Using maps to tell a story

I believe that genealogy, history and maps go hand in hand.  It's been a great "map week" for me with lots of interesting finds.....at BLM of all places.

This first one is an 1882 survey of Cotopaxi - the "original" survey which means there wasn't a government survey done prior to this date.  This is most of section 31.  Cotopaxi is in the north 1/2 of the north quarter (N1/2NW1/4) of section 31, Township 48 R 12E.  So the center of town (where the RR crosses the CR12)  today is just about the bottom of the number "6" in 34.64

I could probably do an entire class on reading township sections, quarters, sixteenths and so on.  Back east, townships have names and are well known.  Out west...no one ever uses a township, except when it comes to land descriptions.

(Copyright protected***)


A couple of important things to note.

1)  The road north of the tracks is on the west side of the creek.  Today, it is on the east side.
2)  The tracks seem to be too close to the river to have 2 houses between them.  Were the original tracks closer to the Arkansas than they are today?  Is the map to scale?  I have a document that says, "the old rr tracks" and shows that line south of where the tracks are today.
3)  The creek on the north side goes farther west than it is today.  This is verified by many mine claims that state it was 1/2 mile between Bernard Creek and Oak Grove Creek.
4)  Neither the road to the north or the road to the south meet at Cotopaxi - both curve to the west.  This would confirm the oral history that there was a ford in the river about 1/2 mile west of Cotopaxi.
5)  The red printed area says "Cotopaxi Placer No 286"

so the next thing I did was try to find No 286.  I thought I was looking for a plat like above.  Ends up it was a placer mining claim and in it, there was an 1884 plot of Cotopaxi.

(Copyright protected***)

So 2 years later, the road is now east of Bernard Creek and crosses the Arkansas.  BUT....note that the road is to the west of both stores and the house, just to the east of the water tower.  Still NOT where the road is today.  

This map gives me a bit more information:

1)  It labels Cotopaxi Gulch (known as Miner's gulch today)

2)  Identifies Saltiel's house as the "dwelling house" and I have documents that use this in the description

3)  Shows me 2 stores and a hotel.....about where I thought they were

4)  Gives us a freight house, depot and section house for the railroad - which is what I thought was there.

5)  Gives me a location for a ditch that is shown in several documents

6)  Shows a "new" wagon road north of the tracks, south of Saltiel's place, going west and then north...up to the Cotopaxi mine.

7.  Shows a space from Hart's store and hotel going east to the "houses".

This open space has been identified as the "lower orchard" on a number of documents.  Then we have the attached Shuteran/Nudelman house.  These were Colonists.  I wonder if Saltiel had the Jew's homes built to the east of town, away from the gentiles.  It would make sense.  Supposedly there were 6 houses in town by the fall of 1882 according to Schwartz.  Guess I need to go do some more research to see what I can find.

Shuteran and Nudelman sold their attached house to Annie Hart and she then sold it to Susan McCoy.  It became known in the documents as the "McCoy double house".  I was able to track it to the current location today.  We think the original "double house" was torn down and another structure was put on this land.  But we do know it was located at the east end of town and this map would confirm that.

Using maps, land declarations, property transactions and now mining claims....I'm gradually building a story of how Cotopaxi was built from nothing to what it was in 1882 - 1884 when the Jewish Colonists resided there.....and then to today's current homes.  

The "dwelling house" on this map later became the Hylton Hotel.  The store & P. O. and the hotel to the east of it belonged to E. S. Hart who was Saltiel's cousin.  Making progress - one map at a time!

***Why do I say "Copyright protected"?  Because you do not have the right to take the research that I've done and use it on your website/book/story etc without my written permission.   Feel free to schedule some time with me and I'll gladly show you how to do the research yourself!!!

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maps can tell the best story!

I'm publishing this "unfinished" map....as the beginning of what may be a never-ending story.  I found documents that show the Nudelmans and the Chuterans (Jewish colonists) sold their "attached" house to E. S. Hart who then sold it to Susan McCoy.  I'm so curious....where was this "attached" house?  Thus this "working" map with all my notes on it.

In later documents, I find the sale of the "McCoy double house".  Has to be the same place.  Most of the early documents show the property as being measured in feet, east of the center of the county line.  So this map is just that....showing the property possibilities in the last 134 years based on feet from the center line.  I'm inserting it as full size, so those who are interested can see the details.  Ignore the "state highway department" location.  The orange line going up and down the center is CR 12.  Plum street is CR 51, and off to the left is CR 52.

So, starting at the intersection of CR12 and CR51,   0' to 30' marked Hendricks is where we think the ES Hart store/PO were.  In 1882.   Go to the right to 601' to 651' and thats where I think the Nudelman/Chuteran house was.  But I still have more to research.

Much of this is after the Colonists left....but it's a good start for my research as it combines ownership from the 70s, today, and the 30s.  I get a broad spectrum of names to connect as I look for records on each piece of property.  Can you start to see why I created family trees for the Cotopaxi residents?

Saltiel lived on the west end of CR52 where it says "Bailey".  Baily died in 1936, so that gives us a starting point to date the printed portion of the original map.  His house was a boarding house and probably became the Cotopaxi Hotel.  It was later purchased by JDHylton.  The livery and saloons were not there in 1882.  But the McCoys were in the area in 1882.  Susan McCoy was the mother of the "McCoy" gang - known for cattle rustling and killing.

this map is subject to much change as I continue to find new documents - or pay closer attention to documents I've already found.  And this map is a bit off when you look at the Dyer/Gilbert properties...they were moved south, closer to the river, when CR 52 was "drawn" on the books.  That's why I have "now old Yarmark" and "now McNew" written in.

It's interesting to note the addition and separation of lots on Plum street over the past 134 years.  I've shown that with dashes....when it was combined and when it was separated will come later.  But of note, there were a few houses close to CR12, then an open space known as the McCoy lower orchard, then more houses.  And we know that Saltiel had an orchard on his place.  New trees?  or did they produce fruit?

We think the shul was right north of the Hendricks place (Zero to 30') but may never be able to prove that.

Mom lived in a little cottage that began at 397'.  Most of the documents for that house since the time it was built show it as being at 397'.  Perhaps one of the easiest houses I've researched thus far!  However, the back section of her property has changed much over the years.  Finding where that was, who owned it and how it got merged has been interesting to say the least!

If you read this and have any clues you can share, I'd love to hear them!  Maps can be so much fun!

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Put your name on your house!!!

They have been doing that for centuries in the northeast.  Sometimes it's a family name.  Other times they would give it a name like "Spring Lake" or "Robin's Peak".  When you drive around in the New England states, you will see the little wood posts on the houses that show you it's name!  Sure makes it easy to find the specific place you are looking for!

At Cotopaxi, there were 2 buildings that we know of that were "named".  One was "Saltiel".  This particular photo has been used to "prove" that the town was once known as "Saltiel".

It's obvious the name is on the building.  So I started my research.....looking high and low to find out when the town was called "Saltiel".  I can find a single reference to a "Saltiel Park".  One reference to it being called "Saltiels".  Absolutely nothing else.

I have gone back to 1876 in the local clerk and recorders office.  No mention of it being called Saltiels in any document ever.  In fact, the first name used other than "Fremont County" or "Arkansas Valley" appears in 1879 in a legal document, calling the place "Cotopaxi."

So why did this building have the name "Saltiel" on it?  Just a carryover of the hundreds-year-old tradition from buildings back east?

I wonder!

In the 1880 census, we see that Emanuel and Elizabeth Saltiel were living in their home with their 3 children....and eight boarders.  Was this a hotel of sorts???  The beginning of a hotel?

and just for clarification.....it's not listed as "Cotopaxi" in the census dated June 23, 1880.  It's still known as Fremont County.  

In the 1880 census, Cotopaxi was a very small place.  The train was just being built through the canyon and the railroad had built a boarding house (maybe 2?) but did not yet have a depot.  There was the first hints of a stagecoach road coming in from the south.....either late 1880 or early 1881....after the train stop was built.

The census verifies this with lists of boarders....and only a very few families:

Richard McCoy, age 43, farmer ("famous father of the McCoy gang" - probably lived east of Cotopaxi in what is now known as McCoy gulch)
Nicholas Owens, age 45, farmer
H. Rogers, age 32, keeping rr boarding house,  family and 16 boarders
J. W. Miller, age 30, farmer
W. H. Murray, age 33, keeping rr boarding house, family and 22 boarders
Levi Bradish, age 75, farmer

(and keep in mind that "farmer" is a term for rancher....these men were cattle ranchers....not farmers like you would think of in the midwest).

It appears that Rogers and Murray were brought in to run the boarding houses built by the railroad.  The timing is perfect for June as the first train was in December, 1880.

That leaves us with McCoy, Owens, Miller and Bradish as the only ranchers in the valley.  Of these, only the McCoy's stayed (from my research thus far).

Once the train stop was built, the town started growing rather rapidly.  

In the 1880 Colorado State Business directory it states:

Cotopaxi - New camp on D&RG RR 34 miles west of Canon City, 

P Brogan, J C North, Carpenters and Builders (not listed in the 1880 census)

JW Harrison, E H Saltiel, Mine Operators (Harrison resided in Canon City)

Cotopaxi Hotel

M Harrison, Blacksmith (not listed in the 1880 census)

North was living in the same boarding house with Gold Tom in Precinct 1.  Cotopaxi was in Enumeration District 46 in the Arkansas River Valley.  I think Precinct 1 might have been Texas Creek, but not sure yet.  More research to do!

Nonetheless, in 1882, Cotopaxi was new, tiny, and truly part of the wild west.  Was Saltiel's house the hotel....and had been a boarding house in 1880?

And then.....I came across this "Saltiel house" photo...and this is probably the original.  It has not been cropped.  Exact same people in the exact same positions:

Notice the street lamp over to the right? I seriously doubt this photo was taken in 1882.  I doubt these were the Jewish colonists in the photo.   There was no electricity or gas power in Cotopaxi in 1882.

I think someone found this photo, cropped it, and then declared that the town was once called "Saltiel"!!!

My next task is to take all the buildings that were present in Cotopaxi in 1882 and determine what was a hotel (might have been 2 of them), what was a store (pretty sure there were at least 2) and what other businesses there were in "town" when the Colonists were there.  

My point - put your name on your house and one day it might just turn into the name of the place where you lived!  OK...just joking!  My point is that one should not take literally what they read or see in print.  Understand that oral histories can evolve because someone wants you to believe something.  Take the time to do the research to prove what someone else writes.

As a final thought on this blog.....do you see the tall cacti in the photo?  Cholla cactus, aka "walking 

stick" cactus.  They cover the hillsides and are everywhere....guess they were here in the 1880s as well!  They grow 2' to 4' tall.  

You can see the areas covered on the ground with this type of cacti,  some call it prickly pear, or elephant ear.  I can guarantee you that you don't want to step on it!  LOL!


Go back and look at the photos....these is the darker areas on the ground...absolutely covered...and still in the area today, just go take a hike in the hills, but be sure to wear leather shoes or boots and watch where you step!  Tennis shoes just won't cut it!

Can you imagine sending a group of Jews to this area to farm?  Ask yourself the same question about your own ancestors....what did they face when they attempted to farm, to build a house, to eek out a living as they moved west across this country.  What do you know about your ancestors??  It's so much more than just putting a name into a family tree.

Maybe we should all put our names on our homes!

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 c2016.  All content is copyright protected and may not be copied, reproduced, reused or reposted in any manner without permission.