Tracking Colorado's Historic Railroad Stations

Railroads reached Colorado Territory in 1867, and eastern plains stations managed traffic with telegraphers. Before Colorado became a state in 1876, the railroad had already made inroads into the Territory. In fact, the first rails were laid in Colorado in 1867 when the Union Pacific Railroad, building its transcontinental line, put down nine miles of track in the very northeastern corner of Colorado Territory near what became the town of Julesburg. With Denver and Colorado Springs booming from gold discoveries in nearby streams and in the mountains, railroad companies were anxious to reach this bonanza. Competing rail lines were built rapidly across Colorado's eastern plains to Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and Trinidad. Train stations were constructed every ten to twenty miles to control traffic on the rails by means of telegraphers at the stations. Most early stations in eastern Colorado were simple wooden structures. Brick and stone stations followed later in larger towns. This volume examines the eastern stations, while a subsequent volume will track the stations in Colorado's western mountains.