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"A Nation That
Forgets It's Past Has No Future." ~ unknown
author
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The Vallecito Valley as viewed from the top of Middle Mountain
in the 1930's, prior to the Pine River damn project
~photo by Kennon Decker |
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write about Vallecito without including some information on the earlier inhabitants who
also enjoyed this entrancing valley and mountain
hideaway. They were living here long before the
white man ever even knew of the valley's
existence; and even though present-day occupants
feel such a deep sense of love and possession of
this place, one has to be saddened by the way it's
former inhabitants were forced from the spot that
they also claimed and cherished. |
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There are many theories as to where
the earliest inhabitants came from, but the most accepted
theory seems to be that they were nomadic hunters from Asia
known as "The Folsom People", named for an archeological find
near Folsom, NM. These ancient tribes crossed the Bering
Strait when the Ice Age had created a land bridge and traveled
throughout most of the western part of our continent, and eventually
migrating down into what is now Colorado. Little
record exists of the habitation of these ancient desert people except for proof of their beautiful stone
tools and links of ancestry to the
Anasazi Indians, a very civilized tribe, small of stature, who
forged and farmed the Western Slope of the Rockies. |
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Traces of the Anasazi people are
plentiful in Vallecito, Southwestern Colorado, and the whole
Four Corners Region, with notable abandoned dwellings like Mesa
Verde National Monument (top), reflecting more than 700
years of history from approximately A.D. 600 through A.D. 1300 |
Mesa Verde National Monument |
| Chimney Rock Archaeological Area
(bottom) is the nearest Anasazi Ruin site to Vallecito Lake.
It's located twenty-six miles north of Bayfield on hwy 160
East, and then south at the intersection of hwy 151 for eight
miles. Tours are available exposing many kivas, ceremonial
pits, and captivating views of the towering chimneys, the
Piedora River, and the enchanting valley below. |
Chimney Rock Archaeological Area |
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European Explorers would initiate many changes upon
the American Indian in the 1500's. There are records of many
adventures who came to make their fortune in the Southwest, but
the first were probably Spaniards who embellished intriguing
stories of abundant gold and silver. In 1540, Francisco Coronado
and his contingency of 250 armored soldiers pressed
northward from Mexico to verify these persistent rumors of
treasure. Francisco Coronado and his men ruthlessly pillaged
Indian pueblo's along the way.
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Southwestern Ute Tribal Members |
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Coronado's soldiers records didn't make
mention of problems with any "Ute" Indians during
their travels, but stories of attacks by the dark-skinned
"Uticahs" were widely circulated among the Spaniards
during trading with the Plains Indians in the early 1600's.
About 80 Uticahs were eventually captured and punished for horse
thievery by means of slave labor in Coronado's gold and silver
mines. Their captors treated the non-Christian
"savages" with ruthless disregard. |
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Eventually, brutal
treatment and extremely difficult working conditions would
result in many deaths among the captives. The Spaniards attempted to
round-up more Uticahs to replace the increasing numbers of slave
deaths, but they were soon hampered drastically in their
attempts to capture these wily adversaries who became very
skilled riders on their stolen Spanish ponies. So the
slave-hunters resolved to focus on the more docile "Plains" and
"Navajo" tribes for their slave trade. By the late 1600's, the
Spaniards began trading horses with their former adversaries in
return for slaves from other tribes, and these Spanish ponies
were soon distributed throughout the Southwest.
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In a lustful
quest for silver and gold, 1700's Spanish adventurers flooded
Colorado, littering the once pristine countryside with a wake abandoned
mining operations.
Following the signing of the
"Declaration of Independence" of 1776, the first
official Spanish expeditions took place in Colorado, charting
"Provincia de Nabajoo" or "Land of the
Navajos" on the map. And later, a Spanish individual bequeathed
the name "Vallecito", meaning "Little
Valley", on the lush land where Vallecito Reservoir now
stands. He thought the name to be more melodious to the ear of
the white settlers than "Provincia de Nabajoo" or the
name the Indians used, "Shu-ah-gauche".
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The French had also been traveling this
country. Fort St. Louis was established on the Texas coast of
the vast Louisiana Territory also known as New France around
1685. The many different Indian tribes that inhabited this area
were not pleased to see these white invaders, but the French
treated these relationships with much more respect than had the
Spaniards that preceded them. Showering the locals with gifts
earned friendships and the privilege of outpost trading deep
into their territory, and west of the great Mississippi.
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It was 1724 when tribes began confiding
in the French that the Spaniards captured their people and
enslaved them in the silver mines near their villages. Around
the same time, the Spanish were becoming quite annoyed with the
Frenchmen who were trading and trapping in Spanish occupied Louisiana
territory. They were uneasy because they could clearly see that
the French were having an increasing influence on the native
populations, but they maintained a diplomatic position with
their European adversaries by assigning many of the French to
help with necessary transitions.
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A 300 man French and French Canadian
mining expedition approved by Louis Villamont was launched in
1799 to map the areas between New Orleans and Colorado and New
Mexico; but with the main purpose, unbeknownst to the Spanish,
was to prospect for gold and silver. The group journeyed into
southern present-day Colorado where they joined a band of Capote
Ute, saving them from a certain slaughter at the hands of a much
larger force of Comanche. In return for their help, the natives
led the French to the summit of the Continental Divide near Wolf
Creek Pass, where they did, in fact, hit some big strikes near
Summitville and the East coast of the San Juan River. Men on
hunting detail were said to have traveled westward to the
heights above Pagosa Springs and Vallecito during leaner years
caused by draught.
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By the 19th Century, word of
great treasures in the new world had spread throughout Europe
sparking wide-spread interest in the Rocky Mountain Regions. The
Spanish Inquisition fueling political and religious upheaval, the
potato famine of Ireland, and the promise of a better life all
contributed to a mass European exodus. More and more would venture westward.
Plentiful farmlands and the California Gold Rush were cause for
great excitement and expectations. Railroads were built across
the continent to haul people, supplies, and equipment to new
locations and before long ... the "Wild West" was ... tame. |
Pine River Store and Post Office established in 1877 on Old
Stage Rd, a few miles north of present-day Bayfield, was the
closest store and settlement to Vallecito in the early days. |
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The Exciting news of seemingly
endless discoveries of gold and silver worth immeasurable
wealth in the 1870's sparked a rush of greedy prospectors and
various mining companies toward what is now Denver, into the
San Juan's, and all the way down to the present-day Durango
area. Most of those who had drifted through the San Juan
Mountains were unknowns until Colonel Baker and his
prospecting party arrived at the Animas River in 1861 and
settled in Baker's Park near present-day Silverton, Colorado.
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The end of the the American Civil War
and the "Homestead Act" of 1862 caused many released
soldiers and wandering souls from the east to drift west, and
soon many found their way to the Pine River Valley and Vallecito
Area. The area, however, was part of a Ute Reservation. Many
white settlers were moving into Ute land but, unlike the
explorers, they didn't just come for a while and then move on;
they came and began farming, ranching, and setting up stores to
furnish supplies for even more settlers. Confrontations were
plentiful. The "Boulder News" once stated that
"... an Indian has no more right to stand in the way of
civilization and progress than a wolf or a bear." The
Indians were gradually being crowded out!
Then, finally, the Bruno
Agreement, an unfair treaty reached in 1873, had dishonestly
imposed even more hardships upon the natives, cutting their
territory further. Had it not been for Chief Ouray's skillful
negotiating, the Southern Ute may have been driven from their
last remaining piece of land in Colorado. The Northern Ute
retreated into what is now Utah.
This would not be the last bitter pill the American Indian had
to swallow.
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Cabins in Indian Country |
Vallecito has never been an
actual town. It is simply a valley where the Los Pinos and
the Vallecito River join. As settlers ventured in, some
ranches sprang up along the edges and bottom of the
wildest part of the valley where the rivers actually join,
and other ranches were located up both of the individual
rivers. Some people settled down on the area below where
the rivers combined, which then was known as the Los Pinos
or "Pine River". No real boundaries to
"Vallecito" have ever existed, but it's
presumed, by most, to end a few unspecified miles below
the present damn. |
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Some of the earliest recorded
homesteaders in the Vallecito area are still remembered because
their names were given to localities and other natural areas.
John T. Graham and Thomas Wilson had creeks named after them on
the east side of the present-day lake. Charles C. Graham
homesteaded what later became the Teelawuket Ranch, where his
original cabin still stands. George Brawner homesteaded part of
the present-day Cool Water Ranch and has a canyon named for him,
and Adolphus Germain homesteaded part of the Dunsworth/Warlick
Ranch south of Sawmill Point where the Warlicks now live. These
hardy fellows were soon followed closely by a number of others.
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| The Three Decker brothers, Elmer, Claude, and Jim arrived
at Vallecito and put down roots in 1922. They first opened
Vallecito Livestock Company and then changed the name to
Decker Livestock Company in 1936.
The three Decker families owned the whole upper part of
the valley, and they all lived in houses that were in
close proximity to where Grimes Creek and Vallecito Creek
came together in bottom land. |
The Decker Family Ranch house had to be moved before the
lake would come to cover it in 1942 |
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In October of 1911, a flood washed out
part of the town of Bayfield. There was much debate over water
rights and how to delegate such rights so as to meet the needs
of ranchers both the upper and lower Pine River Valley. After
the June and September floods of 1927 washed out several bridges
and causing terrible damage, it was generally agreed upon
that something had to be done to solve the water shortage
problem as well as flood control for the sake of all of Bayfield
and Durango.
After years of studies and meetings, a plan was
successfully negotiated and the "Pine River Project"
was drawn up and signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on
June 17, 1937.
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View from southeast end of dam during dam construction.
Sawmill Point in background. |
The Mining years had come
and gone at Vallecito, and the population was holding
fairly steady, when came news that a dam would be built
and a reservoir would displace some of the ranch land in
the bottom of the valley! The Sullivans, the Deckers, and
the Dunsworths owned most of the land needed. The other
owners were the Pearsons, Wilmers, Oberts, and Curries.
Most would lose their homes, or move them, if that were at
all possible.
After the land acquisition phase was accomplished, the
Bureau of Reclamation awarded the contract for logging the
timber from the dam and lake site. The timber to be
removed was estimated at five million feet, log scale,
merchantable timber, and the removal was complete in one
thousand days. |
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Since the construction of the Pine
River Dam Project, the community has turned sharply from
agricultural and ranching toward a heavy reliance on a
recreational, tourist market. The people who now live in
Vallecito are there for the area's crisp mountain air and an
easy-going lifestyle. Tourists come back for exceptional hiking,
biking, boating, fishing and camping. You'll continue to come
back for our genuine Colorado hospitality ... Vallecito-style!
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Information for this page was
gathered from the following sources:
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"Vallecito Country"
by
Dottie Warlick
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After hearing the almost forgotten stories of
the Valley’s early days from her husband’s family and other
old timers, author Dottie Warlick felt compelled to preserve the
treasure of information that would otherwise be lost forever
with the passage of time. Her extensive research resulted
in stories about many of the local families who homesteaded this
area, including the Warlicks, Deckers, Sullivans, Dunsworths,
McCoys, and Wommers, to name just a few; the building of the
Vallecito Dam; and the disastrous 2002 Missionary Ridge fires.
Dottie also relates tales of the explorers, fur traders, miners,
outlaws, and lawmen who explored this beautiful region of
Colorado.
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Dottie Warlick is a
Vallecito local and a rare authority regarding Historical
Vallecito Lake |
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Warlick brings an appreciation for
the interaction of the people and the land they grew to love,
despite severe hardships that cost some of them their lives. Vallecito
Country will appeal to the old-timer, who wants to review
and pass along to the next generation a fast-disappearing way
of life, or to the tourist, who wants to learn more about this
enchanting land and its fascinating people.
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