Trinidad

The American Guides Project

Railroad Stations: Plum St., on block north of Main St., for Colorado & Southern Ry.; Pine St., facing River, for Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Ry. Bus Stations: 142 N. Commercial St. for Southwestern Greyhound Lines; 152 N. Commercial St. for Santa Fe Trailways.

Airport: Municipal, 11.6 miles east of the city; taxi fare $3.00; time, 30 minutes; no scheduled service.

Tennis: High School Grounds, Hillside Ave.; Junior College Grounds, Prospect St.

Golf: Pine View Golf Club, 9 holes, greens fee, 50¢, US 85 north of city. Swimming: High School Natatorium, nominal fees; Round-Up Park, free. Riding: Elkhorn Stables, US 85 north of city.

TRINIDAD (Sp. Trinity) (6,000 alt., 11,732 pop.), seat of Las Animas County, owes its birth to its position on the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail at the foot of Raton Pass, and its growth to several decades of coal-mining prosperity. Built on a foothill chain of the Culebra Range, its deviously angled streets give the city a curiously foreign aspect, heightened by the numerous sod-roofed, square adobe dwellings that still remain in the outlying sections. Along the older streets have passed Indians, Mexican farmers and sheepherders, hard-bitten trappers, freighters, and brawling railroad construction huskies. Many of the two-and-three-story stone and brick buildings along Main and Commercial Streets, principal thoroughfares of the business district, have served for more than half a century. The Purgatoire River, spanned by bridges, separates the residential districts from the business section.

Before the whites came, the site was an Indian ceremonial ground. Juan de Onate, on a gold-hunting expedition north from Taos in 1598, led his party into the valley. Three years later he again passed by on another expedition that penetrated as far north as the South Platte River. Ciliate was followed by other Spanish explorers, priests, and fighting men during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries—Archuleta, Uribarri, militant Governor Anza when returning from pursuit of Comanche raiders, and the ill-starred party whose massacre on the banks of the river led to its being named the Purgatoire, the French translation and contraction of the Spanish El Rio de Las Animas Perdidas en Purgatorio, or the River of the Souls Lost in Purgatory. Still later, the spot was a camping ground for trappers, traders, and hunters on the route from the east to Santa Fe and Taos.

In 1846 Colonel Stephen W. Kearney passed this way on his march from Kansas to the bloodless conquest of New Mexico. The Colorado troops in Kearney's Army of the West joined him near Bent's Fort 100 miles to the northeast, and the entire force proceeded down the old trail toward the pass, camping here overnight. Two years later the forces of General Sterling Price bivouacked here on their march to reconquer Santa Fe and Taos after the rebellion of 1847, in which the Mexican and Indian population of New Mexico attempted to overthrow their new rulers from the United States, killing Governor Charles Bent (see Tour 9A) and many others.

Until 1859, when Gabriel Gutierrez and his nephew came from New Mexico to find a range for their sheep, there was little attempt at permanent settlement here. The two men built a cabin on the south bank of the river near where the library now stands. Other settlers came from New Mexico and took up farms along the river; men from the East drifted in—settlers, traders, and desperadoes of all descriptions —and Trinidad became known as a "tough place."

At a time when relations between the United States and Mexico were still strained by memories of the war, there was constant friction between the men from the "States" and the more-established settlers of Spanish and Mexican descent. Clashes between the two groups were frequent, culminating in the so-called "Battle of Trinidad" on Christmas Day, 1867, when a wrestling match developed into a riot with almost a thousand people engaged. During the free-for-all, a wrestler of the Spanish-speaking group was killed, and his slayer, a stage driver, was arrested. Friends of the stage driver rallied in his behalf, broke into the jail, and freed him. The prisoner and his liberators fled to an empty adobe building where they were besieged by the sheriff and a sizable posse. The siege lasted four days, during which several persons were killed. A war party of Ute appeared and offered to help the posse overcome the English-speaking whites. The offer was declined by the sheriff, who threatened to arrange a truce with the besieged and combine the whole force against the Indians if they did not withdraw. The Ute thereupon departed. On the fourth day cavalry from Fort Lyon and Fort Reynolds appeared and placed the city under martial law. The soldiers were withdrawn several weeks later when the opposing factions, resenting the strict discipline of the military, again threatened to unite against the troops. For many years the hostility engendered by the affair continued, although it never again reached such a violent height.

Situated near Ute hunting grounds, Trinidad was often subjected to Indian alarms. The town was never attacked, but Ute war parties on their way to and from raids on their plains enemies frequently camped on the surrounding hills; during these unwelcome visits, citizens armed themselves and posted guards against possible surprise.

Las Animas County was created in 1866, and Trinidad was chosen as its seat; ten years later the town, with a population of 2,000, was incorporated and named for Trinidad Baca, daughter of a pioneer settler. As the village steadily increased in size, it became evident that some order had to be introduced into haphazard building operations, for that part of the town directly upon the main trail had become so densely populated that pioneer Main Street was barely passable. The county commissioners ordered the residents of East Main Street to move their houses back from the road, impressing the order with the county seal which flaunted a yard of bright red ribbon. The residents, most of whom were Spanish-Americans unable to read English, protested violently, but the red ribbon awed them. They moved, and Main Street was widened.

The first coal mine in the district was opened in 1867 by Frank Bloom, who it is said, developed the mines solely to promote the sale of stoves he handled. Other mines were opened as the demand for coal increased with the building of smelters throughout the State and of steel mills at Pueblo. During these years production was large, reaching its height during the World War when more than five million tons were mined annually. In the early 1870's the race for the right-of-way through Raton Pass simultaneously brought the Santa Fe Railroad to Trinidad and the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad to El Moro, then a thriving rival. Shipping facilities stimulated the cattle industry which flourished in the region for the next two decades, and by 1889 the city had a population of more than 9,000. During the economic depression of the early 1890's Trinidad was hard hit, and a large part of the populace moved away, but growth was resumed in 1895 and has continued steadily. More than 20 industrial establishments in Trinidad manufacture brick, tile, mattresses, sheet metal, foundry castings, brooms, cheese, candles, beer, and macaroni. The city is important as a supply center for a wide-spread rural area, and as a shipping point for coal mined in the vicinity.

KIT CARSON PARK, San Pedro St., between Kansas and Topeka Sts., is a landscaped area on a low hill. Crowning the rise is a bronze equestrian statue of the famous plainsman and scout. Carson (see Tour 9a) spent much of his life along the Santa Fe Trail as hunter, scout, and guide, and was a frequent visitor in Trinidad at that time and later when he was Indian Agent.

The KIT CARSON MUSEUM (open daily), 620 Main St., an adobe structure dating from early settlement, houses a large collection of pioneer relics and Indian artifacts, and an elaborate hunting coat presented to Kit Carson by a Cheyenne chief.

The FORT WOOTTON MEMORIAL (open 8-12 a.m., 1-5 p.m. weekdays), SE. corner of First and Chestnut Sts., was constructed by the Work Projects Administration in cooperation with Las Animas County and Veterans' organizations. The design of the large gray stone structure was inspired by Bent's Fort (see Tour 9A). It honors Richens L. (Uncle Dick) Wootton, trapper and scout (see Tour 112c), who constructed a toll gate below Raton Pass; Wootton was a well-known figure in early Trinidad.

The SANTA FE TRAIL MARKER, on the Columbian Hotel, NW. corner Main and Commercial Sts., indicates the course of the trail across the city. This bronze plaque, erected by the local D. A. R., commemorates the days when cavalcades of horsemen and creaking carretas passed along this street on their way to and from the chief city of the Southwest. This northern or Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail played an important part in the development of Colorado. It constituted the link between the New Mexican metropolis, the Missouri Valley markets, and the trading posts along the Arkansas River; after the gold discoveries a steady stream of trade goods, weapons, foodstuffs, liquor, and dressed leather flowed along it to the settlements in and near the mountains. Many early mining communities could not have existed had it not been for the flour, grain, and other foodstuffs brought this way from Santa Fe.

The HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, Convent and Church Sts., a weathered, gray stone building with a tall bell tower, was built in 1885, the second to be erected in Las Animas County.

The CARNEGIE PUBLIC LIBRARY (open 9-9 weekdays), 136 N. Animas St., a gray stone building erected in 1892, contains a large collection of Indian artcraft and artifacts and houses 21,000 books.

The LAS ANIMAS COUNTY COURTHOUSE, First St., between Maple and Chestnut Sts., an Indiana limestone structure erected 1912-1918, an adaptation of the classical in style, was designed by A. C. Hendrickson of Trinidad.

ROUND-UP PARK, on US 85 at the northern edge of the city, is the scene of the annual Kit Carson Round-up, Trinidad's chief festival. A grandstand with a seating capacity of 1,500 overlooks the race track and the rodeo ring, converted into a softball diamond during the season ; there is also a swimming pool. The park is inclosed within a low adobe wall of the Spanish type.

Simpson's Rest, 0.5 miles, Raton Pass, 10.5 miles, Spanish Peaks, 20 miles (see Tour 12c); Tollgate Canyon, 43 miles (see Tour 11a).