Delta chief., 1883-07-18
DELTA COUNTY.
The New County and city. and the
futurc Garden Spot OF Colorado.
Natural Advantages. Etc.

The growth of towns on the western from
tier is marvel to some; they show the az.
gressive commercial spirit of the people
quick To seize some point Of vantage for pres
.nt gani and future profit. One might say that
here, WHERE the echo OF the Indians moccslsin
had hardly died out Of the valleys, that we
can well believe were
Fair a. the gurdcn Of the Iard
10 the eyes uf the inniAhcd Indian horde"
'ha, inhabited them NO short time ago, and
from which they nittcd away all unwillingly
enc might think, We say, that here there
could be no vista of promise opening up TO
civilized eyes 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 ,he
junction of two fair streams there stands
young town giving promise of great prosper
ity in the near future.
The town Of Dclta--which bears the same
name the county itself-is located between
the uncompahgre and the 6unnison, jus,
above the point where the two rivers How to-
ge,hrr. The valleys of these streams, in this
vicinity, are very beautiful, and are all that
could possibly bc d.sirci in an agricultural
poin, of view. Delta Is located in the very
center of the agricultural ard grazing coun-
try, aud has tributary to il about 10000 acres
of as fine farming and frui,-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 A. iar a. the famed Black canon, the
settlements the North Fork, of itself an
An extensive country, rich in coal and cattle,
on the Roubidcau, Surface and Forked Tongue
creeks and down the valley of the Gnnnison
for several miles, and up the uncompahgre
riser for ten TO twelve miles. All the
streams Of the county lead To Delta n the
fingers to the hand; hence il Is destined to he
u milroad center; The Denver < Rio Grandc
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 A,ch-
ison, Topeka Il Santa Fc, on the east, with
the Central Pacific on the west, IL will be on
a trunk line from Chicago aud St Louis to
San Francisco. The Denver & Rio Grandc
has surveyed two other lines to Delta one
down the Grand canon Of the Gunnison from
the mouth of the Cimarron, with avicw 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 & South Park railroad is
Graded from Gunnison to Ruby, and is sur
yeye,l thence to Delta, through the same an
II. -t..tI I Il. nt.ly n m n
time that these three other roads will be
built. The situation of Delta is such that no
railroad down the Gunnison, North Fork or
uncompahgrc can ignore her. y school has
been kept up during the summer and winter.
The Town company is making provision for
"A free reading room. Lots have been set
apart for church and parsonage for each of
the leading denominations. Parks have been
reserved for courthouse and schools. Arrange
ments nrc being made by the Town company
to plant the parks and streets with trees. 1t
is the intention to make the town u pleasant
home for families. Good clay is at hand for
making brick, and beautiful white magnetism
and red sandstone can he 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 1880 feet.
Delta hns municipal government; Mr.J.
j. Barker is Mayor.
The Town company in September, 1881. sc-
lcctcd about 500 acres for n town, which has
been surveyed and plated. The company is
composed Of George A. Crawford, president
and general managcr Harvey A. Bailey, as-
sistcnt manager; NJ. C.. Vandcventer, secre-
tary; together with ID. G. Dodge, general
manager Of the Denver 4 Rio &rande w.
A. Bell, vice president Of the Denver q Rio
Grnndc; w. +. Weitbrcc, manager of con-
struction Of the Denver & Rio Grnnde, as d.
rcctors. There are also Hon. Allison White
and II. 4. Rood of Philadelphia; +. NJ. Andcr-
son, W. o. stephens and NJ. +. Fredericks, Of