This marker details the history of Antonito from the Indians to the railroad.
The Horse and the Indian
The horse represented more than a new mode of transportation to the American Indian—it represented a new way of life. The animals began filtering north from Spanish settlements in the seventeenth century, and the once-impenetrable Great Plains came alive with complex cultures based on the buffalo hunt. With horses, the Indians were better able to get food, to protect territory, to fight, to trade; they became more prosperous and powerful than ever before. Indian warriors rode with dazzling skill and daring; formidable opponents in combat, they were among the world's finest light cavalry fighters. Largely because of the horse, the Indian nations of the Plains successfully resisted white conquest until the eve of the twentieth century.
"The horse has come. Almost overnight, it seems, he has captured the west; and by his coming the west has been awakened, transformed." – H. R. Sass, Hoofs on the Prairie, 1936
The Ute Indians, one of the first native peoples in North America to acquire the horse, may have obtained their first animals near here. Rounding up strays from Spanish settlements, the Utes amassed sizable herds by AD 1700. A powerful asset both in trade and in combat, the horse transformed the Utes from a scattered people into a dominant nation. Their vast realm stretched from the high prairies to the Green River, and from the Rio Grande basin to the steppes of Wyoming. The very image of American Indian might, the Utes successfully protected their homeland until the last third of the nineteenth century.
The Cumbres & Toltec
Antonito grew out of the race to build the first railroad through the southern Rockies. The Denver & Rio Grande Western arrived in 1880, built the town, then kept pushing westward over a rugged, remote stretch of the San Juan Mountains. To save money and to accommodate the route’s alarmingly tight curves, the D&RGW opted for narrow-gauge track. Clinging to the steep slopes as it twisted over the Continental Divide, the line reached Chama, New Mexico, in 1881, unlocking a vast region of timber stands, coal fields, and mineral veins. Later the railroad added deluxe tourist service, seating passengers in converted freight cars. Riders boarded at the old depot, which sits across the highway, to enjoy a day of scenic thrills.
"It was said that the conductor, in the caboose, could borrow the engineer's chewing-tobacco plug on one curve and return it on the next, so sharp were the turns." – Robert Athearn, Rebel of the Rockies
The Antonito-Chama line enjoyed a short heydey. By World War I it was losing passengers to the automobile and freight to the trucking industry. The Great Depression further weakened the line, and by the 1950s it was used only for periodic tourist specials. In 1967 the railroad finally shut down, but historians and train buffs quickly moved to preserve it. In addition to its remarkable engineering and vintage steam engines, the Antonito-Chama line was one of the last of the pioneering railroads that helped populate the West. The states of Colorado and New Mexico bought the sixty-four-mile route in 1970 and reopened it as the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad, a "living museum" of frontier transportation. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad operates every summer, using historic engines and passenger cars.
Welcome to Colorado
Colorado's vast plains, rugged mountains, and grand plateaus, so magnificent in their beauty and variety, seem at times to overshadow the state's history and people. But look closely. The story of Colorado is every bit as dramatic as the physical terrain. Many peoples have helped sculpt Colorado's past: the Anasazi, whose civilization dates back thousands of years; the Utes, who occupied the Rockies for centuries; the numerous other native peoples who lived in this region; Hispano pioneers, the state's first permanent non-Indian settlers; and the men and women who came here and built cities, dug mines, and planted farms. Colorado's natural endowment is world-renowned. But the state's history, like the land on which it unfolds, features its own breathtaking peaks and valleys, its own scenes of improbable awe and splendor.
A new generation of roadside markers is in place to help you experience the history of Colorado in all its color and fullness. Produced by the Colorado Historical Society, the Colorado Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highway Administration, in collaboration with local partners, these illustrated signs introduce you to people and events as large and colorful as the state itself. Every mile you travel in Colorado has stories to tell; the markers help you chart your journey through the past. For an in depth view, visit the Colorado History Museum in Denver, the Colorado Historical Society’s various regional museums, and the county and local museums found throughout Colorado.
Source: Colorado Historical Society