While Lewis and Clark engaged in their famous “Voyage of Discovery” along the Missouri River (1803-1806), . . . — — Map (db m293486) HM
Before the 1860s the Upper Arkansas Valley was crisscrossed by native peoples moving from summer to winter camps and by European and American explorers. The discovery of gold and other minerals in the Colorado Territory brought rapid change. . . . — — Map (db m293398) HM
As early as 1880, when gold, silver, copper, and iron mines began producing ore in Chaffee County, a local smelter was needed. Several small concentrating plants and smelters were built close to ore sources, but most were inadequate. The arrival . . . — — Map (db m293381) HM
Electricity was introduced in Salida in 1887 when a group of local townsfolk created The Electric Illuminating Company. In 1892 the then-named Salida Light and Power Company built a 1000-kilowatt steam generating plant at this location on the banks . . . — — Map (db m52403) HM
Smokestack Construction Facts: Construction started: June 21, 1917 Construction completed: Nov 14, 1917 Last used: March 1920 Material: 264 standard gauge carloads of pressed, glazed brick and mortar. Chimney: Octagonal . . . — — Map (db m293380) HM
Salida Equal Suffrage League
formed by Carrie Chapman
Catt here at former Baptist
church in support of 1893
women's suffrage referendum. — — Map (db m250652) HM
The Arkansas River in the time of the Ute Indians fluctuated dramatically. In spring, snowmelt swelled the river, causing flooding and bank erosion. By mid-summer, the river shrank to a shallow stream. In the 1850s, silver and gold miners began . . . — — Map (db m293298) HM
