Delta chief., 1883-03-07
DELTA COUNTY.
The New County and city, and the
Future Garden Spot of Colorado.
Natural Advantages, Etc.


tier is . marvel to some; they show the ag-
gressive commercial spirit of the people
quick to seize some point of vantage for pres
ent gain and future profit. One might say that
here where the echo of the Indians moccasin
had hardly died out of the valleys, that we
can well believe were
Fair as the garden of the Lord
To the eyes of the famished Indian horde"
that inhabited them so short time ago, and
from which they fitted away all unwillingly
one might think, we say, that here there
could be no vista of promise opening up to
civilized eyes so soon. But the clear eyes
and the clearer brain of one small in stature,
but great in activity and intellect, saw and
understood, and upon the sloping mesa at the
junction of two fair streams there stands
young town giving promise of great prosper
ity in the near future.
The town of Delta-which bears the same
name as the county itself-is located between
the Uncompahgre and the Gunnison, just
above the point where the two rivers flow to-
gether. The valleys of these streams, in this
vicinity, are very beautiful, and are all that
could possibly be desired in an agricultural
point of view. Delta is located in the very
center of the agricultural and grazing coun-
try, and has tributary to it about 1OO, 900 acres
of as fine farming and fruit-growing land as
can be found in the State of Colorado. This
place is the nearest, and, in fact, the only
trading point for all the country up the Gun
nison as far as the famed Black canon, the
settlements on the North Fork, of itself an
an extensive country, rich in coal and cattle,
on the Roubideau, Surface and Forked Tongue
creeks and down the valley of the Gunnison
for several miles, and up the Uncompahgre
river for tep to twelve miles. All the
streams of the county lead to Delta as the
fingers to the hand; hence it is destined to be
a railroad center; The Denver & Rio Grande
railway, Utah division, was completed to
Delta last fall. By April l through trains
will be running from Denver and Pueblo to
Salt Lake city. By its connections with the
Chicago, Burlington Quincy, and the Atch-
ison, Topeka & Santa Fe, on the east, with
the Central Pacific on the west, it will be on
a trunk line from Chicago and St. Louis to
San francisco. The Denver & Rio Grande
has surveyed two other lines to Delta, one
down the Grand canon of the Gunnison from
the mouth of the Cimarron, with view to
avoiding the present grade over the Cedar di-
vide; the other from Crested Butte, through
the anthracite coal field and down the North
Fork. The Denver Il South Park railroad is
grsded from Gunnison to Ruby, and is sur
veyed thence to Delta, through the same an
thracite coal-feld. 1t is only u matter of
time that these three other roads will be
a,;+ nf ;s,s ualt thot
railroad down the Gunnison, North Fork or
Uncompahgre can ignore her. A school has
been kept up during the summer and winter.
The Town company is making provision for
free reading room. Lots have been set
apart for church and parsonage for each of
the leading denominations. Parks have been
reserved for the court and schools. Arrange
ments are being made by the Town company
to plant the parks and streets with trees. 1t
is the intention to make the town q pleasant
home for families. Good clay is at hand for
making brick, and beautiful white magnetism
and red sandstone can be had. The largest
wagon bridge west Of the "range'-about 400
feet long-spans the Gunnison at this point.
The elevation of Delta, as given by Prof.
Marcy, is 4,s0O feet.
Delta has a municipal government; Mr.. NJ.
C. vandeventer is Mayor.
The Town company in September, 1881, Sc
lected about 500 acres for town. which has
been surveyed and plated. The \pmpany is
composed of George A. Crawford, president
and general manager; Harvey A. Bailey, as
sistent manager; NJ. c. Vandeventer, secre-
tary; together with ID. G. Dodge, general
manager Of the Denver & Rio Grande; w.
A. Bell, vice president of the Denver & Rio
Grande; w. F. Weitbrec, manager of con-
struction of the Denver & Rio Grande, as di-
rectors There are also Hon. Allison White
and II. Rood, of Philadelphia; F. NJ. Ander-
son, W. o. Stephens and NJ. F. Frcdericks, of
Delta, and the Denver & Bio Grande railway
company, stockholders of the company.
THE COUNTY.
The boundary lines of Delta county are as
follows: Beginning at point three miles
south of the third correction line extended
west to point of intersection with the
1919 3O west longitude; thence due north
along said degree of longitude to the divide
between the headwaters of the Grand and
North Fork of the Gunnison rivers; thence
along said divide in southwesterly direction
to a point on the extreme southwestern ex-
of the Grand Mesa; thence in n southwest
erly direction to the mouth of the Rio
Dominguez; thence due south to point
three miles south of an extension of the