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1897 Map of Elmoro

Name: 1897 Topographic Map of Elmoro
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1939
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1939

About this map

Trinidad serves as the focal point of this late 19th-century landscape, where the southern Colorado plains meet the dramatic rise of the Maxwell Grant. The map reveals a sophisticated late-1800s transportation corridor, as the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe R. R. and the Denver and Rio Grande R. R. converge near Elmoro to follow the valley of the Purgatoire River. This river system, along with the Apishapa River to the north, dictated the placement of early settlements and agricultural outposts like Hoehne and Downing.

Genealogists will find interest in the distinct plazas and small mining or railroad communities, such as Brazil Trinchera Plaza and Gray Creek, which were established before more modern infrastructure smoothed the terrain. The presence of Fishers Peak and San Francisco Pass highlights the topographical barriers that early residents and the Colorado and Southern R. R. navigated while transiting toward New Mexico.