That old story is not how Salida got it's name! That story was made up by people in the County (Chaffee County) that were jealous of Salida. I think it was about the time Salida became the County Seat.
when the Denver & Rio Grand Railroad won the "Royal Gorge War" they laid their
tracks up the Arkansas River Canyon. The upper end of the canyon opened into the beautiful
valley of the Upper Arkansas River. Just into this valley they platted a
town site which became one of the more important division points on the railroad.
The town was given the Spanish name of "Salida" meaning "exit", probably due to the emergence of the railroad from the canyon. The Spanish name was appropriate as the town is on the Southwest side of the river in, what once was, Spanish Territory. The opposite side of the river was part of the Louisiana Purchase.
After the town was first built, fires burned much of it so the town was rebuilt of brick. Since the brick endured, Salida looks much as it did 90 years ago. The following views show that an old Victorian town still remains.
Most of the small photos may be enlarged by clicking on them. Return to this page by using the "BACK" button on your browser.
This is my house on "H" Street as it appeared when I bought it several years ago. I have done a lot of improvement since then. It was constructed in 1903 of brick. The brick made in Salida is rather soft so, to prevent erosion, it was covered in stucco. Living in an old house can be rather interesting.
There are a lot of very old trees lining the streets. Over time their roots have "done a number" on the sidewalks. I guess that is part of the charm of an old town. The shade along the streets is sure nice.
A lot of the old houses are well taken care of. That can be hard to do for some people as there is not that much money in town. The railroad left with their good-paying jobs and almost all the mines and mills are closed. Some of the places are run down but this one is nice. Good thing too. The sun looks at it every afternoon.
If you look at the picture at the top of this page you can see Tenderfoot Hill. Spiral drive goes to the top, and this picture was taken from there. In this picture, in the foreground you see what is left of the railroad yard, then the river (in the trees) and the downtown area. The town is set out on a 45 degree angle so you are looking Southwest. The diagonal that goes to the right is a bike path built on the old D&RG; RR Main Line that went over the Continental Divide. It crossed on Marshall Pass, just South of Mt. Ouray which you can see at the far right.
The thumbnail of this picture shows Chipeta Mt. In the enlarged version you see Chipeta to the left and Pahlone Mt. in the center. You are looking at the Southwest side of town, out over the golf course and toward Poncha Springs. The diagonal on the far left is the bike path/old rr grade to the Divide. Salida is just over 7,000 feet in elevation and the Continental Divide is about 20 miles to the West. The auto road, US 50, crosses at Monarch Pass which is to the right outside this picture.
In this last thumbnail you see 14,000 ft. Mt Shavano in the Sawatch Range. The full size picture shows the West view taken from Tenderfoot Hill. In it you can see the baseball fields and the Arkansas River. The river flows South from Fremont Pass, where it starts, and makes a turn East at Salida. Look for the smokestack near the center of the picture. It is the 365 ft. smokestack built for the Ohio and Colorado smelter in "Smeltertown", just West of Salida. It is now a landmark and the smelter is no longer there.