Santa Fe Trail - Lamar, CO - Colorado Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The marker itself is small ..... just a carved stone sitting on a concrete base. It has weathered the tests of time as it was placed by the Daughters of the American Revolution (..LINK..) in 1906 (at least that is the date on the marker) and still (after 106 years) still stands and marks this part of the old and historic Santa Fe Trail system.

The marker is made of carved granite and the lettering does show some weathering, but it has stood the test of time better than the concrete base that it sits on.

There is also an accompaning placard that is showing a lot of weathering but is still readable. Here is the text that is on the placard.

Santa Fe Trail

The Santa Fe Trail was
the main trade route between
Franklin MO and Sata Fe NM. The
main part of the trail was 780 miles long. Thousands of
freight wagons rumbled along the trail each year, except
for the winter months. The trail passes several historical
sites in the area, as well as many other sites along the trail.
The trip took about six weeks, one way. The majority
of wagons were pulled by oxen. Oxen were
more efficient because they ate and drank less
than horses or mules. They also were less
likely to be stolen by Indians. Oxen
traveled at one and a half miles per
hour. Freighters traded goods (clothes,
coffee, flour, sugar and guns) for beaver
and buffalo hides. As the rails were laid
Westward, the need for wagons ended.

1822 - 1872

Text on the stone:

SANTA FE TRAIL
1822-1872
MARKED BY THE
DAUGHTERS OF THE
AMERICAN REVOLUTION
OF THE
STATE OF COLORADO
1906

Here is a ..LINK.. to a very cool Interactive map of the Santa Fe Trail.

Here is a Google Maps Street View ..LINK..
of the Eads Rest Area where this
YAH on the Colorado Historical Marker can be found.
^{(Give it a few seconds to load)}

Group or Groups Responsible for Placement: Daughters of the American Revolution - Fort William Bent Chapter. County or City: Lamar, CO Date Dedicated: 1906 Check here for Web link(s) for additional information: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
In your log, please say if you learned something new or if you were able to take any extra time to explore the area once you stopped at the historic marker waymark. If possible, please post a photo of you at the marker OR your GPS at the marker location OR some other creative way to prove you visited. If you know of any additional links not already mentioned about this bit of Colorado history, go ahead and include that in your log!

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   04/29/2012 brwhiz visited it 02/12/2012 condor1 visited it

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