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79-793: John J. Hagerman gained control of the Colorado Midland Railway Company in June 1885. In September 1890, Hagerman sold the railroad to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , which operated the railroad as a subsidiary and changed the name to the Colorado Midland Railroad. For a short time the railroad was consolidated with the Aspen Short Line (1893-1897). Following the Panic of 1893 ,

158-516: A Fox (Channel 4) affiliate station under the call sign of KFQX that receives news from the Denver FOX affiliate, KDVR (Channel 31) at 9 pm. KLML (Channel 20) broadcasts Cozi TV programming. KRMJ (Channel 18) is the local PBS affiliate, part of the statewide Rocky Mountain PBS network. Grand Junction Regional Airport (formerly Walker Field Airport) serves as the major airport in the area. It

237-700: A cold semi-arid climate ( Köppen : BSk ). It sits in a large area of high desert lands in Western Colorado. Winters are cold and dry, with a January mean temperature of 27.4 °F (−2.6 °C). Due to its location west of the Rockies, Grand Junction does not receive as much influence from the Chinook winds as locations in Colorado east of the Front Range , yet it does receive protection from

316-537: A mountain biking destination, with many bikers coming from the Front Range of Colorado, the Salt Lake City area , and as far away as California to enjoy the area's abundant single-track trails. Two prominent trails are the Tabeguache and Kokopelli trails , the latter running from near Loma to Moab, Utah . Fruita, Colorado , with its 18-Road trail system, is within 10 miles of the city and has become

395-624: A Masters in Business Administration, Educational Leadership, and ESOL. The university also operates CMU Tech , a community college offering associates degrees and professional certificates. Also located in Grand Junction is IntelliTec College , a private for-profit technical college offering professional certificates. The Grand Junction radio market includes all of Mesa County, Colorado . Six AM radio stations and more than 25 FM stations are licensed to broadcast from

474-563: A calendar day, though the median is 6.3 inches (16.0 cm), and moreover, snow cover is intermittent. Snow is greatest in December and January. Spring warming is gradual but quickens when nearing June; the average last freeze date is April 25. Summer is hot and dry, with a July mean temperature of 78.2 °F (25.7 °C). Grand Junction averages 68 days a year with temperatures at 90 °F (32 °C) or above, and an average 8 days attaining 100 °F (38 °C) or more. Autumn cooling

553-570: A combination of abundant sunshine and irrigation from a system of canals that divert water from the Colorado River. Attempts were made to establish sugar beet farming and beet sugar production. The Grand Valley Sugar Company established a campaign in 1893, sending three train carloads to the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company . Several tariffs and subsidies to domestic sugar were established in the 1890s, which led to uncertainty in

632-405: A household in the city was $ 33,152, and the median income for a family was $ 43,851. Males had a median income of $ 31,685 versus $ 22,804 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 19,692. About 7.5% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line , including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over. From the time settlers arrived in the 1880s until

711-490: A job as a clerk with the Milwaukee Iron Company, a manufacturer of railroad ties. He continued working there after graduation in 1861, and by 1863 had so impressed the company's owners that he was made business manager of the firm. Hagerman married Anna Osborne in 1867. The couple had two sons, Percy and Herbert . J. J. Hagerman contracted pulmonary tuberculosis in 1873. Although he recovered, his health

790-537: A major artesian aquifer in the area in 1891 led Hagerman to extend his railroad. Hagerman reorganized the company and formed the Pecos Valley and Northeastern Railroad. Work began on extending the line toward Amarillo, Texas . The line reached Roswell and Portales in 1894, and connected to the Panhandle and Santa Fe Railroad at Texico . The line opened in 1899. Hagerman also sought to create farmland out of

869-635: A major attraction. According to the city's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report , Grand Junction's top employers are: Grand Junction's Colorado National Monument was home to a stage in the Coors Classic bicycle race known as "The Tour of the Moon" due to the Monument's unique landscape. Since 1958, the JUCO World Series has been played at Suplizio Field . The city also has

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948-418: A major mountain biking destination. The Mesa Valley School District No. 51 provides comprehensive K–12 public education to the Grand Junction area. School District 51 operates five high schools: In addition, the district operates numerous middle, elementary, and other types of schools, including East Middle School, Redlands Middle School, and West Middle School. District 51 partners with CMU Tech to operate

1027-567: A major success. Hagerman was one of three mine owners to precipitate the Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1894 . The mine owners, who employed about a third of the miners in the area, extended the work-day to 10 hours while refusing to increase pay. The workers, represented by the Western Federation of Miners , struck. Although some smaller mining companies capitulated immediately, the remaining owners (including Hagerman) raised

1106-701: A paramilitary force under the legal protection of the local sheriff. After a tense and somewhat violent standoff, the governor sent in the state militia to protect the miners. Hagerman and the other mine owners agreed to return to the eight-hour day . It was a major victory for the union. In 1898, Hagerman sold his stake in the Isabella Gold Mining Company and turned his remaining Colorado interests over to his son, Percy. J. J. Hagerman took up residence in New Mexico in 1892. Hagerman had purchased John Chisum 's Jingle Bob Ranch (now known as

1185-498: A problem as topography was, the route and terminals posed a still greater one. The line was originally projected to connect Colorado Springs , Leadville , and Salt Lake City , Utah, but it eventually stopped at Grand Junction , Colorado. If the line had been extended to Salt Lake City it would have had access to connections with the Union Pacific and Southern Pacific at Ogden , but at Grand Junction, it connected only with

1264-739: A professional Minor League Baseball team, the Grand Junction Jackalopes , who play in the Pioneer Baseball League . The Jackalopes were formerly known as the Grand Junction Rockies and were a minor league affiliate of the Colorado Rockies , but became independent in 2020. Both Suplizio Field and Stocker Stadium also host Colorado Mesa University as well as School District 51 sporting events. The Grand Junction area has developed as

1343-436: A swelling volume of interchange traffic at Colorado Springs and Grand Junction. The line had neither the motive power nor the physical facilities to deal with this sudden change, and yards and even on-line sidings rapidly filled with cars waiting movement to one of the terminals. After an investigation, the government reversed its decision, redirecting through traffic to neighboring lines that were more capable of handling it; this

1422-472: A vocational school, owned and operated by Colorado Mesa University. CMU Tech was formerly named Western Colorado Community College. Colorado Mesa University , a public university, serves as the primary provider of higher education on the Western Slope from its campus in central Grand Junction. This campus has an average enrollment of just under 10,000 students and offers a variety of degrees, including

1501-559: A water distribution center for the irrigation system. The Avalon Dam, meanwhile, was raised by five feet and extended by 65 feet (20 m). The flume was also rebuilt. The irrigation project, however, began to slowly collapse. Hagerman's local business partners sold their interests in the Pecos Irrigation and Improvement Company in 1894. Experiments in growing a number of crops in the region had not met with much success. The company began to hemorrhage money, Hagerman's interest in

1580-406: Is a home rule municipality that is the seat of government and largest city of Mesa County , Colorado , United States. Grand Junction's population was 65,560 at the 2020 United States Census , making it the most populous city in western Colorado and the 17th most populous Colorado municipality overall. As western Colorado's largest city, Grand Junction is the economic and cultural center of

1659-817: Is a major commercial and transportation hub within the large area between the Green River and the Continental Divide , and the largest city in Colorado outside of the Front Range Corridor . The city is along the Colorado River , at its confluence with the Gunnison River , which comes in from the south. "Grand" refers to the historical Grand River, renamed the Upper Colorado River in 1921. "Junction" refers to

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1738-672: Is located in the heart of the Grand Valley , a large Colorado River valley stretching over 30 miles east-to-west and 5 miles north-to-south. This valley is the most densely populated area in Colorado outside of the Front Range Urban Corridor . Grand Junction is 247 miles (398 km) west-southwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver . The city has a council–manager form of government. It

1817-549: Is provided by Union Pacific , with BNSF trackage rights . Amtrak , the national passenger rail system, provides service to Grand Junction Station , operating its California Zephyr daily on the UP trackage in both directions between Chicago and Emeryville, California , across the bay from San Francisco . Bustang , Colorado's state-run bus system, provides intercity bus service to the city. There are two bus lines that include Grand Junction. The West line connects to Denver, while

1896-468: Is rapid, with the average first freeze date being October 11. The area receives little precipitation year-round, averaging 9.05 inches (229.9 mm), with no real seasonal spike. Sunshine hours are abundant, even in winter, and total just over 3,200 hours per year, or 73% of the possible total. Grand Junction is the principal city of the Grand Junction, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of

1975-483: Is reached to the west via Interstate 70 and U.S Route 6 ; and Las Vegas (via Interstate 70 and Interstate 15 ). In September 1881, the former Ute Indian Territory was abolished and the Utes were forced into a reservation so that the U.S. government could open the area to settlers. Clinton County, Pennsylvania -born George Addison Crawford (1827–91) soon purchased a plot of land. On July 22, 1882, he incorporated

2054-872: Is the largest airport in western Colorado, and the third-largest in the state, behind Denver International Airport and the Colorado Springs Airport . As of 2024, the Grand Junction Regional Airport offers direct flights to Denver , Dallas–Fort Worth , Las Vegas , Los Angeles , Phoenix , San Francisco , and Santa Ana , as well as one-stop flights to Provo, Utah . In January 2025, the airport will begin offering one-stop flights to Hartford, Connecticut . Efforts are also underway to re-establish direct flights to Salt Lake City ; these flights were originally offered until staffing shortages caused Delta Airlines to cease service to Grand Junction in 2022. Railroad Freight service

2133-717: The Colorado and Southern Railway and the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad in 1900. It again declared bankruptcy April 21, 1917, and was sold at auction to Albert E. Carlton of Colorado Springs. Carlton attempted to revive the railroad's fortunes, but his stewardship of the road coincided with the entry of the United States into the First World War . After the inauguration of the United States Railroad Administration in late 1917,

2212-567: The Denver & Rio Grande , its principal competitor for traffic at Leadville and Colorado Springs. While the Midland had no choice but to turn over westbound traffic to the D&;RGW at Grand Junction, the competing line had no such incentive; it could move eastbound traffic over its own line to any spot the Midland served. When A.E. Carleton bought the CM, he planned to remedy this situation by extending

2291-466: The Piceance Basin . The oil embargoes of the 1970s and high gas prices resulted in major financial interest in the region. Exxon purchased rights and used Grand Junction as its seat of operations. The city and the surrounding Grand Valley became prosperous in the 1970s and early 1980s largely because of the effects of oil shale development. The United States, western Colorado in particular, has

2370-505: The Western Slope region. The city is also a transportation hub, as it is situated at the convergence of Interstate 70 and U.S. Highway 50 , and is the largest city between Denver, Colorado and Salt Lake City, Utah . Grand Junction is also a prominent college town, home to Colorado Mesa University . Grand Junction is the principal city of the Grand Junction metropolitan area , which had over 150,000 residents in 2020. The city

2449-539: The census of 2000, there were 41,986 people, 17,865 households, and 10,540 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,362.6 inhabitants per square mile (526.1/km ). There were 18,784 housing units at an average density of 609.6 per square mile (235.4/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 91.78% White , 0.60% African American , 0.94% Native American , 0.76% Asian , 0.12% Pacific Islander , 3.81% from other races , and 1.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 10.86% of

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2528-489: The 1880s. Since the late 20th century, several wineries have been established in the area. The Colorado National Monument , a unique series of canyons and mesas, overlooks the city on the west. Most of the area is surrounded by federal public lands managed by the US Bureau of Land Management . Interstate 70 connects the city eastward to Glenwood Springs and Denver and westward to Green River, Utah ; Salt Lake City

2607-449: The 1960s, three of the main economic activities in the region were farming, fruit growing, and cattle raising. Fruit orchards, particularly between Grand Junction and Palisade to the east, remain important to the region's reputation and economy to the present day. Fruits most often grown are peaches, pears, apricots, plums, cherries, and, particularly since the 1980s, grapes for wine. In this semi-arid environment, these orchards thrive from

2686-508: The Arctic air masses that can settle to the east of the Rockies. This is illustrated by the fact that from December to February, highs reach 50 °F (10 °C) only 18 days. Lows drop to 0 °F (−17.8 °C) or below on 2.9 nights per year. Snowfall is low compared to much of the rest of the state, averaging 17.6 inches (45 cm) per season; only once in the entire period of record dating to 1893, has observed 10 inches (25 cm) in

2765-534: The Carlsbad area. The development of railroads and irrigation in the region would not have occurred nearly as quickly without his financial backing and business acumen. He founded and built up towns and cities, donated large plots of land for public and educational use, and in general is considered one of the 'founders' of modern New Mexico. [REDACTED] Media related to James John Hagerman at Wikimedia Commons Grand Junction, Colorado Grand Junction

2844-651: The Colorado Sugar Manufacturing Company in 1899 and contracting E. H. Dyer to build a factory. The failed to succeed, so they sold the plant to local investors, who were able to make it a success. The Campion-Boettcher group then created the Great Western Sugar Company . Retail sales have been important to the economy for decades (e.g., gasoline, and hunting- and fishing-related sales), and uranium mining-related activities have also been significant. Grand Junction

2923-480: The Grand Junction economy in 2009. Reports given in 2009 suggested that Grand Junction had once again been hard-hit economically, with one report by April 2010 listing the area as having had the largest percentage drop in employment of any "small city" in the entire United States. By 2008, Grand Junction was being discovered by the "nation's elite business and leisure travelers" as a destination for private jet travel, with nearby Powderhorn Resort and other ski resorts

3002-579: The Hagerman ranch while his father lived in Roswell. Herbert was named territorial governor of New Mexico in 1906. Hagerman's health failed toward the end of 1900. He returned to Italy, and died in Milan on September 13, 1909. J. J. Hagerman is considered one of the most important men in New Mexico history. Along with John Chisum, Charles Eddy and Robert Tansill, Hagerman deeply influenced development of

3081-473: The New Mexican desert, and transport this produce on his railroad. In early 1890, Hagerman formed the Pecos Irrigation and Improvement Company. On July 1, 1890, this company absorbed the assets of the Pecos Irrigation and Investment Company, revising its charter in order to turn it into a land holding enterprise. Through the new company, Hagerman slowly assumed control of private irrigation project throughout

3160-556: The Old South Spring Ranch) near Roswell in Chaves County . He built extensively on the ranch, and founded the nearby town of Hagerman to accommodate his family's needs and his financial interests. Hagerman quickly decided to build rail and irrigation concerns in the region to enlarge his holdings. In 1895 Hagerman donated the flat land atop North Hill in Roswell to New Mexico Military Institute , allowing

3239-651: The Outrider line connects to Durango. Both of these have multiple stops between the final destinations, and the West line has options to transfer to alternative lines. Grand Valley Transit (GVT) is a regional transit system serving the Grand Valley. It operates 11 bus routes in the area as well as a "dial-a-ride" service. The city also offers a shared micromobility program that was launched in May 2023. The city has allowed

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3318-696: The Pecos River was also built. The canal crossed over the Pecos three miles (5 km) south of the dam by a massive 475-foot (145 m) long, 25-foot (7.6 m) wide wooden flume built in 1890. Hagerman's company began building a second dam, the Mcmillan Dam, in 1892. It was nine miles (14 km) upstream from the Avalon site. In August 1893, flooding washed out the Avalon Dam and the flume across

3397-479: The Pecos River, and damaged the Mcmillan Dam. Despite the economic depression which had hit the nation, Hagerman poured money into reconstruction and repair of the structures, completing the dams in 1894. Similar to the Avalon structure, the McMillan Dam was a rockfill dam, 1,835 feet (559 m) long and 56 feet (17 m) high. The Mcmillan Dam served as a water storage facility, while the Avalon Dam served as

3476-479: The Pecos Valley. Hagerman's irrigation company began designing an irrigation system for the entire Pecos Valley. The company built the Avalon Dam on the Pecos River in 1891, creating a six-mile (10 km)-long reservoir. The Avalon Dam's rockfill structure with impervious earthfill facing was the first of its type to be used for irrigation in the United States. It was 45 feet (14 m) high and 1,070 feet (330 m) long at its crest. An irrigation canal paralleling

3555-615: The Santa Fe railroad failed and both it and the Colorado Midland went into receivership. During this time, a crash in the price of silver also led to economic decline in the mining towns served by the railway. After the company was sold through the bankruptcy court on May 4, 1897, a new company known as the Colorado Midland Railway took over operation of the railroad. It then came under the joint control of

3634-515: The average family size was 2.84. In the city, 21.2% of the population was under the age of 18, 11.9% was from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 17.9% was 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males. The population figures are for Grand Junction only; the city abuts smaller towns and unincorporated county areas which contribute to area commerce. The median income for

3713-493: The boring of the Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel, much of this trackage was above nine thousand feet, in a district of Colorado where the snow often does not melt entirely until June. The railroad was difficult to operate at the best of times, and in winter it was often nearly impossible: the 1899 blizzard closed the line over Hagerman Pass for 77 days and cost the company more than $ 73,000 (approx $ 2 million in 2013). As great

3792-508: The city. Grand Junction is serviced by one local newspaper, the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel . The Grand Junction area also receives newspaper influence from sources in the greater Denver front range area. Grand Junction has ABC , NBC , and CBS television station affiliates under the call signs of KJCT-TV (Channel 8), KKCO-TV (Channel 11), and KREX-TV (Channel 5), respectively. Also, Grand Junction has

3871-452: The coming years (see Oil shale economics ). ExxonMobil pulled out of the region because of lower oil prices, which led to economic hardship in the region. The economic bust, known as "Black Sunday" (May 2, 1982) to the locals, started with a phone call from the president of Exxon to Governor Richard Douglas Lamm , stating that Exxon would cut its losses while retaining mining rights to the (then and currently) uneconomic oil. The economic bust

3950-480: The company's priority list, and was postponed in part because of concerns about the ability of the roadbed and track to support heavier equipment. At the outbreak of the First World War, the road's chief mechanical officer proposed the immediate construction of a new class of engines to handle the surging traffic, but the state of the road's physical plant (which urgently needed both maintenance and upgrading)

4029-449: The confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison rivers. Grand Junction has been nicknamed "River City". It is near the midpoint of a 30-mile (48 km) arcing valley, known as the Grand Valley ; since the late 19th century it has been a major fruit -growing region. The valley was long occupied by the Ute people and earlier indigenous cultures. It was not settled by European-American farmers until

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4108-782: The dry air and high altitude would continue to improve his health. (See Tuberculosis treatment in Colorado Springs ). Hagerman built the Hagerman Mansion and quickly became involved in local business. He built an office building and became a major stockholder in the First National Bank. Hagerman's new-found interest, however, was in railroads. In June 1885, Hagerman gained control of the Colorado Midland Railway , which ran from Colorado Springs to Buena Vista . Hagerman sought to expand

4187-424: The economy were health care, tourism, agriculture, livestock, and energy mining (gas and oil). Major energy companies had once again invested large amounts of money due to increases in oil and natural gas prices (such as in the years 2005–2008). However, a major drop (in the summer of 2008) of market natural gas prices led to reduced gas well drilling and related capital expenditures in the area, significantly slowing

4266-434: The government managers redirected much of the trans-Colorado traffic that was previously carried by other railroads onto the Midland, which was ill-equipped to deal with the sudden upturn in business. The traffic overwhelmed the railroad, and when it became apparent that the Midland was incapable of dealing with the volume of business, the government redirected all of it elsewhere. Business dropped off precipitately, and Carleton

4345-491: The largest and most powerful of their type in the United States. Unfortunately, the Midland's cash situation militated against capital replacement, and most of the locomotives purchased in the road's first decade were still on the property when it closed in 1918. The Midland purchased its last locomotives, the Class 175 2-8-0s, in 1907; after that, the purchase of new power fell behind ordinary operations and maintenance expenses on

4424-533: The largest-known concentration of oil shale in the world (according to the Bureau of Land Management) and holds an estimated 800 gigabarrels of recoverable oil, enough to meet U.S. demand for oil at current levels for 110 years. Known as the "Rock That Burns", the shale can be mined and processed to produce oil. In the past it was significantly more expensive than conventional oil. Sustained prices above $ 95 per barrel, however, may make extraction economically attractive in

4503-434: The market. After the 1897 Dingley Act , the company was revived in 1898 and rallied to build a sugar factory. They failed to fundraise to build the plant. At the same time, Charles N. Cox was able to organize an effort to establish a factory in 1898 as well. John F. Campion and others including James Joseph Brown , Eben Smith , Charles E. Mitchell, George Trimble, James R. McKinnie, and Charles Boettcher invested, creating

4582-485: The most influential men in territorial New Mexico . J. J. Hagerman was born March 23, 1838, near Port Hope , Upper Canada . His parents were James and Margaret (Crawford) Hagerman, immigrants of Scandinavian descent. The family moved to Newport, Michigan , in 1843. The family became naturalized United States citizens in 1848. Hagerman went to the University of Michigan in 1857. While in college, Hagerman took

4661-403: The population. There were 17,865 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. Of all households 33.2% were made up of individuals, and 13.8% had one living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and

4740-498: The project began to wane, and additional financial support was not forthcoming. The company declared bankruptcy in 1898. Another flood washed out the wooden flume the same day. The company was sold to the Pecos Irrigation Company on August 17, 1900. That same year, Hagerman moved from his ranch into the town of Roswell. J. J. Hagerman's son, Herbert James Hagerman moved to New Mexico shortly thereafter. He worked

4819-453: The railroad across Utah to Salt Lake City, but he was unable to do so, relying instead on his business connections to obtain cars consigned for shipment east at Grand Junction. Ironically, the situation reversed itself abruptly after the government took control of the railroads, and the USRA decided to route all trans-Colorado traffic onto the Midland. The railroad suddenly found itself handling

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4898-603: The railroad to Aspen and Grand Junction, and possibly west to Utah. He bored the Hagerman Tunnel through the Sawatch Mountains , and completed the line to Grand Junction in 1888. Hagerman also used lucrative coal mines to not only power his railroad but also to sell coke to the Leadville smelters. In 1890, Hagerman sold the railroad to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway . A miner at heart, Hagerman

4977-423: The richest silver mine in the world until that time. Still suffering from the effects of tuberculosis, Hagerman moved to New Mexico in 1892. But he retained his Colorado holdings, and took an active hand in managing his interests there. The Panic of 1893 and repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act caused the value of silver to collapse. But the price of gold remained unaffected, and the gold mining industry

5056-411: The school to reopen in Fall 1898. Prior to his move to New Mexico, in 1890 Hagerman incorporated the Pecos Valley Railroad to construct a railroad from Pecos, Texas , to Eddy (now Carlsbad), New Mexico , along the Pecos River . Hagerman wanted his line to connect with the Texas and Pacific Railway to improve local access to markets. The Pecos Valley Railroad was completed in 1890. The discovery of

5135-429: The section from Colorado Springs to Buena Vista. The Midland (as it was colloquially known) was an extraordinarily difficult railroad to operate, in large part because it had very little level track. In crossing Colorado, the line made three summits – at Hayden Divide , west of Colorado Springs, at Trout Creek Pass , and at Hagerman Pass on the Continental Divide. The Hagerman Tunnel was completed in 1887. In 1891, it

5214-487: The southeast, from Pueblo via Gunnison in 1882, followed in 1890 by the standard gauge Rio Grande Junction Railway from the northeast, from New Castle (jointly owned by the D&RG and the Colorado Midland ). These greatly contributed to the expansion and settlement of the area. At the 2020 United States Census , the city had a total area of 25,649 acres (103.799 km ) (40.077 sq mi) including 283 acres (1.147 km ) (.443 sq mi) of water. Grand Junction has

5293-454: The strike got out, Gillespie contacted Hagerman, who agreed to invest heavily in the new company. In 1890, the Mollie Gibson Mining & Milling Company was organized with Gillespie as manager and Hagerman as president. The company quickly purchased the Lone Pine, Silver King and Sargent mines and invested heavily in the Emma and other smaller mines. The company announced its silver strike on December 9, 1890. The combined Mollie Gibson mine became

5372-484: The town of Grand Junction and planted Colorado's first vineyard near Palisade, Colorado , causing the area to become known as the Colorado Wine Country. Grand Junction also has a storied past with gunfighters, miners, and early settlers of the American Southwest. Prior to its incorporation as the city of Grand Junction, the community was known as Ute , and was also briefly called West Denver . The narrow gauge Denver and Rio Grande Railroad reached Grand Junction from

5451-438: Was a wise decision, but the business generated by the road's on-line customers was not sufficient to keep it profitable without through traffic, and Carleton was compelled to seek permission from a court to abandon service in the summer of 1918. At the time of its construction, the Midland was among the best-appointed roads in the United States. Ten of the locomotives it purchased in 1886 and 1887 (the Class 115 2-8-0s) were among

5530-402: Was also severe, with several stretches of 4% grade and significant curvature. The portion of the line from Leadville to Hagerman Pass provided the setting for some of the finest railroad imagery ever taken. Especially noteworthy was the work of W. H. Jackson , particularly the photos circa 1890 showing the rise over five levels and the massive wood trestle leading to the final tier. Even after

5609-417: Was felt statewide, as Exxon had invested more than US$ 5 billion in the state. Colorado historian Tom Noel observed, "I think that was a definite turning point, and it was a reminder that we were a boom-and-bust state ... There were parallels to the silver crash of 1893." By 2008, the economy of Grand Junction appeared to be more diverse and stable than it had been in previous decades. Major contributors to

5688-595: Was forced to apply for permission to abandon operations. He received it, and the Colorado Midland Railway ceased operations in 1918. Segments of the railroad were then sold to the Midland Terminal Railway ; the rest of the line, mostly west of the Midland Terminal connection at Divide, was abandoned. The line was scrapped in the early 1920s. Much of the line’s grade was incorporated into the modern day U.S. Route 24 in Colorado , in particular

5767-605: Was greatly weakened for the remainder of his life. As the country recovered from the Panic of 1873 , Hagerman anticipated the increased need for iron ore. When the Menominee Mining Company was organized in 1877, Hagerman became an investor in and president of the firm. Using his knowledge of iron deposits gained while working for the Milwaukee Iron Co., Hagerman enabled the firm to become highly successful. The company's first successful iron operation

5846-565: Was home to the Climax Uranium Mill , a now decommissioned mill that provided uranium ore to the US Atomic Energy Commission . Education and healthcare have been important to the economy of the area, especially since the 1950s, with the rise of Colorado Mesa University and St. Mary's Hospital as leading employers in these fields. Vast oil shale reserves were known to exist near Parachute, Colorado in

5925-474: Was not about to be left out of the silver boom hitting the region. H.B. Gillespie, a mine owner in the region who had been involved in several major silver strikes, owned the Mollie Gibson mine, near Aspen. A major silver vein had been discovered in the mine, but Gillespie was convinced that the vein also ran under a number of other, nearby mines. Seeking capital to purchase these properties before news of

6004-622: Was replaced by the Busk-Ivanhoe Tunnel which was at a lower altitude. This shortened the line and made the grade easier, but the approaches to these summits were severe: eastbound trains faced an ascent of about twenty miles of three percent grades in the climb from Basalt to the western portal of the tunnel at Ivanhoe; westbound trains climbing out of the Arkansas River Valley faced a shorter but still difficult climb of 3.24%. The ascent from Colorado Springs to Divide

6083-623: Was still strong. A major gold strike near Cripple Creek, Colorado , led Hagerman to become involved in gold mining. Hagerman was approached by the owners of the Buena Vista mine, who were convinced that properties adjacent to their claim also contained gold. Following the pattern established in Aspen, Hagerman and his partners purchased 22 adjoining properties and formed the Isabella Gold Mining Company . The mine became

6162-467: Was such that he limited his proposal to a copy of the D&RGW's C-48 class locomotives, a design that was thirteen years old and approaching obsolescence. John J. Hagerman James John Hagerman (March 23, 1838 – September 13, 1909) was an American industrialist who owned mines, railroads and corporate farms in the American West in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was one of

6241-541: Was the Norway Mine. Hagerman built the nearby town of Norway, Michigan , to provide housing and services for the company's employees. Hagerman's health deteriorated in 1881, and he moved to Switzerland . The family soon left for Italy , and purchased a residence in Milan . With Hagerman's health somewhat restored, and he and his family returned to the U.S. in 1884. He moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado , hoping that

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