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Rare September 17, 1881 issue of the Mountain Mail, published in Salida, Colorado, promoting the virtues of locating the State Capital of Colorado in Salida.
The text below the map includes "A Brief Recital of Some of the Many Reasons -- Why the Capital Should be Established in Salida, -- The Geographical Capital of the State . . . "
Southwest of Denver and west of Pueblo and Colorado Springs, Salida was then near to the economic heart of Colorado's mining regions, at the confluence of a number of railroads. Founded in 1880, Salida was originally a railroad town and was a significant link in the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. The Denver and Rio Grande bypassed the existing settlement of Cleora to establish Salida in 1880. Salida became a major division point for the D&RG, which erected extensive railroad facilities north of the commercial district on the opposite bank of the Arkansas River. The city developed quickly, and became the hub of a prosperous mining and agricultural region within a decade of its founding. Salida experienced devastating fires in its business district in 1886 and 1888, but rebounded to build a substantial commercial area consisting principally of two-story brick buildings. Railroad activity began to decline in the 1950s and, in 1971, Salida ceased to be a division point for the D&RG.
This issue of the Newspaper is very rare, as there are no institutional copies noted in Gregory (Union List of American Newspapers) which have any holdings of this title.
![[Geology Map of the Texas, California & the Southwest] Esquisse Geologique Des Anciennes Possessions Mexicains Du Nord Incorporees Ala Federation des Etats-Unis . . . 1867](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/71446.jpg)
