Otto Mears (May 3, 1840 – June 24, 1931) was aColorado railroad builder and entrepreneur who played a major role in the early development of southwestern Colorado.[1][2]
Mears was known as the "Pathfinder of the San Juans" because of his road and railroad building projects through Colorado'sSan Juan Mountains in the late 19th century.[3] He built hundreds of miles of toll roads in the rough terrain of the young state of Colorado,[4] notably theMillion Dollar Highway overRed Mountain Pass, connectingSilverton toOuray.[5]
Mears was born on May 3, 1840, to anEnglish-Jewish father and aRussian-Jewish mother fromCourland,[6][7] Latvia, then a possession of theRussian Empire. 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.[7] 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 inSan Francisco; 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.[7]
The San Francisco economy was booming due to theCalifornia Gold Rush, and Mears found work milking cows and serving as a clerk and ateamster. In 1859, Mears left the city to seek gold himself, working inPlacerville, California, and theComstock Lode inVirginia City, Nevada.[7] Mears then served in the1st California Infantry Regiment during theAmerican Civil War, fighting aNavajo uprising under the leadership ofKit Carson. After mustering out in August 1864 in theMesilla Valley in New Mexico, Mears moved toSanta Fe, 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.[6][8]
Later Mears worked the gold fields of California before settling in Colorado, where he would make his name. He initially settled inConejos County in Colorado Territory, but soon moved toSaguache, Colorado, then to theSan Juans where, among other things, he served as interpreter, negotiator, and friend of theUte Indians.[9] In 1873, Mears was one of the negotiators that helped secure a deal withChief Ouray, requiring his people to move away from the "Red Mountains" and resettle in a reservation in another part of theColorado Territory.[10]
A wheat farmer in Saguache, Mears first built a road overPoncha Pass to gain access to the flour mill atNathrop, which served theLeadville market. Mears told a story many times in his life that his decision to become a road builder followed an encounter withWilliam Gilpin, former Territorial Governor of Colorado, on Poncha Pass while struggling to bring his flour to market over the poorly built road.[11] He applied to the Colorado legislature fortoll road charters for his roads and built the roads in conformations and at grades suitable for railways. His routes over Poncha Pass andMarshall Pass were purchased for road beds by theDenver and Rio Grande railway.[9]
Mears built several railroads during his 91 years, including theRio Grande Southern Railroad fromDurango toRidgway, theSilverton Railroad, and theSilverton Northern Railroad. Several of his railroads werenarrow gauge. From 1888 to 1892, Mears issued special railroad passes to dignitaries and friends to allow them to ride free on any of his lines.[12] 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 for the Silverton Railroad and the Rio Grande Southern Railroad is on line at San Juan County Historical Society.org under "Mears Passes".
In 1876, the state legislature selected Mears as one of Colorado's three presidential electors supporting RepublicanRutherford B. Hayes.[13] In the 1880s, Mears was elected to the Colorado legislature.The panic of 1893 reduced the value of his investments. He had to sell much property and lost control of his railroad holdings.[14]
Mears moved to the East Coast and became involved in railroad and manufacturing ventures there.[14] One of his most successful railroads on the east coast was theChesapeake Beach Railway, which ran betweenWashington DC and southernMaryland.[15]
The dome of theColorado State Capitol building was originally covered in copper. After the weather tarnished thecopper sheathing, 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.[16][17]
Otto Mears died on June 24, 1931, inPasadena, California.[4]
In 1964, he was inducted into theHall of Great Westerners of theNational Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.[18]
Mears Peak in the San Juan Mountains is named after him,[19] as isMount Otto in the Sangre de Cristo Range.[20]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
