WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.760 --> 00:00:06.360 This is an excerpt from the Chronicle in Trinidad from August twenty sixth, nineteen 2 00:00:06.440 --> 00:00:11.519 fourteen. All Trinidad will extend tribute to the pioneers and spend the day at 3 00:00:11.519 --> 00:00:16.399 the park. The people of Los Animus County cannot forget what is owed to 4 00:00:16.440 --> 00:00:21.039 the hardy men and noble women who settled here years and years ago and put 5 00:00:21.079 --> 00:00:25.120 their shoulders together to build up a city which is now one of the most 6 00:00:25.280 --> 00:00:29.839 modern in Colorado. Many of the old settlers who will be present tomorrow came 7 00:00:30.039 --> 00:00:33.520 over the old Santa Fe Trail and their youth, and have been here through 8 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:38.280 every stage of the development of the county. They've seen the present beautiful city 9 00:00:38.359 --> 00:00:43.479 succeed the cluster of adobes that once was Trinidad. They've seen the prairie stretches 10 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:48.159 become farms, the hills tapped for their wealth of coal. Some of them 11 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:52.759 have seen the first railroad stretch, its ribbons of steel, and the first 12 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:56.960 streetcar. Many of them, in more recent years, saw the laying of 13 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:02.119 the first paving, the building of the first public structure of any size. 14 00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:07.680 What Trinidad is today is largely due to these old pioneers. A number of 15 00:01:07.719 --> 00:01:11.120 the Early Settlers have, in the past twelve months since the last reunion was 16 00:01:11.200 --> 00:01:15.480 held, answered the summons of the Grim Reaper. A few there are who 17 00:01:15.560 --> 00:01:22.439 had a personal acquaintance and association with Kit Carson. A few recall reminiscences of 18 00:01:22.480 --> 00:01:26.439 the Indian encounters and of the days of the old time gambling joint and gunmen. 19 00:01:26.719 --> 00:01:32.079 A great many who are reckoned in the membership of the Early Settlers Association 20 00:01:32.359 --> 00:01:36.079 are not old in years, but are native sons who were born and raised 21 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:40.200 here, or who have resided here twenty five years. They will be the 22 00:01:40.280 --> 00:01:46.280 old settlers of a generation. Hence when only silent little monuments mark the resting 23 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:49.560 places of the pioneers of today. But it will be a big day tomorrow. 24 00:01:51.159 --> 00:01:55.000 It will be worthwhile to go through the park and mingle with the men 25 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:59.239 and women whose lives have been lived in the shadow of Fisher's Peak. It 26 00:01:59.280 --> 00:02:02.799 will be worth while to hear the stories which will soon be lost to history, 27 00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:15.879 unless some energetic scribe preserves that history. If you've ever visited Colorado, 28 00:02:15.360 --> 00:02:20.439 or if you're lucky enough to live here, then you know it's an outdoor 29 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:25.400 enthusiasts playground, hiking, biking, skiing. The list goes on and on. 30 00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:30.960 But there's another side to the centennial state that most people will never see. 31 00:02:32.000 --> 00:02:37.479 It's a side that's a little darker, a little more sinister, and 32 00:02:37.560 --> 00:02:51.000 a little bit strange. Welcome to Strange Colorado. I think it's maybe the 33 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:54.919 most fascinating thing in the world to read old newspaper articles like the one I 34 00:02:55.000 --> 00:03:00.360 read at the opening of this episode. To see an article from nineteen fourteen 35 00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:07.159 where actual original settlers to our state were still alive and holding a reunion in 36 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:13.639 the park so that they could just swap stories and relive the good old gunslinging 37 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:19.759 days is incredible to think about, and also to see the eloquent writer who 38 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:27.120 wrote that article really beautifully putting into words the importance of capturing these stories and 39 00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:32.599 experiencing the tellings of these stories because he knew that one day all that would 40 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:38.840 be left of these people is their graves. And now here we are in 41 00:03:38.879 --> 00:03:43.800 twenty twenty three and realizing that we are now existing in the future he was 42 00:03:43.840 --> 00:03:49.000 talking about. It really brings it home to me how important it is to 43 00:03:49.039 --> 00:03:53.879 tell these stories and to dig into the history of our state, especially the 44 00:03:53.960 --> 00:04:01.199 lesser known histories and all of this was kicked off by me just sort of 45 00:04:01.240 --> 00:04:05.639 looking for spooky locations to cover, because it is that time of the year 46 00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:12.280 after all. And when I was looking, I came across a few places 47 00:04:12.599 --> 00:04:17.240 in Trinidad. And given that that's my husband's old stomping grounds, Go Hony 48 00:04:17.319 --> 00:04:24.120 Farmers, that mascot still cracks me up. I was really excited to find 49 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:28.639 out more about the history of the area, and when I was talking to 50 00:04:28.759 --> 00:04:34.519 my husband about some of these locations, he was really interested in me finding 51 00:04:34.879 --> 00:04:40.879 more on the history of some of the local well known places like Fisher's Peak 52 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:46.759 and Simpson's Rest. So today, instead of covering one spooky location, we're 53 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:53.439 just going to really wrap our arms around the entire city of Trinidad. Some 54 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:56.680 great people have come out of there. I married one, I've got a 55 00:04:56.680 --> 00:05:00.639 friend, Holly, who lives there. I Holly so st picture wise, 56 00:05:00.879 --> 00:05:06.800 because there is so much information on the history of Trinidad and so many examples 57 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:14.399 of spooky spots, it's going to seem like I'm just running down the list 58 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:17.600 of events of history. And if that's not your thing, just know the 59 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:23.319 spooky stuff is going to follow. At the end of our episode, like 60 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:26.279 it always does. If you hang on through the whole thing, though, 61 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:30.759 it'll make sense in the end, I promise. So without further ado, 62 00:05:30.199 --> 00:05:38.839 let's take it way back. The area where Trinidad sits today has been inhabited 63 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:45.279 by people for at least ten thousand years. We love to say pioneers and 64 00:05:45.480 --> 00:05:49.279 settlers and who discovered what, but the reality is, as most of us 65 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:57.120 know, people were here thriving before any Europeans ever showed up and took over 66 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:01.439 everything. And of course Trinidad be being located along a river and nestled in 67 00:06:01.879 --> 00:06:06.720 a fertile valley right along the Santa Fe Trail, which was a route for 68 00:06:06.759 --> 00:06:12.079 indigenous people long before it was a wagon route, is no different. The 69 00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:16.439 banks of the Purgatory River that runs right through the valley that's nestled right between 70 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:21.000 the Spanish Peaks and the Sangre To Cristo Mountains was a favorite spot for setting 71 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:26.800 up encampments for indigenous people for like I said, at least ten thousand years. 72 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:32.519 The location made it ideal with fresh running water and abundant game. As 73 00:06:32.519 --> 00:06:38.199 we've covered in the past, many of the native histories are lost to us 74 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:43.040 today. What we do know is that By the time Spanish settlers arrived to 75 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:47.319 this spot, the tribes that were living there were primarily the Ute, Cheyenne, 76 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:55.079 Arapahokiwa, and Camanche. The very first Europeans in this area came along 77 00:06:55.120 --> 00:07:00.680 with a Spanish soldier slash explorer named Juan day Ulai. In seventeen oh six, 78 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:06.639 Ullabari's party came through the area and made their way north up into Kansas. 79 00:07:08.079 --> 00:07:10.959 On his way through, though, he claimed the area in the name 80 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:15.839 of Spain and noted that the French were already making their presence known on the 81 00:07:15.959 --> 00:07:21.439 Kansas Plains. So basically, during this time period, most of the impact 82 00:07:21.639 --> 00:07:27.839 of European settlement was just them sort of passing through. While it was a 83 00:07:27.879 --> 00:07:31.759 great spot, there wasn't really anything that they wanted to just stake their claim 84 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:36.079 on and stay there with. But they did say that it was theirs because 85 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:40.839 they could, and because the Spanish were the ones to claim what we know 86 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:46.560 now as Trinidad. They did not allow any trade with the French, and 87 00:07:46.680 --> 00:07:50.560 if they caught anyone trading with the French, meaning mostly the indigenous peoples, 88 00:07:50.879 --> 00:07:56.160 they would be arrested and thrown in jail. But as I said, because 89 00:07:56.160 --> 00:08:01.120 the Spanish weren't really just hanging out all the time in this area. The 90 00:08:01.240 --> 00:08:07.279 French got a little squirrely, and two brothers named Pierre Antoine and Paul Malay 91 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:13.040 went ahead and came right through on their own expedition in seventeen thirty nine. 92 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:16.639 Like I said, the Spanish didn't really have a good handle on this area, 93 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:22.759 and even though nobody was supposed to be there who wasn't Spanish or Indigenous, 94 00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:26.560 everybody just kind of did what they wanted. By the early eighteen hundreds, 95 00:08:26.600 --> 00:08:31.679 explorers that we are familiar with like Zebulon Pike and Stephen Long and Jacob 96 00:08:31.720 --> 00:08:37.559 Fowler were basically coming and going as they pleased. We'll fast forward to eighteen 97 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:43.799 twenty one when Mexico wins its independence from Spain and what is now southern Colorado 98 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:48.600 south of the Arkansas River becomes part of Mexico, and at this time trade 99 00:08:48.600 --> 00:08:54.120 between Mexico and the United States was legalized through a treaty. During this time, 100 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:58.639 this trail became known as the Santa Fe Trail, and it saw more 101 00:09:00.039 --> 00:09:07.600 and more traffic as a form of transporting commerce by Mexican and US tradesman. 102 00:09:07.799 --> 00:09:11.879 This trail linked Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is why it's 103 00:09:11.919 --> 00:09:16.919 known as the Santa Fe Trail. The most lucrative thing to be trading was 104 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:22.679 fur so Fur trappers like Davy Crockett, if you can wrap your head around 105 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:26.720 an image of what a fur trapper was, were the ones using this route, 106 00:09:26.919 --> 00:09:33.519 which is why Charles and William Bent erected Ben's Fort in what is now 107 00:09:33.519 --> 00:09:39.840 Otero County, which is about ninety miles northeast of Trinidad, and this fort 108 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:46.279 became the most important site of trade in the Southwest for fur Ben's Fort also 109 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:50.120 has a lot of other history going on, and we'll get to that one 110 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:58.360 day too. The reason this specific area where Trinidad is now located sprang up 111 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:03.879 initially was because it was the ideal place to stop and rest for these large 112 00:10:05.120 --> 00:10:09.320 wagon trains and they needed a spot to just regroup for a few days. 113 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:15.480 This was, as I've said, flat, right along the fresh flowing Purgatory 114 00:10:15.600 --> 00:10:20.360 River. It was shaded by large old cottonwoods, and there was plenty of 115 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:26.399 native prairie grasses for their livestock to munch on. The actual remnants of this 116 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:33.519 physical trail that these wagons used is what is now Trinidad's Commercial and West main 117 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:39.879 streets. In eighteen forty six, we are in the thick of the Mexican 118 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:46.720 American War, and the US Army used this route, which wasn't necessarily easy 119 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:52.840 for wagons, but it was strategic to transport troops and supplies. Colonel Stephen 120 00:10:52.000 --> 00:10:58.159 W. Kearney marched through here to get to and conquer Santa Fe, New 121 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:03.679 Mexico. This was probably one of the largest groups to ever try to traverse 122 00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:09.519 this trail, so it was not easygoing. Kearney had an army of sixteen 123 00:11:09.600 --> 00:11:16.639 hundred soldiers, fifteen hundred supply wagons, fifteen thousand oxen, four thousand mules, 124 00:11:16.679 --> 00:11:22.279 and they also had teamsters, drovers, and even some women in their 125 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:28.879 caravan. If there was a way to go back in time and pick a 126 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:33.960 spot high up on a cliff somewhere and just watch a wagon train like this 127 00:11:35.159 --> 00:11:39.720 as it moves through the plains, oh, that's an ideal Friday night for 128 00:11:39.759 --> 00:11:46.559 me. This massive troop of people camped in what is now Trinidad along the 129 00:11:46.559 --> 00:11:52.879 Purgatory River for a while before they pushed further through the difficult Raton Pass into 130 00:11:52.919 --> 00:11:58.639 Santa Fe. In the latter eighteen sixties, the gold Rush and Colorado was 131 00:11:58.000 --> 00:12:05.600 well underway. And now you're not just seeing fur traders and army troops marching 132 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:11.600 through your seeing prospectors and more and more and more settlers. As we know, 133 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:18.919 this is the time where the landscape of Colorado completely transformed and the indigenous 134 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:24.120 people basically lost any hope that they might have had to just be able to 135 00:12:24.120 --> 00:12:28.000 live their lives in their native lands. When you start talking about fortunes being 136 00:12:28.080 --> 00:12:33.960 won and lost, people kind of stop caring about the well being and the 137 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:37.440 feelings of those who stand in their way. And as we also know, 138 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:45.159 Denver was a primary example of this effect, and it was the center of 139 00:12:45.600 --> 00:12:50.759 sort of everything happening in Colorado surrounding the gold Rush. It was the perfect 140 00:12:50.759 --> 00:12:56.559 strategic location for people who are wanting to head off into the mountains and dig 141 00:12:56.600 --> 00:13:01.919 around in the dirt to find some precious metals. So the next best form 142 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:07.960 of making money off of this situation was to supply this influx of people coming 143 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:13.679 in to dig around in the dirt. As more and more people were setting 144 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:18.440 up shop to sell things to the prospectors in the Denver area, more and 145 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:24.320 more wagon trains and traders were coming up through the Trinidad area along the Santa 146 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:30.159 Fe Trail to support their efforts, and one of these traders was a man 147 00:13:30.360 --> 00:13:35.879 named Felipe Bacca, who traveled through this valley not with fur, not with 148 00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:41.320 gold, not with anything. You might first initially guess. His load that 149 00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:45.320 he was going to sell was a big load of flour. I mean, 150 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:50.240 it makes sense if I'm going to be digging for gold, Carbs are essential. 151 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:56.039 So as Felipe traveled through this valley that is now Trinidad, he was 152 00:13:56.480 --> 00:14:01.639 just blown away by how the valley was situated and how perfect it would be 153 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:07.879 for agricultural purposes. The twenty nine year old entrepreneur set his sights on moving 154 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:13.000 himself and his family to this area and setting up a ranch. A few 155 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:18.360 months after his initial journey through, he and his family, along with a 156 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:24.080 whole lot of sheep, packed up and headed to the Purgatory Valley, where 157 00:14:24.120 --> 00:14:28.600 he staked his claim on a piece of land that would eventually become the heart 158 00:14:28.759 --> 00:14:33.279 of the city of Trinidad. And of course, there weren't many people living 159 00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:37.559 here during this time eighteen sixty one, and those who did got to know 160 00:14:37.639 --> 00:14:43.200 each other really quick Right across the river from where Bacca's land was located was 161 00:14:43.240 --> 00:14:50.200 a log house built by one determined and lonely prospector named Albert w Archibald. 162 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:56.919 Archibald joined forces with a doctor, John Whitlock that same year in helping to 163 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:03.240 get an actual town set up in the area. Together, they surveyed the 164 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:09.480 future streets of the town and positioned the main and commercial streets right along the 165 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:13.639 ruts of the Santa Fe Trail. Once they completed their plat map of the 166 00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:18.080 site, they began to wonder what they were going to call this new town, 167 00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:20.639 and those who were kind of in and out of the area, or 168 00:15:20.679 --> 00:15:26.480 who lived there on and off, proposed that a man named Gabriel Gutierrez, 169 00:15:26.840 --> 00:15:31.240 who owned the only business in this area, and I bet you can't guess 170 00:15:31.399 --> 00:15:35.200 what sort of business would do well along a travel route, Yeah, you 171 00:15:35.279 --> 00:15:39.519 got it, a saloon, that he should have the honor of naming the 172 00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:45.639 settlement because he was the first one to literally set up shop here. Gutierrez 173 00:15:45.879 --> 00:15:50.279 suggested the name Trinidad, and everybody thought, great, let's do it. 174 00:15:50.840 --> 00:15:56.799 Soon a second business popped up in the new town, built by Jan Ignacio 175 00:15:56.240 --> 00:16:02.159 Alirez, who decided that along with a saloon, the next best thing would 176 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:07.559 be a grocery store where he sold fabric, groceries and whiskey by the court. 177 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:15.080 So everybody's digging in and really establishing a community here, and it's fascinating 178 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:18.759 to think about it. Really. I mean, these people got together in 179 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:22.720 the middle of nowhere and just decided we're putting a town here. Now, 180 00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:32.399 Felipe Bacca, he's establishing a massively successful branch. And because he needed irrigation 181 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:37.039 and things for his crops and his sheep, he constructed a four hundred acre 182 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:44.200 ditch to help irrigate his land. And today that ditch is known as the 183 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:47.600 Bocca Ditch. And if you live in Trinidad, you know what I'm talking 184 00:16:47.639 --> 00:16:52.440 about. So suffice it to say Bocca was a heavy hitter in Trinidad history. 185 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:56.799 Also, in eighteen sixty eighteen sixty one was just a happening year for 186 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:03.640 Trinidad that July Barlow, Sanderson and Company bought the Denver Santa Fe stage line 187 00:17:03.880 --> 00:17:10.519 and then from there they organized the Southern Overland Mail and Express. This meant 188 00:17:10.839 --> 00:17:18.359 that commerce and trade and new settlers coming in really ramped up because access was 189 00:17:18.400 --> 00:17:22.599 easier, and in fact, this stage line that they set up became the 190 00:17:22.720 --> 00:17:29.839 largest and the most important stage company in Colorado. Period stage coaches were used 191 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:36.400 in lieu of the railroads, and a stage coach could fit a driver, 192 00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:41.440 obviously a messenger who was carrying mail and goods or whatever else basically the postman 193 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:47.640 with his big old sack of goodies like Santa Claus, and up to ten 194 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:52.759 passengers who could bring one hundred and ten pounds of luggage each. The fair 195 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:59.720 for each person traveling on this stage line was two hundred dollars, and that 196 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:07.000 is a pretty penny back in these days. Incidentally, the term writing shotgun 197 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:11.200 actually comes from the stage coach days, when robbing stage coaches was a very 198 00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:18.359 lucrative way to conduct criminal activity, and so on stage coaches such as these, 199 00:18:18.839 --> 00:18:23.559 where people were shipping money and valuables with the postmen and also bringing one 200 00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:29.279 hundred and ten pounds of goodies along with them as they rode the stage line, 201 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:33.720 it was important to have some form of protection. So oftentimes the driver 202 00:18:33.799 --> 00:18:40.240 would have a man next to him with a shotgun to help with defending the 203 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:44.000 stage coach. So when you call shotgun, I hope you're prepared to handle 204 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:49.160 business. Another interesting tidbet is that the Civil War was getting going during this 205 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:56.599 era, and in eighteen sixty two, Trinidad was used by Confederate guerrillas as 206 00:18:56.960 --> 00:19:00.000 sort of their center of operations. But that same year, a group known 207 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:06.079 as the Colorado Volunteers, who were Union soldiers, marched straight through the Raton 208 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:12.039 passed to New Mexico and basically wiped out all Confederate holds on the Colorado region 209 00:19:12.319 --> 00:19:19.000 in the Battle of Glorieta Pass. Thanks to Felipe Bacca's thriving agricultural setup and 210 00:19:19.119 --> 00:19:25.160 the stores popping up, more and more families were moving into the area to 211 00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:30.759 actually start a life there, and during this time, those who knew the 212 00:19:30.839 --> 00:19:37.799 game began eyeballing their surroundings and seeing the potential for coal deposits, and in 213 00:19:37.880 --> 00:19:42.680 eighteen sixty four, coal mining in southern Colorado took off. The earliest of 214 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:48.279 these mines were located in Starkville and Ingleville, which were near Trinidad, and 215 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:56.599 with coal comes big operations. Because these deposits were so productive, the companies 216 00:19:56.680 --> 00:20:02.400 who were mining these areas began to bring in immigrants from Europe to help mind 217 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:07.440 the sites. Now if you remember from our Ludlow episode, this was pretty 218 00:20:07.440 --> 00:20:11.640 controversial because these immigrants were taken advantage of and it wasn't a great situation. 219 00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:18.960 Right now, what we have in Trinidad is this mass of melting pot of 220 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:25.759 people from Greece, Italy. There are the original Hispanic settlers, Polish, 221 00:20:25.799 --> 00:20:30.039 Irish, Slavic, English and Irish, just to name a few. During 222 00:20:30.039 --> 00:20:37.160 this time as well, another man named Uncle Dick Wootton arrived to the area 223 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:41.039 and decided to build a home at the very top of her Tone Pass. 224 00:20:41.359 --> 00:20:48.240 Wooton was a trader and he was known for his fighting prowess against the Native 225 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:52.000 Americans. He was also a scout for John Fremont and a personal friend of 226 00:20:52.079 --> 00:20:57.880 Kit Carson. Wootton saw the opportunity to make some easy money and decided to 227 00:20:57.920 --> 00:21:03.400 set up a toll r over Raton Pass to New Mexico. In eighteen sixty 228 00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:10.680 five, Wootton leased the land upon which he built the twenty seven mile stretch 229 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:15.119 of toll Road, and he used the Ute natives to build this new road. 230 00:21:15.440 --> 00:21:18.759 Now, as I said, the pass was very difficult to traverse, 231 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:25.160 especially with the massive heavy wagons that they had during this time, so these 232 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:30.079 ute natives got to work cutting through the hillsides, blasting out rock, and 233 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:34.839 even constructing bridges to make passage over this area that much easier. Once this 234 00:21:34.880 --> 00:21:40.000 toll road was completed, Wootton set up a little toll booth right in front 235 00:21:40.039 --> 00:21:44.200 of his house, and he charged a dollar fifty for one wagon or twenty 236 00:21:44.200 --> 00:21:48.920 five cents for a guy on a horse. In a surprising twist given his 237 00:21:48.920 --> 00:21:56.359 history, he actually allowed natives to always use this toll road completely free of 238 00:21:56.480 --> 00:22:02.200 charge, and he used his personal home along this route as a sort of 239 00:22:02.200 --> 00:22:07.680 a stagecoach stop where travelers could stop and get a meal, refresh their horses, 240 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:11.240 and it was a good little money making gig. If you remember Albert 241 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:18.759 w Archibald from previously in the story, he actually opened the first school in 242 00:22:18.000 --> 00:22:22.720 Trinidad in July of eighteen sixty five. They only had about thirteen students, 243 00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:29.400 but they were able to teach all of them in English and in Spanish. 244 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:33.039 Also in eighteen sixty five, a man who was a trapper and a trader 245 00:22:33.079 --> 00:22:37.440 at the time moved into the area with his family, and this man went 246 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:45.279 by the name George Simpson. Simpson would settle down into a quiet life in 247 00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:49.960 the now fairly well established town, and he drove stage coaches over the Raton 248 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:55.759 Pass. He wrote articles for the local newspaper, served on the school board, 249 00:22:56.039 --> 00:23:02.240 and dealt in books. Trinidad at this time had about twelve hundred residents, 250 00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:07.559 twenty five buildings, sixty adobe homes, two hotels, and five livery 251 00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:12.480 barns. Also in eighteen sixty six, that same year, Los Animus County 252 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:19.000 was established, and because Trinidad was the largest town in this area, it 253 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:23.480 was selected to be the county seat, which it still is now. Like 254 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:30.799 so many other areas, some of the natives went along with the treaties and 255 00:23:30.839 --> 00:23:36.559 the promises from the US government and sort of followed the rules that were placed 256 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:40.279 upon them because they didn't really have a choice in the matter anyways. But 257 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:45.400 there were still those natives who refused to bow to manifest destiny. Around the 258 00:23:45.400 --> 00:23:52.400 time of eighteen sixty five, tensions between the Utes who lived near the Spanish 259 00:23:52.440 --> 00:23:59.359 Peaks and the settlers were really ramping up. Conflicts especially cropped up along the 260 00:23:59.440 --> 00:24:03.720 new Toll Road along the Santa Fe Trail, and cattle theft increased, and 261 00:24:03.799 --> 00:24:08.599 as a result, the band of Utes known as the watch I hope them, 262 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:15.279 saying that right began to attack the ranches and the settlements that were sort 263 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:19.920 of more isolated from the main population of Trinidad. It was during one of 264 00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:26.240 these attacks by this band of utes that George Simpson and his daughter Isabel were 265 00:24:26.319 --> 00:24:32.519 caught out on the plains. Without any real way to defend themselves and nowhere 266 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:37.480 to seek shelter, they ran for their lives, literally to the nearest and 267 00:24:37.640 --> 00:24:42.160 highest point they could get to to try to protect themselves from these utes. 268 00:24:42.160 --> 00:24:48.160 On horseback, they desperately and as quickly as they could scaled the side of 269 00:24:48.200 --> 00:24:52.720 the tallest butte they could see, where they silently hid and waited for the 270 00:24:52.839 --> 00:24:56.920 utes to pass them by, which they did, and George Simpson and his 271 00:24:57.000 --> 00:25:03.480 daughter Isabel survived. Simpson later went on to claim that this butte had saved 272 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:07.759 their lives and as a result, when he died, he wanted to be 273 00:25:07.799 --> 00:25:14.319 buried there, and twenty years later the town granted his wish and this became 274 00:25:14.359 --> 00:25:18.839 known as Simpson's Rest. You can still see the giant obelisk at the top 275 00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:23.759 that marks his grave, along with a light up sign that says Trinidad and 276 00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:29.079 a big American flag, which I'm sure he thinks it's all very cool. 277 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:34.599 I've actually been up here once and the views are immaculate, and it's kind 278 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:40.440 of creepy at night. I also can't imagine trying to dig out a grave 279 00:25:40.880 --> 00:25:45.079 at the top of that rocky bluff. That must have been quite the undertaking 280 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:51.839 pun intended now. Obviously, reports of the Utes attacking the town of Trinidad 281 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:56.559 reached the US government, and in eighteen sixty five, the US cavalry arrived 282 00:25:56.640 --> 00:26:03.200 and with the help of some local mems, they defeated this last bastion of 283 00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:07.920 the Utes that were trying to stick around in their original lands. Of course, 284 00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:14.519 things like this infuriated the other Native populations in Colorado, and raids would 285 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:19.920 continue in this area from other bands of Native Americans well into eighteen sixty nine, 286 00:26:21.480 --> 00:26:26.880 when they forced them all onto reservations. Speaking of Simpson's Rest, there 287 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:34.079 is a another similar formation that actually holds the title of being the highest point 288 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:40.319 of the mass that make up the Braton Formation. And if that makes no 289 00:26:40.400 --> 00:26:47.160 sense to you, it's just a really tall, almost columnar mountain looking thing 290 00:26:47.480 --> 00:26:51.519 with a flat top. It's neat to look at, and Trinidad uses its 291 00:26:51.559 --> 00:26:56.599 silhouette as kind of their emblem, and for the longest time this formation was 292 00:26:56.759 --> 00:27:00.240 used as a landmark or a guide for those traveling along the Santa Fe Trail, 293 00:27:00.359 --> 00:27:04.279 so that they'd know they were on the right path. But I have 294 00:27:04.359 --> 00:27:08.680 always wondered, and I'm sure I'm not the only one, why it's called 295 00:27:08.720 --> 00:27:15.519 Fisher's Peak. What happened? Who was Fisher? Well? The story is 296 00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:21.079 more of a legend or a myth. It's not really written down as fact 297 00:27:21.160 --> 00:27:25.720 anywhere, but it goes like this, Once upon a time a US Army 298 00:27:25.799 --> 00:27:33.759 major got lost. And reports differ as to which war he was participating in. 299 00:27:33.839 --> 00:27:37.519 Whether it was the Mexican American War or the Civil War, we don't 300 00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:45.000 know. But his name was Major Valdemar Fisher. He was traversing Raton Pass, 301 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:48.920 but wasn't really sure he was going the right way. He was supposed 302 00:27:48.960 --> 00:27:56.200 to be following the previously mentioned Uncle Dick Wooton, but for whatever reason, 303 00:27:56.559 --> 00:27:59.839 I mean, maybe he just wanted to climb a big rock. I know 304 00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:04.119 several men in my life, my husband and my son being amongst them, 305 00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:10.519 whose first inclination when they see a big rock is the climate. So that's 306 00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:15.319 not really a far out theory to me. But he ended up diverging from 307 00:28:15.359 --> 00:28:19.319 where he was supposed to be going, and he and a couple other guys 308 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:26.519 decided to climb up to this mesa and check things out and see what they 309 00:28:26.519 --> 00:28:30.559 could see get a lay of the land. Up until this point, this 310 00:28:30.599 --> 00:28:37.759 formation was simply known as Raton Peak, but from the eighteen sixties forward some 311 00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:44.279 local residents began referring to it as Fisher's Peak, and it was used interchangeably 312 00:28:44.359 --> 00:28:49.599 as Raton Peak and Fisher's Peak back and forth until today we just know it 313 00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:55.640 as Fisher's Peak. But where do we get this story from? From none 314 00:28:55.640 --> 00:29:02.039 other than Wooten himself, And according to people who knew Wooton, he was 315 00:29:02.079 --> 00:29:07.400 a fan of tall tales and would later on say he didn't actually accompany Fisher 316 00:29:07.880 --> 00:29:14.039 at all because the weather was bad. So who knows, But that's why 317 00:29:14.079 --> 00:29:18.440 it's called Fisher's Peak. All right, Let's get into some more heavy hitters 318 00:29:18.480 --> 00:29:22.640 in Trinidad history. In eighteen sixty seven, a man named Frank Bloom rolled 319 00:29:22.759 --> 00:29:29.920 into the area, and he had actually come to Colorado that past year with 320 00:29:30.200 --> 00:29:36.000 John and Maelon Thatcher. Thatcher's a name we know around here where they set 321 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:40.559 up and operated a store in Canyon City. But for some reason they decided 322 00:29:40.599 --> 00:29:44.559 that wasn't the move, and they headed down to Trinidad that very next year 323 00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:49.000 and opened the Thatcher Brothers and Company store. While out and about that year, 324 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:55.079 riding around Fisher's Peak, Bloom spotted some coal poking out of the ground 325 00:29:55.400 --> 00:29:59.720 and I can just imagine the cartoon dollar signs popping out of his eyes. 326 00:30:00.599 --> 00:30:06.599 He went on to open the first commercial coal mine inside Trinidad. Bloom and 327 00:30:06.640 --> 00:30:11.480 the Thatcher brothers took this money, and you know what they say, diversify, 328 00:30:11.799 --> 00:30:15.200 diversify. So they've got a store, they've got a coal mine. 329 00:30:15.799 --> 00:30:19.200 Now, they decided to open a cattle company. And this cattle company, 330 00:30:19.240 --> 00:30:26.160 the Bloom Cattle Company, would go on to become the state's largest cattle outfit. 331 00:30:26.039 --> 00:30:33.799 After crushing it in these three separate industries, Bloom decided to slow it 332 00:30:33.799 --> 00:30:37.720 down a little bit and he became a banker in eighteen eighty two. He 333 00:30:37.839 --> 00:30:41.079 had a lot of money. He decided to take this money and build a 334 00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:48.519 gorgeous three story brick mansion located right at the corner of Maine and Walnut, 335 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:53.599 which is now owned by the State of Colorado and operates as the Trinidad History 336 00:30:53.720 --> 00:30:59.640 Museum, which is all handled by the Colorado Historical Society. By October of 337 00:30:59.640 --> 00:31:04.880 eighteen sixty nine, Trinidad looked a whole lot different than just twenty five buildings 338 00:31:04.920 --> 00:31:10.839 in a single church. By now they had a flour mill, six stores, 339 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:17.680 three doctors, three lawyers, and saloons in abundance. George Simpson was 340 00:31:17.759 --> 00:31:23.000 actually the one who provided Trinidad's description for the Rocky Mountain Directory and Colorado Gazette. 341 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:29.319 Tier Simpson would describe how fertile the river valley was and that it held 342 00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:33.599 inexhaustible beds of coal. He went on to state the town, with a 343 00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:38.440 population of one thousand, with its forty stores and shops, with its numberless 344 00:31:38.480 --> 00:31:44.440 and slow jogging freight wagons, with its daily and tri weekly mail coaches, 345 00:31:44.480 --> 00:31:51.720 and rapidly increasing travel, already attracts attention abroad and gives promise of a prosperous 346 00:31:51.759 --> 00:31:57.400 future. In eighteen seventy three, Felipe Bacca remember him and his wife Dolores, 347 00:31:57.559 --> 00:32:04.079 purchased a ranch with a large, two story Adobe style home within the 348 00:32:04.119 --> 00:32:10.799 town of Trinidad. It's a beautiful bit of architecture, and unfortunately Felipe only 349 00:32:10.839 --> 00:32:15.880 got to enjoy it for a single year, as he died one year later. 350 00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:20.759 But the house still stands just as it did at three oh four East 351 00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:24.359 Maine and is still known as the Bacca House. It too, is now 352 00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:30.079 a museum. In eighteen seventy six, the same year Colorado became a state, 353 00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:37.119 Trinidad was also incorporated, and it became the center for transportation for the 354 00:32:37.319 --> 00:32:43.000 entire regions coal mines. More and more mines popped up, and smelters were 355 00:32:43.039 --> 00:32:49.160 built, and coal was big money in the area, which meant lots and 356 00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:54.640 lots of growth. And thanks to this time where people's pockets were flushed with 357 00:32:54.720 --> 00:33:01.160 cash from the coal industry, tons of beautiful Victorian mansions were constructed, and 358 00:33:01.279 --> 00:33:08.079 in eighteen seventy nine we also get the stunning Grand Union Hotel, which is 359 00:33:08.119 --> 00:33:14.160 now called the Columbian, right at the intersection of Maine and Commercial. In 360 00:33:14.200 --> 00:33:19.960 eighteen eighty, the railroad was finally built right through Trinidad all the way down 361 00:33:20.039 --> 00:33:25.079 into Santa Fe and the newspaper known as the Weekly New Mexican Printed Quote and 362 00:33:25.200 --> 00:33:30.799 the old Santa Fe trail passes into oblivion, although now it's died twenty five, 363 00:33:30.920 --> 00:33:35.559 so we're still going up and down that trail. It's just a lot 364 00:33:35.599 --> 00:33:39.880 easier for us these days. In eighteen eighty two, a man named bat 365 00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:46.400 Masterson was appointed as Trinidad's city marshal. The town paid him seventy five dollars 366 00:33:46.400 --> 00:33:51.359 a month for the job, until just a short time later, his buddy 367 00:33:51.839 --> 00:33:55.799 Wyatt Earp paid him a visit. They were coming through Trinidad on their way 368 00:33:55.799 --> 00:34:02.599 back from their infamous Vendetta ride in Arizona when Wyatt asked Masterson to help prevent 369 00:34:02.759 --> 00:34:09.599 the extradition of Dac Holiday from Colorado to Arizona. So while he wasn't Holiday's 370 00:34:09.679 --> 00:34:15.000 biggest fan, he was a true friend to Wyatt Earp, and so he 371 00:34:15.079 --> 00:34:19.760 agreed and went to Denver to do what he could to help save Holiday from 372 00:34:19.760 --> 00:34:24.679 extradition, and he did. Masterson was able to persuade the governor at the 373 00:34:24.679 --> 00:34:30.559 time, Frederick Pitkin, to refuse the extradition, and as we all know, 374 00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:37.400 Daw Holiday is buried right here in Colorado today. Masterson ruled Trinidad with 375 00:34:37.440 --> 00:34:43.320 an iron fist, often enforcing the laws with physical force, and things in 376 00:34:43.320 --> 00:34:49.840 this wild West saloon, Dotted Town quieted down considerably. Under his reign, 377 00:34:50.280 --> 00:34:55.599 Trinidad continued to grow as coal money as good money, and they never really 378 00:34:55.679 --> 00:35:01.000 had a lack of it. And in nineteen oh eight we see a modern, 379 00:35:01.039 --> 00:35:08.599 thriving metropolis here in Colorado. And during this time culture expanded further and 380 00:35:08.920 --> 00:35:15.079 the stunning West Theater, which is now known as the Fox Theater, was 381 00:35:15.119 --> 00:35:20.519 built in nineteen o eight. It has a large ballroom and three floors of 382 00:35:20.559 --> 00:35:27.719 seating and it's actually the oldest continuous running a movie theater in our state and 383 00:35:28.159 --> 00:35:31.960 it's still an operation today. Also worth mentioning. In nineteen oh eight, 384 00:35:32.119 --> 00:35:37.480 Trinidad became famous for having the first woman's sports editor in a newspaper, Aina 385 00:35:37.800 --> 00:35:44.239 Eloise Young. She was an expert in baseball and she was the only woman's 386 00:35:44.239 --> 00:35:47.960 sports writer to cover the nineteen o eight World Series. Baseball really had a 387 00:35:49.000 --> 00:35:53.599 moment in Trinidad during this year, and it was also home to a popular 388 00:35:53.920 --> 00:36:00.639 semi professional baseball team that was coached by Damon Runyon. If you're or Colorado 389 00:36:00.679 --> 00:36:05.719 local, especially southern Colorado, you know that name. In nineteen fourteen, 390 00:36:06.000 --> 00:36:10.360 when World War One kicked off, the number of European immigrants to the US 391 00:36:10.599 --> 00:36:15.880 saw a huge increase for obvious reasons, and the staffing at these coal mines 392 00:36:16.079 --> 00:36:21.400 doubled during this period, which is interesting if you'll remember. Initially, when 393 00:36:21.400 --> 00:36:25.800 coal mines were first discovered in this region, they brought in European immigrants, 394 00:36:25.840 --> 00:36:32.039 and here again we see the melting pot getting a little more melty. People 395 00:36:32.079 --> 00:36:39.119 can be greedy and cruel. These immigrant workers were treated horrifically and all of 396 00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:45.519 this contributed and led up to the tragic incident of the Ludlow massacre. And 397 00:36:45.599 --> 00:36:49.800 again I cover that if you want to give it a listen. As you 398 00:36:49.880 --> 00:36:54.400 might imagine, the twenties and thirties were hard all round, and coal production 399 00:36:54.840 --> 00:37:01.880 decreased dramatically, which meant that Trinidad as a town began to suffer. The 400 00:37:01.960 --> 00:37:07.119 street cars, which had dominated Trinidad traffic up until this time, were overrun 401 00:37:07.360 --> 00:37:14.639 by the increased production of automobiles, and the street cars disappeared and by nineteen 402 00:37:14.719 --> 00:37:20.079 twenty three all of the streets were paved over with brick pavers. During the 403 00:37:20.119 --> 00:37:25.559 twenties, a little thing known as prohibition was going strong, and it opened 404 00:37:25.639 --> 00:37:31.800 up new ways to make money illegally for a lot of people, and one 405 00:37:31.840 --> 00:37:37.440 of those who was really great at playing this game was a man named al 406 00:37:37.480 --> 00:37:40.559 Capone. You might have heard of him. He hung out quite a bit 407 00:37:40.760 --> 00:37:45.039 in Los Aims County during this time and went back and forth between Trinidad and 408 00:37:45.079 --> 00:37:51.920 Aguilar. There was a strong Italian presence in this area and he fit right 409 00:37:51.960 --> 00:37:59.000 in tunnels that had been constructed underneath the streets of downtown Trinidad really helped to 410 00:37:59.119 --> 00:38:04.039 further his ambitions in this area of sneaking alcohol to those who wanted it, 411 00:38:04.400 --> 00:38:09.519 and the Italian families associated with the mafia during this time. We're thriving when 412 00:38:09.559 --> 00:38:15.840 others weren't. Did you know that Trinidad had a strong mafia background. I 413 00:38:15.920 --> 00:38:22.039 didn't. It's pretty cool. Coal mining was very expensive during this time, 414 00:38:22.199 --> 00:38:27.800 and more and more of the mining operations began to close down, and this 415 00:38:27.960 --> 00:38:32.559 once booming little of frontier town that saw exponential growth began to wither. In 416 00:38:32.639 --> 00:38:39.719 another weird twist of stories, in the nineteen sixties, Trinidad became known as 417 00:38:39.880 --> 00:38:45.800 the sex change capital of the world when a man named doctor Stanley Biber, 418 00:38:45.119 --> 00:38:52.639 a surgeon from Korea, began performing reassignment surgeries, which obviously especially given the 419 00:38:52.639 --> 00:38:59.239 time, gained a lot of attention, so much so that going forward, 420 00:38:59.440 --> 00:39:06.159 the term taking a trip to Trinidad was a common euphemism used for those seeking 421 00:39:06.400 --> 00:39:12.360 the aforementioned procedure. Not all of the locals were thrilled with this new association, 422 00:39:13.000 --> 00:39:17.360 and in two thousand and three the practice was moved to California. Also 423 00:39:17.800 --> 00:39:23.239 in the sixties, a settlement known as Drop City, which was a counterculture 424 00:39:23.400 --> 00:39:29.119 artists community, set up shop on a stretch of land about four miles north 425 00:39:29.159 --> 00:39:35.079 of Trinidad. Essentially, it was just a bunch of college student artists who 426 00:39:35.440 --> 00:39:39.719 wanted to set up their own hippie commune. For some reason, this also 427 00:39:40.119 --> 00:39:47.639 received national attention and international attention. The homes constructed on the property of this 428 00:39:47.679 --> 00:39:53.800 commune were a very unique and artsy looking dome style, and they were constructed 429 00:39:54.199 --> 00:40:00.960 using panels from automobiles and other bits and pieces of things that they could get 430 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.719 their hands on. In the nineteen seventies, the commune was abandoned, but 431 00:40:05.599 --> 00:40:10.960 the domes stood as a monument to hippie culture in Trinidad until the nineteen nineties, 432 00:40:10.960 --> 00:40:16.880 when the last home was finally torn down. The latest and greatest craze 433 00:40:17.079 --> 00:40:24.599 for trinidad economy and culture is that of marijuana. Trinidad now breaks in about 434 00:40:24.679 --> 00:40:31.760 forty four million dollars annually from recreational drugs cells, which is about five percent 435 00:40:31.960 --> 00:40:38.159 of the entire state's total sales. In twenty eighteen, High Times magazine called 436 00:40:38.199 --> 00:40:45.599 the town weed Town USA. So what we have today is a fascinating mix 437 00:40:45.920 --> 00:40:52.960 of wild West architecture deeply rooted in the story of early settlement of Colorado, 438 00:40:53.320 --> 00:41:02.599 and a heavy New Age counter culture sort of vibe that exists within these Wild 439 00:41:02.639 --> 00:41:10.360 West buildings thanks to the lull in Trinidad's economy when other cities such as Colorado 440 00:41:10.400 --> 00:41:17.519 Springs in Denver were building skyscrapers and taking off much of the original town looks 441 00:41:17.639 --> 00:41:22.280 as it did way back in the day. It's almost like a perfectly preserved 442 00:41:22.320 --> 00:41:28.840 time capsule of a bygone Colorado, and while many who drive through the area 443 00:41:29.159 --> 00:41:32.119 are using it as it originally was used, which is just sort of a 444 00:41:32.159 --> 00:41:38.280 pass through or away station to refresh before you head out into the godforsaken stretch 445 00:41:38.320 --> 00:41:44.199 of northern New Mexico. If you take a few extra minutes to get out 446 00:41:44.239 --> 00:41:50.119 of your car and explore some of the incredible history that this area has to 447 00:41:50.199 --> 00:41:57.360 offer. It's absolutely worth your time. And of course, with such rich 448 00:41:57.480 --> 00:42:02.519 history and preserved historical site, you're gonna get some living history in the form 449 00:42:02.599 --> 00:42:08.559 of hauntings. The first spooky location we're going to cover is the Purgatory River 450 00:42:08.840 --> 00:42:15.360 itself. It's one of the largest features of the town besides Fisher's Peak, 451 00:42:15.480 --> 00:42:20.719 of course, and it has a history all its own. But this type 452 00:42:20.719 --> 00:42:27.280 of hunting is something I've not heard of being reported at all anywhere in Colorado. 453 00:42:27.400 --> 00:42:30.039 And maybe I'm just disconnected, I don't know, but I was really 454 00:42:30.079 --> 00:42:37.119 surprised when I came across this report. Many hold the belief that the Purgatory 455 00:42:37.280 --> 00:42:45.000 River is haunted by none other than La Yarona herself. In a specific encounter, 456 00:42:45.440 --> 00:42:49.559 one man told the story of riding his bike as a ten year old 457 00:42:49.599 --> 00:42:53.880 boy at the time, down Johnson Street in nineteen seventy five. It was 458 00:42:54.039 --> 00:42:59.519 a summer evening and it was dark outside, and as he approached the corner 459 00:42:59.559 --> 00:43:04.159 of len and Johnson Streets, he had a clear view of the highway beyond 460 00:43:04.320 --> 00:43:08.239 and the Purgatory River flowing just behind that. As he looked, he says, 461 00:43:08.280 --> 00:43:13.239 he spotted a woman near the side of the highway. She was dressed 462 00:43:13.320 --> 00:43:19.000 all in black and was staring right at him. He then noticed that she 463 00:43:19.119 --> 00:43:22.679 didn't have any feet and seemed to just be floating there above the ground. 464 00:43:23.599 --> 00:43:31.039 As his unease grew, this ghastly apparition began to whale, a terrifying, 465 00:43:31.599 --> 00:43:37.599 agonized whale. Because this guy seems like he was a pretty smart kid. 466 00:43:38.199 --> 00:43:44.039 He whipped his bike around and booked it back to his house. But as 467 00:43:44.079 --> 00:43:47.280 he glanced back over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being pursued, the 468 00:43:47.320 --> 00:43:53.719 woman or whatever she was, was gone. The next spot we're going to 469 00:43:53.800 --> 00:43:59.800 talk about is the Colombian Hotel, or the Grand Union as it was originally 470 00:43:59.800 --> 00:44:05.159 called. It's a historic hotel located on Commercial Street and was built in eighteen 471 00:44:05.239 --> 00:44:09.599 seventy nine. It was a luxurious place to stay, especially for this area 472 00:44:09.760 --> 00:44:14.880 at this time, and it boasted a hundred guest rooms, a grand lobby, 473 00:44:15.159 --> 00:44:21.159 a swanky saloon, and gaming rooms in the basement that allegedly our favorite 474 00:44:21.400 --> 00:44:25.360 doc Holiday visited. He was always down to be a huckleberry. I suppose 475 00:44:27.159 --> 00:44:32.119 many famous politicians, Wild West characters, and actors have stayed at the Columbium, 476 00:44:32.159 --> 00:44:37.480 and in nineteen fourteen during the coal strike, it was actually the headquarters 477 00:44:37.559 --> 00:44:42.880 for the Colorado Militia when the violence became so overwhelming that men were actually being 478 00:44:42.960 --> 00:44:47.320 gunned down in the streets and martial law had to be declared. Now only 479 00:44:47.360 --> 00:44:52.800 the storefronts are usable, as the rest of the hotel had been neglected for 480 00:44:52.840 --> 00:44:59.480 so many years and it really isn't habitable anymore. Plans are underway to refurbish 481 00:44:59.519 --> 00:45:04.440 it, thankfully, but even though nobody's living in there now, that doesn't 482 00:45:04.480 --> 00:45:10.159 mean that it's completely vacant. People have reported seeing black shadow figures, being 483 00:45:10.239 --> 00:45:19.159 overwhelmed by an ominous and oppressive atmosphere on the upper floors, and frequently footsteps 484 00:45:19.199 --> 00:45:22.760 when no one is up there can be heard. During an investigation, an 485 00:45:22.800 --> 00:45:29.280 EVP was captured after one of the investigators commented that the hotel was probably full 486 00:45:29.320 --> 00:45:34.639 of spirits. The whispered reply from the voice recorder simply stated, yes, 487 00:45:35.400 --> 00:45:40.519 there are three hundred. Next on the list is the Terrabino Inn. It 488 00:45:40.599 --> 00:45:45.679 repeatedly shows up on lists for most haunted locations in Colorado, and it sits 489 00:45:45.800 --> 00:45:51.400 at three ten East Second Street. It was built in nineteen oh seven by 490 00:45:51.480 --> 00:45:57.039 the Terrabino brothers and since then has been a private residence, a funeral home, 491 00:45:57.559 --> 00:46:01.559 and is now a bed and breakfast. Reports of activity at this inn 492 00:46:01.679 --> 00:46:07.480 range from the apparition of a wiry haired older woman rocking quietly in a rocking 493 00:46:07.559 --> 00:46:13.800 chair, only to fade away as soon as you notice her, super creepy 494 00:46:14.639 --> 00:46:17.960 ghostly children wander the home, and a lady in white of course, who 495 00:46:19.000 --> 00:46:22.559 likes to hang out at the foot of the stairs is often seen. Ghostly 496 00:46:22.599 --> 00:46:30.039 footsteps, and the smell of cherry tobacco is frequently smelled coming from the library. 497 00:46:30.079 --> 00:46:34.480 The current owner denies that there is any activity here at the inn, 498 00:46:34.480 --> 00:46:39.599 and they're not really keen on promoting the spooky history. It is a stunning 499 00:46:40.039 --> 00:46:46.199 property though. It's a gorgeous red brick structure that is over five thousand square 500 00:46:46.239 --> 00:46:52.360 feet of original nineteen oh seven design, including the original carriage house that's still 501 00:46:52.400 --> 00:46:59.199 standing on the property, and interestingly, it's currently for sale for just nine 502 00:46:59.320 --> 00:47:05.800 hundred twenty five thousand dollars. You can own a slice of Trinidad history. 503 00:47:05.880 --> 00:47:09.000 If you're in the market, go snagget. I'd love to see someone who 504 00:47:09.239 --> 00:47:15.320 embraces and leans into the spooky reputation. Take it over. Imagine what you 505 00:47:15.360 --> 00:47:19.760 could do around Halloween with a place like that. The next spot is the 506 00:47:19.800 --> 00:47:23.880 Bacca House, which we've already mentioned was built in eighteen seventy and is now 507 00:47:23.960 --> 00:47:30.199 a museum. Felipe Bacca reportedly died in the home and is still spotted there 508 00:47:30.239 --> 00:47:36.840 today, enjoying his little slice of Colorado heaven. People have reported seeing him 509 00:47:37.039 --> 00:47:42.159 standing and looking out of the upper floor windows, or just wandering the halls. 510 00:47:42.559 --> 00:47:45.320 In nineteen forty five, when the home was being used as a boarding 511 00:47:45.360 --> 00:47:51.880 house, however, a murder was committed inside the home, leaving behind a 512 00:47:51.960 --> 00:47:57.239 blood stain on the floor that no one can wash off, even after attempting 513 00:47:57.280 --> 00:48:02.679 to refinish the wood there. It just keeps showing back up again, and 514 00:48:02.760 --> 00:48:10.400 of course, footsteps, footsteps everywhere. Now. The next location is the 515 00:48:10.400 --> 00:48:15.679 Bloom House. Remember that one we talked about it. The cattle baran slash 516 00:48:15.760 --> 00:48:22.400 banker slash coal mine owner owned it, built it well. Reports in the 517 00:48:22.440 --> 00:48:30.440 Bloom House vary from person to person, but generally speaking, most people feel 518 00:48:30.519 --> 00:48:38.360 ick, eerie, oppressive, yuck. Still, more sensitive people have actually 519 00:48:38.400 --> 00:48:45.280 been able to see the ghost of Bloom's young son who actually passed away in 520 00:48:45.320 --> 00:48:50.840 the home of typhoid fever, and a ball can actually be heard rolling down 521 00:48:50.920 --> 00:48:54.039 the stairs and around on the floor when no one is there and there is 522 00:48:54.079 --> 00:49:00.400 no ball. His daughters have also been spotted wandering around the property and the 523 00:49:00.440 --> 00:49:07.519 home. And the concentration of the feeling of ick is located in this home 524 00:49:07.760 --> 00:49:12.480 in the servants quarters. And since stuff like that wasn't really documented back then, 525 00:49:12.800 --> 00:49:19.000 who knows what went down there. The A. R. Mitchell Museum 526 00:49:19.280 --> 00:49:24.360 of Western Art is located in downtown Trinidad on Main Street, and it's definitely 527 00:49:24.400 --> 00:49:29.559 not a place that you would look at and assume would be haunted. It 528 00:49:29.679 --> 00:49:36.360 houses the entire collection of paintings created by Arthur Ray Mitchell. Aar and his 529 00:49:36.440 --> 00:49:39.880 sister Ethel also known as Todd, were born and raised in Trinidad, and 530 00:49:40.039 --> 00:49:45.480 while upon his death, respected and established museums were pursuing his collection, his 531 00:49:45.559 --> 00:49:51.079 sister Tot wanted her brother's life work to be brought home to Trinidad, so 532 00:49:51.760 --> 00:49:54.800 a space was acquired and set up and now you can visit all of these 533 00:49:54.880 --> 00:50:01.119 artworks yourself, and the museum is now a nonprofit and an absolute must see 534 00:50:01.239 --> 00:50:07.800 if you're in the area most especially though, because aar his sister, taught, 535 00:50:07.119 --> 00:50:13.679 and a young girl are frequently spotted hanging out in the building. I 536 00:50:13.760 --> 00:50:19.280 can't imagine that you would pour your heart and soul into so many paintings and 537 00:50:19.840 --> 00:50:27.679 not follow them around in the afterlife. This last building isn't necessarily hugely haunted, 538 00:50:28.199 --> 00:50:34.159 but I have to include it because it's my favorite type of paranormal activity. 539 00:50:34.280 --> 00:50:38.400 The Children's Museum slash Firehouse one, which is now defunct, was built 540 00:50:38.440 --> 00:50:45.039 in eighteen eighty one and originally it operated as the city Hall, the jail, 541 00:50:45.159 --> 00:50:49.440 and the firehouse until nineteen o nine. You would think a place like 542 00:50:49.480 --> 00:50:57.400 this would just be oozing with angry spirits, but really, the only constantly 543 00:50:57.519 --> 00:51:04.599 reported activity in this building has been the apparition of a black kitten that has 544 00:51:04.679 --> 00:51:10.880 seen again and again. Adorable. Now, on a personal note, I 545 00:51:10.960 --> 00:51:16.159 do have a friend who shall remain nameless that was born and raised in Trinidad 546 00:51:16.679 --> 00:51:23.880 and her family home nothing superhistoric or crazy was haunted as heck. She told 547 00:51:23.920 --> 00:51:31.079 me stories of being harassed constantly by a group of shadow people in her room 548 00:51:31.280 --> 00:51:37.159 every single night, and then weird things happening during the day. She learned 549 00:51:37.199 --> 00:51:43.719 to ignore them, I guess, but I don't know how. It really 550 00:51:43.760 --> 00:51:50.679 feels like the entire town has a spooky twist going on. The last story 551 00:51:50.920 --> 00:51:54.719 I'm going to cover is because my husband wanted me to look into it and 552 00:51:54.719 --> 00:52:00.079 see if I could find anything about a place he knew all too well, 553 00:52:00.159 --> 00:52:05.199 having grown up in the area, and he even brought me to It's a 554 00:52:05.239 --> 00:52:12.199 place known as the Devil's Playground. There are many different versions of why this 555 00:52:12.239 --> 00:52:20.000 place is spooky or haunted or whatever, but some say that this location that's 556 00:52:20.280 --> 00:52:24.400 remote out in the middle of nowhere is actually haunted by the devil himself. 557 00:52:25.679 --> 00:52:30.400 It does have a cursed and forbidding feeling, especially when you're driving around it 558 00:52:30.480 --> 00:52:37.920 at night. But I couldn't find anything anywhere about it, so I'm pretty 559 00:52:37.960 --> 00:52:43.920 sure that it might just be a fun local lore type of a situation. 560 00:52:44.360 --> 00:52:50.239 And honestly, a ton of rural areas have locations just like this one. 561 00:52:50.480 --> 00:52:55.400 It's not unique. But what makes this one special is that if there was 562 00:52:55.519 --> 00:53:02.719 anywhere that would have a shot at being a legitimately cursed spot, it would 563 00:53:02.719 --> 00:53:10.280 be Trinidad. The land here has never been quiet. It's oozing with thousands 564 00:53:10.320 --> 00:53:15.360 of years of history, of people, living, dying, warring with each 565 00:53:15.360 --> 00:53:22.159 other on this spot. So while the devil himself may not be out there, 566 00:53:22.519 --> 00:53:25.719 maybe something even darker is hanging around out there. You know what they 567 00:53:25.760 --> 00:53:30.239 say, where there's smoke, there's fire, So there must be something to 568 00:53:30.320 --> 00:53:35.239 this spot. But like I said, I didn't see anything when I went 569 00:53:35.280 --> 00:53:42.480 out there. There are many many haunted locations in Trinidad, Colorado, and 570 00:53:42.880 --> 00:53:45.079 I could have talked about them all, but we would have been here all 571 00:53:45.159 --> 00:53:51.320 day. And this is already a very long episode. But suffice it to 572 00:53:51.360 --> 00:53:58.719 say that for those who don't know or appreciate this town, there is so 573 00:53:58.840 --> 00:54:02.639 much to see. And just like at the top of this podcast, when 574 00:54:02.639 --> 00:54:08.679 I read the newspaper article talking about a day when only silent monuments would mark 575 00:54:08.679 --> 00:54:14.559 the resting places of the pioneers and their stories would be forgotten, here we 576 00:54:14.639 --> 00:54:19.920 are. We're in that day, and so many people drive right through Trinidad 577 00:54:20.599 --> 00:54:23.760 and never give it a second thought, and even more in our state have 578 00:54:23.880 --> 00:54:30.519 no idea about the important contributions Trinidad made to make in Colorado what it is 579 00:54:30.559 --> 00:54:37.800 today. It's a unique, fascinating place and you can feel the energy shift 580 00:54:37.079 --> 00:54:42.320 when you roll into that town. There's something special about it, and it's 581 00:54:42.360 --> 00:54:46.239 completely different from anywhere else in our state. And yes, most of the 582 00:54:46.280 --> 00:54:52.440 buildings in Trinidad are haunted, but the entire city is haunted by its own 583 00:54:52.440 --> 00:55:00.800 history. Sources for today's episode include Legends of America, audiotour dot com, 584 00:55:00.800 --> 00:55:07.320 Trinidad, Colorado Cole Queen of Colorado at Kathy Wiser Alexander, Ghosts of America 585 00:55:07.400 --> 00:55:14.480 dot com, History Colorado dot org, Newspapers dot com, Denver Library dot 586 00:55:14.599 --> 00:55:21.679 org, World Journal Newspaper dot com, Colorado, Huntedhouses dot com, Fatmanlittletrail 587 00:55:21.719 --> 00:55:34.440 dot com, Old Houses USA, and The Pueblo Chieftain. Thanks for listening. 588 00:55:35.039 --> 00:55:38.960 Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. 589 00:55:39.599 --> 00:55:45.119 You can also find me on Facebook and Instagram at Strange Colorado Podcast. 590 00:55:45.679 --> 00:55:51.360 If you have a strange story of your own or an episode suggestion, you 591 00:55:51.400 --> 00:56:00.119 can reach me at Strange Colorado Podcast at gmail dot com.