Sopris, CO
This topic was created to provide a link to the "History of Las Animas County" topic.
If you have additional history, Website links, or images to add you are invited to reply. Otherwise please DO NOT reply. Thank you.
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The Trinidad Electric (TE) continued west, to Cokedale.
Information on Sopris
The town site of Sopris was Platted, and established in 1888. It became one of the oldest mining town sites in Southern Colorado that was run by the Colorado Fuel & Iron Co.
(Records indicate that Sopris had been built on or near the site of an earlier settlement called Cariposas. Three smaller camps, St. Thomas, Piedmont, and Jerryville were also located just to the east of Sopris. Also, the settlement of Sopris Plaza, had a population of around 35, and was also called La Vesas, or La Beses.)
The Sopris mine, run by Colorado Fuel & Iron, was subsequently opened, and remained open until around 1930 when the mine's coal was exhausted. The mine also boasted of over 300 coke ovens, constructed of two batteries, or rows of ovens.
During it's prime, Sopris' population had grown to around 2400.
1955 spelled the impending end for Sopris and it's residents when it was announced that a dam, which would be used mainly for flood control, would be built across the Purgatoire River just west of Jansen. In 1970 the dam was nearly completed and the St. Thomas Church held it's last service on Christmas Eve, 1971. The post office is documented as closing in 1969.
With all buildings razed, the Purgatoire River was allowed to rise, creating Trinidad Lake, and inundating the town sites of Sopris, and Sopris Plaza.
However, the Sopris residents still relive the past with reunions, and a excellent website tribute. (See "Links for Sopris" below.)
Links for Sopris
"Keeping the Sopris Spirit Alive"
http://www.sopriscolorado.com/
Recipient of "Annual Award" honoring towns of 100 years or more.
http://www.trinidadco.com/forum/show...re-.-.-.Sopris
Maps of Sopris, St. Thomas, Jerryville, and Piedmont
http://www.sopriscolorado.com/Sopris%20Map.htm
TrinidadCo "Sopris" topic
http://www.trinidadco.com/forum/show...opris-Colorado
"Blasi" Bridge
http://www.trinidadco.com/forum/show...Bridge-History
Denver Library Online Images of Sopris
This is Sopris looking northwest over the coke ovens. Sopris Plaza can be seen in the distance, across the Purgatoire River, in the center of the photo. Spanish Peaks in the distance. Date: [between 1905 and 1910?] (DPL call number is A695.) (This image is incorrectly described on the Denver Library's website. A correct description is provided above. - RR-Guy)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
(The below link is image of DPL call number A695 above. The area above the coke ovens is magnified to show the Colorado & Wyoming Railway bridges across the Purgetoire River. - RR-Guy)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of a coal elevator at an unidentified coal processing plant in probably Las Animas County, Colorado. Shows mine buildings, timber scaffolding under an elevator, horse drawn coal cars and smoke above stone coke ovens. Buildings in a town are in the distance." Date [between 1895 and 1910?] Creator Aultman, Otis. (DPL call number is X4834.) (This is an early view of Sopris looking east towards Trinidad. This view shows the early set of coke ovens on the left - RR-Guy)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of mine buildings and elevators at an unidentified coal mine in probably Las Animas County, Colorado. Shows a frame processing plant, railroad tracks, holding tanks, a brick building and a horse-drawn ore cart." Date [between 1895 and 1915?] Creator Aultman, Otis. (DPL call number is X4836.) (This is an early view of Sopris looking west. - RR-Guy)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of an unidentified coal processing mill in probably Las Animas County, Colorado. Shows frame mill buildings, tailings piles, a mule-drawn ore cart, a tipple and railroad tracks." Date [between 1895 and 1915?] Creator Aultman, Otis. (DPL call number is X4838.) (This is an early view of Sopris looking southeast. This view is of a wooden Ingoldsby type gondola rail car being loaded with coal. - RR-Guy)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of buildings and houses at Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. Shows an elevated railroad grade near wooden shacks at the coal mining camp." Date [between 1895 and 1915?] Aultman, Otis. (DPL call number is X4852.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of buildings at probably a coal processing plant near Trinidad (Las Animas County), Colorado. Shows a tipple, an elevator, and probably a washer building." Date [between 1895 and 1915?] Creator Aultman, Otis. (DPL call number is X4861.) (This is an early view of Sopris. This view is of the loading chute. - RR-Guy)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"A group of miners pose near a tipple at the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company Sopris Mine near Sopris in Las Animas County, Colorado. The men lean on a coal car and wear work clothes that include overalls, gloves, boots, and hats. Some of the miners are identified; Fred Laminger, Sam Leonette, Abe R. Long, and John Gooden. Albert Komora stands at the far left." Date 1915. (DPL call number is X4906.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of the tipple at the Sopris Mine in the Colorado Fuel and Iron coal camp of Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. Shows narrow gauge tracks and coal cars." Date 1893. (DPL call number is X4907.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of the remains of a Colorado and Southern Railway trestle destroyed in a flood near the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company coal camp of Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. The Purgatoire River meanders past the ruins of the bridge." Date [1904]. (DPL call number is X4978.) (At the far left there is a bridge built as part of the trestle. This bridge spanned Raton Creek (Sometimes referred to, as Chicken Creek.). This trestle was directly south of the Colorado & Wyoming Railway yards at Jansen. - RR-Guy)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of the ruins of the washer building at the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company coal mine at Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. Shows rubble, coal carts, and a damaged building. A group of men stand on a narrow-gauge railroad bridge in the distance." Date [between 1902 and 1928?] (DPL call number is X4986.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of a coal washer and probably a boiler house at the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company coal mine at Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. Houses are in the distance." Date [between 1894 and 1928?] (DPL call number is X4987.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Smoke rises from the smokestacks of the powerhouse at the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company coal mine at Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. Shows railroad tracks, tailing piles, and houses." Date [between 1890 and 1928?] (DPL call number is X4988.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Men work on the construction of the clubhouse at the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company coal camp of Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. The building is a concrete block structure with a low pitched, hipped roof. Prominent buttresses support the two story main structure and a one story wing that extends from the building. Concrete blocks are stacked nearby and houses are in the distance."
Date [between 1890 and 1915?] (DPL call number is X4989.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of miner's houses at the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company coal camp of Sopris in Las Animas County, Colorado. Shows coal sheds, coops, outhouses, and fenced yards. Snow covers the ground." Date [between 1890 and 1928?] (DPL call number is X4990.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Clothes hang on lines in the yards of wood frame houses at the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company coal camp of Sopris in Las Animas County, Colorado. The neighborhood, identified as "Little Italy," consists of houses, outhouses, and coal sheds. Picket fences enclose each yard. Footpaths are in the snow that covers the ground." Date [between 1887 and 1928?] (DPL call number is X4991.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of wood frame houses at the Colorado Fuel & Iron Company coal camp of Sopris in Las Animas County, Colorado. Shows coops, fenced yards, hornos (ovens), and outhouses. A dog is by a feed trough. Snow covers the ground." Date [between 1887 and 1928?] (DPL call number is X4992.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
Images of Sopris School - Otis Aultman - dated 1915
"Boys dressed as miners pose outdoors as part of the Sopris School pageant in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. They hold axes, shovels, and lunch pails and wear overalls and hats with miner's lights." (DPL call number is A674.) (This photo is also in the book, The Coal People. - RR-Guy)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Boys and girls pose outdoors as part of the Sopris School pageant in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. The girls wear dresses and hold pails. The boys wear overalls and wide-brimmed hats." (DPL call number is A676.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Girls attend to a doll at a first aid station at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. Boys stand nearby with a toy stretcher. A bust of President Abraham Lincoln is nearby. Lettering on the first aid kit reads: "B & B First Aid Cabinet Emergency Supplies for Accidents Prepared by Bauer & Black Chicago, U. S. A."" (DPL call number is A677.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of a diorama that depicts a farm house, barn, and animals at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. A sign on the table reads: "Which."" (DPL call number is A678.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Boys and girls dressed as Native Americans pose with bows and arrows and on horseback at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. The girls wear dresses and feather headdresses. The boys wear knickers and hats." (DPL call number is A681.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Girls prepare food in a home economics class at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. The girls wear aprons and bonnets. One girl reads a book titled "Cooking Book One."" (DPL call number is A682.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of a home economics class display probably at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. Dresses hang on the wall near a table with displays of canned vegetables and baked goods." (DPL call number is A689.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Boys and girls dance outdoors to the music of a record player at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. A teacher stands nearby and looks on." (DPL call number is A711.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Girls pose outdoors at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. They wear costumes possibly for a play." (DPL call number is A712.) (Also in the photo is the Sopris train depot, and several railroad cars. Specifcally, a Ingoldsby "coke" car. - RR-Guy)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Boys dressed as Native Americans pose with bows and arrows and on horseback near the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. They wear feather headdresses and knickers. A man in buckskins sits on a horse and holds a rifle." (DPL call number is A713.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of a set of displays that concern food and hygiene at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. A bust of President Abraham Lincoln is nearby. Signs read: "Good Teeth Good Health," "Take [Time] To Eat [?]," and "Clean Food Good Health."" (DPL call number is A714.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Girls dance around a Maypole at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. The girls wear dresses and ribbons in their hair." (DPL call number is A717.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Girls dressed as Native Americans sit around a pile of kindling at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. They wear shirts, scarves, headbands, and their hair in braids." (DPL call number is A718.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Girls dressed as Native Americans pose at a display at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. They sit near a display fire and wear dresses, headbands, and their hair in braids. Signs read: "Santa Fe Trail Camp Fire" "Wohelo" and "Kolah" ." (DPL call number is A719.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of a display at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. Flags, drawings of the human form, and a miniature first-aid station are part of the display. Lettering on one flag reads: "Troop 1 Sopris" ." (DPL call number is A720.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of a miniature playground display at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. The equipment includes teeter-totters, swings, and a slide. Lettering on a nearby banner reads: "A Boy Who is Fair and Honorable is a Credit to His God and Country." " (DPL call number is A721.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"View of a diorama at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. The display depicts a town with houses and commercial buildings." (DPL call number is A722.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Boy scouts pose near a large U. S. flag at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. They wear scout uniforms with field boots and wide-brimmed hats." (DPL call number is A723.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Boys in costumes pose near a U. S. flag at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. The boys hold a lantern, hammer, saw, pick ax, and lunch pail. They wear overalls, an apron, and hats with miner's lights." (DPL call number is A733.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
"Boys dressed as Native Americans (tribe unknown) pose outdoors at the Sopris School in Sopris (Las Animas County), Colorado. They wear headdresses with feathers and hold bows and arrows." (DPL call number is A749.)
http://digital.denverlibrary.org/cgi...B=1&DMROTATE=0
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Railroad History of Sopris
Started in 1888, the Union Pacific Railroad completed building a spur from Trinidad, Colorado to Catskill, New Mexico in 1890. This railroad spur was known as the "Maxwell Branch", "Long's Canyon Branch", or "Catskill Branch". Not for the town of Maxwell, but for the Land Grant. Catskill, NM became the terminus for the "Union Pacific Maxwell branch". This branch originated from Cedar St. and proceeded west on the southern side of the Purgatoire River up Long's Canyon.
In 1899, due to the continued dealings of the railroad tycoons, this entire railroad line from Trinidad was taken over by the Colorado & Southern (C&S) Railway.
Note: The listed references (1 & 3) are inconsistent with dates about mine closure, when and whose railroad tracks were used, and dates surrounding the continued operation of the Sopris coking ovens.
"The Sopris Mine closed in 1930, so C&W abandoned it's branch between Piedmont and Sopris September 15, 1930, and discontinued operations over C&S trackage between Long's Junction and Sopris." (Ref. 1)
"Abandoned by CF&I in 1928, the Sopris Mine, having produced a little over 9 million tons of coal, was then leased to it's former superintendentr Jack Deldosso. Mining operations continued on a greatly reduced scale until 1940, when it was found that the coal veins were completely exhausted." (Ref. 3)
"Other Trinidad area coking plants which closed down in 1918 were Tabasco, Starkville, and Sopris."(Ref. 1)
"Over 300 coke ovens were "in blast" at Sopris throughout the 1920's and 1930's." (Ref. 3)
When the original trackage from Trinidad to Sopris on the south side of the Purgatoire River was abondoned in 1934, the tracks remained. But, it was not until 1938 that this trackage was removed.
Between 1934 and 1938, it is thought that the Sopris coke ovens were still being served by the Colorado & Wyoming Railway's tracks, and producing coke with coal from nearby mines. (Ref. 3) (Ref. 1 states coking operations ceased in 1918.)
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References:
(1.) Mountain To Mill, by William H. McKenzie, 1982 (The Colorado & Wyoming Railway)
(2.) Colorado Railroads; Chronological Development, by Tivis "Tiv" Wilkins, 1974.
(3.) Las Animas County Ghost Towns and Mining Camps, by F. Dean Sneed, 101 pages.
(4.) Coal People, by Rick J. Clyne, 120 pages.
(5.) Internet resources.
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