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121:; however, the man had recently decamped to Australia unbeknownst to Mears and his relatives. Mears arrived and found himself homeless, but he had befriended the owner of a local rooming house during the journey by ship from Panama, and she and her husband took him in. Mears continued trying to find his uncle, only to learn months later that the man had left the country before his arrival.
117:. He was orphaned when he was less than four years old and was sent to live with an uncle, who soon sent him to live with another uncle in England, although Mears spoke no English. A year later, he was sent to live with a relative in New York City. Mears lived there until he was fifteen, when he was sent to live with an uncle in
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From 1888 to 1892, Mears issued special railroad passes to dignitaries and friends to allow them to ride free on any of his lines. 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
168:, where he first worked at the Elsberg & Amberg mercantile store as a clerk; impressed with the young man's work ethic, the owners of rival retailer Staab Brothers hired him as a manager.
296:, 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.
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219:, former Territorial Governor of Colorado, on Poncha Pass while struggling to bring his flour to market over the poorly built road. He applied to the Colorado legislature for
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Mears moved to the East Coast and became involved in railroad and manufacturing ventures there. One of his most successful railroads on the east coast was the
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for the
Silverton Railroad and the Rio Grande Southern Railroad is on line at San Juan County Historical Society.org under "Mears Passes".
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Later Mears worked the gold fields of
California before settling in Colorado, where he would make his name. He initially settled in
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in the late 19th century. He built hundreds of miles of toll roads in the rough terrain of the young state of
Colorado, notably the
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charters for his roads and built the roads in conformations and at grades suitable for railways. His routes over Poncha Pass and
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Mears was known as the "Pathfinder of the San Juans" because of his road and railroad building projects through
Colorado's
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market. Mears told a story many times in his life that his decision to become a road builder followed an encounter with
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In 1876, the state legislature selected Mears as one of
Colorado's three presidential electors supporting Republican
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196:, requiring his people to move away from the "Red Mountains" and resettle in a reservation in another part of the
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reduced the value of his investments. He had to sell much property and lost control of his railroad holdings.
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railroad builder and entrepreneur who played a major role in the early development of southwestern
Colorado.
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48:
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Williamson, Ruby G. "Otto Mears
Pathfinder of the San Juan: His Family and Friends" (Gunnison, 1981).
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729:, Assc. Ed.; State Historical and Natural History Society of Colorado. Denver, CO: Linderman Co.
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Hunt, Inez; Draper, Wanetta W. (1960). "Otto Mears, Little Man with the Giant Stride".
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where, among other things, he served as interpreter, negotiator, and friend of the
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598:"Colorado State Archives: Colorado State Capitol Virtual Tour: The Gold Dome"
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building was originally covered in copper. After the weather tarnished the
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Scenic
Driving Colorado: Exploring the State's Most Spectacular Back Roads
354:"Colorado State Archives: Colorado State Capitol Virtual Tour: Otto Mears"
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777:. Vol. IV. Chicago, IL: The S. J. Clarke publishing company.
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Mears built several railroads during his 91 years, including the
128:, and Mears found work milking cows and serving as a clerk and a
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132:. In 1859, Mears left the city to seek gold himself, working in
266:. In the 1880s, Mears was elected to the Colorado legislature.
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16:
Colorado pioneer, road builder and entrepreneur (1840 – 1931)
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A wheat farmer in
Saguache, Mears first built a road over
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Waldrep, Luann (16 April 2008). "Otto Mears, 1840-1931".
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Emigrants from the
Russian Empire to the United States
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51:, issued 1. July 1890, signed by President Otto Mears
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in the San Juan Mountains is named after him, as is
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757:. Vol. IV. Chicago, IL: Blakely Printing Co.
124:The San Francisco economy was booming due to the
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641:National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
312:National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
784:The Remarkable Railroad Passes of Otto Mears
160:. After mustering out in August 1864 in the
59:1892 pass to use the Mears system toll roads
501:Colorado Experience: Million Dollar Highway
404:Colorado Experience: Million Dollar Highway
786:. Silverton, CO: San Juan County Book Co.
761:
563:
471:"Otto Mears "Pathfinder of the San Juans""
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66:(May 3, 1840 – June 24, 1931) was a
878:American people of Russian-Jewish descent
873:American people of English-Jewish descent
180:in Colorado Territory, but soon moved to
738:. Boulder, Colorado: Pruett Press, Inc.
697:United States Department of the Interior
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31:Toll road owned by Otto Mears between
863:People from Saguache County, Colorado
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518:Elise Thatcher (September 18, 2012).
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299:Otto Mears died on June 24, 1931, in
101:Mears was born on May 3, 1840, to an
813:Colorado State Archives - Otto Mears
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508:, November 2022, minutes 25:07–26:42
411:, November 2022, minutes 33:30–35:27
227:were purchased for road beds by the
207:to gain access to the flour mill at
688:Geographic Names Information System
113:, Latvia, then a possession of the
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306:In 1964, he was inducted into the
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723:History of Colorado: Biographical
579:. Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum
520:"The Pathfinder of the San Juans"
156:uprising under the leadership of
774:History of Colorado, Illustrated
755:History of the State of Colorado
473:. Ghostdepot.com. Archived from
254:. Several of his railroads were
146:1st California Infantry Regiment
818:Silverton Magazine - Otto Mears
693:United States Geological Survey
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324:in the Sangre de Cristo Range.
734:Ferrell, Mallory Hope (1973).
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164:in New Mexico, Mears moved to
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883:San Juan Mountains (Colorado)
764:To Colorado's Restless Ghosts
721:Baker, James H., ed. (1927).
327:
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843:American railroad executives
771:Stone, Wilbur Fiske (1919).
236:Rio Grande Southern Railroad
49:Rio Grande Southern Railroad
7:
782:Strong, William K. (1988).
252:Silverton Northern Railroad
144:. Mears then served in the
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838:20th-century American Jews
833:19th-century American Jews
637:"Hall of Great Westerners"
766:. Denver, CO: Sage Books.
171:
808:Durango RV Park web site
564:Hunt & Draper (1960)
526:. Colorado Public Radio.
308:Hall of Great Westerners
275:Chesapeake Beach Railway
134:Placerville, California
664:, 2019, Globe Pequot,
290:Colorado State Capitol
79:Million Dollar Highway
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52:
40:
24:
229:Denver and Rio Grande
142:Virginia City, Nevada
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858:Colorado Mining Boom
753:Hall, Frank (1895).
301:Pasadena, California
277:, which ran between
126:California Gold Rush
566:, pp. 306–307.
343:, pp. 640–641.
264:Rutherford B. Hayes
211:, which served the
37:Silverton, Colorado
888:Jews from Colorado
660:Stewart M. Green,
496:Rocky Mountain PBS
399:Rocky Mountain PBS
248:Silverton Railroad
198:Colorado Territory
182:Saguache, Colorado
150:American Civil War
75:San Juan Mountains
61:
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23:Otto Mears in 1902
477:on August 5, 2011
268:The panic of 1893
83:Red Mountain Pass
47:Gold Bond of the
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115:Russian Empire
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700:. Retrieved
686:
683:"Mount Otto"
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646:November 22,
644:. Retrieved
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602:. Retrieved
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581:. Retrieved
577:"Otto Mears"
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479:. Retrieved
475:the original
455:Ferrell 1973
450:
445:, p. 5.
443:Ferrell 1973
424:Stone (1919)
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389:, p. 2.
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358:. Retrieved
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341:Stone (1919)
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109:mother from
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853:1931 deaths
848:1840 births
715:Works cited
672:, page 254.
622:Denver Post
549:Hall (1895)
205:Poncha Pass
194:Chief Ouray
190:Ute Indians
148:during the
827:Categories
583:2023-06-02
481:August 11,
328:References
322:Mount Otto
318:Mears Peak
250:, and the
158:Kit Carson
136:, and the
97:Early life
64:Otto Mears
702:April 18,
231:railway.
221:toll road
213:Leadville
186:San Juans
87:Silverton
604:18 April
360:18 April
283:Maryland
166:Santa Fe
130:teamster
111:Courland
68:Colorado
39:, 1880s
506:YouTube
409:YouTube
310:of the
244:Ridgway
240:Durango
209:Nathrop
790:
742:
668:
246:, the
172:Career
154:Navajo
238:from
91:Ouray
81:over
33:Ouray
788:ISBN
740:ISBN
704:2023
666:ISBN
648:2019
606:2008
483:2011
362:2008
35:and
504:on
407:on
242:to
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140:in
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89:to
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
