1916 Map of Daton Peak

About this map

The Yampa River valley and the high Williams Fork Mountains dominate this 1916 landscape during a period of active coal mining and early ranching development. The northern edge of the map follows the Denver and Salt Lake railroad line through Hayden, where the Cary Ranch and associated Cary Mines mark the local industrial footprint. To the south, the terrain rises sharply toward Daton Peak and the timbered reaches of the Routt National Forest. Isolated community life is visible in the network of rural schoolhouses and small outposts, such as the Pagoda School, Dunstan School, and the Willow Creek Store. These small landmarks, along with family-named operations like Jim Gunns Mine and Kelly Lodge, illustrate the dispersed settlement pattern typical of the Yampa Valley's mountainous interior before modern infrastructure arrived.