Otto Mears (May 3, 1840 – June 24, 1931) was a famous Colorado railroad builder and entrepreneur who played a major role in the early development of southwestern Colorado.[1][2]
Mears was known as the "Pathfinder of the San Juans" because of his road and railroad building projects through Colorado's San Juan Mountains in the late 19th century.[3] He built hundreds of miles of toll roads in the rough terrain of the young state of Colorado,[4] notably the Million Dollar Highway over Red Mountain Pass, connecting Silverton to Ouray.[5]
Born in Estonia formerly part of Russia of Jewish parentage to a Russian mother and a British father, Otto Mears was orphaned at age 3. He was sent as a boy to the United States to live with relatives who had emigrated there, and sailed to San Francisco at age 11 where he lived on his own as an orphan without relatives.[citation needed]
Mears served in the California Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. He was mustered out in late 1864 and stayed in New Mexico managing the Gallup Mercantile Co.
Career
Later Mears worked the gold fields of California before settling in Colorado, where he would make his name. He initially settled in Conejos County in Colorado Territory, but soon moved to Saguache, Colorado, then to the San Juans where, among other things, he served as interpreter, negotiator, and friend of the Ute Indians.[6] In 1873, Mears was one of the negotiators that helped secure a deal with Chief Ouray, requiring his people to move away from the "Red Mountains" and resettle in a reservation in another part of the Colorado Territory.[7]
A wheat farmer in Saguache, Mears first built a road over Poncha Pass to gain access to the flour mill at Nathrop, which served the Leadville market. Mears told a story many times in his life that his decision to become a road builder followed an encounter with William Gilpin, former Territorial Governor of Colorado, on Poncha Pass while struggling to bring his flour to market over the poorly built road.[8] He applied to the Colorado legislature for toll road charters for his roads and built the roads in conformations and at grades suitable for railways. His routes over Poncha Pass and Marshall Pass were purchased for road beds by the Denver and Rio Grande railway.[6]
Mears built several railroads during his 91 years, including the Rio Grande Southern Railroad from Durango to Ridgway, the Silverton Railroad, and the Silverton Northern Railroad. Several of his railroads were narrow gauge. From 1888 to 1892, Mears issued special railroad passes to dignitaries and friends to allow them to ride free on any of his lines.[9] Some of these rare passes were made of silver or gold and are now highly prized collectors' items. A Master List of all of the presently known Otto Mears unique passes for the Silverton Railroad and the Rio Grande Southern Railroad is on line at San Juan County Historical Society.org under "Mears Passes".
In 1876, the state legislature selected Mears as one of Colorado's three presidential electors supporting Republican Rutherford B. Hayes.[10] In the 1880s, Mears was elected to the Colorado legislature. The panic of 1893 reduced the value of his investments. He had to sell much property and lost control of his railroad holdings.[11]
Mears moved to the East Coast and became involved in railroad and manufacturing ventures there.[11] One of his most successful railroads on the east coast was the Chesapeake Beach Railway, which ran between Washington DC and southern Maryland.
The dome of the Colorado State Capitol building was originally covered in copper. After the weather tarnished the copper sheathing, Mears suggested covering the dome with gold. He persuaded the Colorado Mining Association to donate 200 ounces of gold for the project, and by 1908, the dome's first gilding was complete.[12][13]
^"Colorado State Archives: Colorado State Capitol Virtual Tour: The Gold Dome". 19 May 2005. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
^Waldrep, Luann (16 April 2008). "Otto Mears, 1840-1931". Denver Post. p. 12D.
^"Hall of Great Westerners". National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
^Stewart M. Green, Scenic Driving Colorado: Exploring the State's Most Spectacular Back Roads, 2019, Globe Pequot, ISBN9781493035991, page 254.
Works Cited
Baker, James H., ed. (1927). History of Colorado: Biographical. Vol. V. LeRoy R. Hafen, Assc. Ed.; State Historical and Natural History Society of Colorado. Denver, CO: Linderman Co.
Hall, Frank (1895). History of the State of Colorado. Vol. IV. Chicago, IL: Blakely Printing Co.
Hunt, Inez; Draper, Wanetta W. (1960). "Otto Mears, Little Man with the Giant Stride". To Colorado's Restless Ghosts. Denver, CO: Sage Books.
Stone, Wilbur Fiske (1919). History of Colorado, Illustrated. Vol. IV. Chicago, IL: The S. J. Clarke publishing company.
Strong, William K. (1988). The Remarkable Railroad Passes of Otto Mears. Silverton, CO: San Juan County Book Co. ISBN0-9608000-6-9.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Otto Mears.
Durango RV Park web site
Colorado State Archives - Otto Mears
Silverton Magazine - Otto Mears
February 26, 2023
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Otto Mears May 3 1840 June 24 1931 was a famous Colorado railroad builder and entrepreneur who played a major role in the early development of southwestern Colorado 1 2 Otto Mears in 1902 Toll road owned by Otto Mears between Ouray and Silverton Colorado 1880s 1892 pass to use the Mears system toll roads Mears was known as the Pathfinder of the San Juans because of his road and railroad building projects through Colorado s San Juan Mountains in the late 19th century 3 He built hundreds of miles of toll roads in the rough terrain of the young state of Colorado 4 notably the Million Dollar Highway over Red Mountain Pass connecting Silverton to Ouray 5 Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 References 4 Works Cited 5 External linksEarly life and education EditBorn in Estonia formerly part of Russia of Jewish parentage to a Russian mother and a British father Otto Mears was orphaned at age 3 He was sent as a boy to the United States to live with relatives who had emigrated there and sailed to San Francisco at age 11 where he lived on his own as an orphan without relatives citation needed Mears served in the California Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War He was mustered out in late 1864 and stayed in New Mexico managing the Gallup Mercantile Co Career EditLater Mears worked the gold fields of California before settling in Colorado where he would make his name He initially settled in Conejos County in Colorado Territory but soon moved to Saguache Colorado then to the San Juans where among other things he served as interpreter negotiator and friend of the Ute Indians 6 In 1873 Mears was one of the negotiators that helped secure a deal with Chief Ouray requiring his people to move away from the Red Mountains and resettle in a reservation in another part of the Colorado Territory 7 A wheat farmer in Saguache Mears first built a road over Poncha Pass to gain access to the flour mill at Nathrop which served the Leadville market Mears told a story many times in his life that his decision to become a road builder followed an encounter with William Gilpin former Territorial Governor of Colorado on Poncha Pass while struggling to bring his flour to market over the poorly built road 8 He applied to the Colorado legislature for toll road charters for his roads and built the roads in conformations and at grades suitable for railways His routes over Poncha Pass and Marshall Pass were purchased for road beds by the Denver and Rio Grande railway 6 Mears built several railroads during his 91 years including the Rio Grande Southern Railroad from Durango to Ridgway the Silverton Railroad and the Silverton Northern Railroad Several of his railroads were narrow gauge From 1888 to 1892 Mears issued special railroad passes to dignitaries and friends to allow them to ride free on any of his lines 9 Some of these rare passes were made of silver or gold and are now highly prized collectors items A Master List of all of the presently known Otto Mears unique passes for the Silverton Railroad and the Rio Grande Southern Railroad is on line at San Juan County Historical Society org under Mears Passes In 1876 the state legislature selected Mears as one of Colorado s three presidential electors supporting Republican Rutherford B Hayes 10 In the 1880s Mears was elected to the Colorado legislature The panic of 1893 reduced the value of his investments He had to sell much property and lost control of his railroad holdings 11 Mears moved to the East Coast and became involved in railroad and manufacturing ventures there 11 One of his most successful railroads on the east coast was the Chesapeake Beach Railway which ran between Washington DC and southern Maryland The dome of the Colorado State Capitol building was originally covered in copper After the weather tarnished the copper sheathing Mears suggested covering the dome with gold He persuaded the Colorado Mining Association to donate 200 ounces of gold for the project and by 1908 the dome s first gilding was complete 12 13 Otto Mears died on June 24 1931 in Pasadena California 4 In 1964 he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy amp Western Heritage Museum 14 Mears Peak in the San Juan Mountains is named after him 15 References Edit Stone 1919 pp 640 641 Colorado State Archives Colorado State Capitol Virtual Tour Otto Mears 20 June 2003 Retrieved 18 April 2008 Williamson Ruby G Otto Mears Pathfinder of the San Juan His Family and Friends Gunnison 1981 a b Strong 1988 p 2 Rocky Mountain PBS Colorado Experience Million Dollar Highway on YouTube November 2022 minutes 33 30 35 27 a b Otto Mears Pathfinder of the San Juans Ghostdepot com Archived from the original on August 5 2011 Retrieved August 11 2011 Rocky Mountain PBS Colorado Experience Million Dollar Highway on YouTube November 2022 minutes 25 07 26 42 Elise Thatcher September 18 2012 The Pathfinder of the San Juans Colorado Matters Colorado Public Radio Strong 1988 Hall 1895 p 510 a b Hunt amp Draper 1960 pp 306 307 Colorado State Archives Colorado State Capitol Virtual Tour The Gold Dome 19 May 2005 Retrieved 18 April 2008 Waldrep Luann 16 April 2008 Otto Mears 1840 1931 Denver Post p 12D Hall of Great Westerners National Cowboy amp Western Heritage Museum Retrieved November 22 2019 Stewart M Green Scenic Driving Colorado Exploring the State s Most Spectacular Back Roads 2019 Globe Pequot ISBN 9781493035991 page 254 Works Cited EditBaker James H ed 1927 History of Colorado Biographical Vol V LeRoy R Hafen Assc Ed State Historical and Natural History Society of Colorado Denver CO Linderman Co Hall Frank 1895 History of the State of Colorado Vol IV Chicago IL Blakely Printing Co Hunt Inez Draper Wanetta W 1960 Otto Mears Little Man with the Giant Stride To Colorado s Restless Ghosts Denver CO Sage Books Stone Wilbur Fiske 1919 History of Colorado Illustrated Vol IV Chicago IL The S J Clarke publishing company Strong William K 1988 The Remarkable Railroad Passes of Otto Mears Silverton CO San Juan County Book Co ISBN 0 9608000 6 9 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Otto Mears Durango RV Park web site Colorado State Archives Otto Mears Silverton Magazine Otto Mears Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Otto Mears amp oldid 1138446574, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
