Otto Mears
Otto Mears (born May 3, 1840 in Courland , † June 24, 1931 in Pasadena , California ) was a Russian -born, American entrepreneur. His nickname " Pathfinder of the San Juans " refers to his entrepreneurial activity and the region in which he pursued it. He achieved special services in the construction of traffic routes and the pacification of the western part of the US state Colorado .
life and work
Otto Mears was born in the Russian Empire . His mother was Russian and his father was English . When both parents died, he was sent to relatives in England at the age of nine. A year later he drove to the United States via Ireland . When he arrived in New York , he traveled on via Panama to San Francisco .
His uncle, who was to meet him there, had meanwhile left for Australia . Otto was now eleven years old alone in the port of San Francisco. A lady traveling with him took him in. He later started making his first living as a newsboy. He then worked in Walkerville (California) as an employee of a shop and learned sheet metal forging. After various activities, he tried it as a gold digger in Nevada . In the 1860 presidential election , he claimed a born US citizen and elected Abraham Lincoln . In 1861 he enrolled in the 1st California Infantry Regiment . His regiment was under the command of Kit Carson . In Fort Summer ( New Mexico ) he was responsible for supplying the soldiers with bread, while selling leftover flour. With this money and his army layoff bonus, he ran a business in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1864 .
With his partner Isaak Gotthelf, he opened a shop in Conejos in 1865 near what is now Antonito (Colorado). Since the prices for wood and flour were good, he built the first sawmill and gristmill in Conejos County . There wasn't enough grain for the local mill, so Mears bought land near Saguache and grew wheat. Shortly after Saguache County's establishment , he became its first treasurer. He organized pack animal columns all the way to Denver and when the price of flour fell, he supplied the booming Leadville .
The road network was very poor at the time and so the then governor of the Colorado Territory , Major William Gilpin , suggested that Mears build, lease and maintain roads. For this he could demand a road toll and later sell licenses for railway lines on these roads. The first of these toll roads ran over 50 miles from Saguache to Nathrop in 1866 .
In 1868 there were disputes with the Ute tribe about their relocation to western Colorado. Mears, who traded with the Ute and mastered their language, was asked by the Colorado government to act as an intermediary. He managed to get the Ute to comply with the concluded contract. In return, he received a contract to supply the Ute with food. In 1872 Mears helped the government with the second treaty, the Brunot Treaty, with the Ute.
Other toll roads were built until 1873, for example to Lake City , Cimarron and the mining camps at the sources of the Rio de las Animas , near present-day Silverton .
In 1874 ores (silver) were discovered near present-day Lake City, and Mears and other business people announced the establishment of the settlement. In 1875 the road to Animas Forks was built and Mears was rewarded with a mail delivery contract to Ouray .
After building more roads, he was able to sell the rights of way to Utah to the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad in 1878 . In 1879 a telegraph line from Fort Garland to Montrose was put into service and the road to Telluride was leveled.
As the transport volume in Colorado had increased significantly, railways became necessary in many places. Mears and his partner Fred Walsen started building the Silverton Railroad (Rainbow Route) in 1887, the Rio Grande Southern Railroad in 1889 and the Silverton Northern Railroad in 1895. All of these tracks have a 914 mm gauge.
The economic slump of 1893 cost Mears part of his fortune and he was forced to give up control of his railroad lines. He later invested in railway lines on the east coast.
In 1908, at Mears' suggestion, the dome of the Colorado State Capitol was gilded.
Political activities
- For the 1876 presidential election , Mears was one of three Colorado voters. He was involved in the Republican Party .
- In 1884 he was elected to the Colorado House of Representatives.
Private
- In 1870 Otto Mears married Mary Kampfshulte, a German immigrant. Mears died on June 24, 1931 in Pasadena, California.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Jonathon C. Horn: Brunot Agreement. In: Colorado Encyclopedia. Retrieved March 23, 2020 (English).
- ^ Robert E. Sloan, Carl A. Skowronski: The Rainbow Route . Ed .: Sundance Limited. 1st edition. Sundance Limited, Denver, Colorado 1975, ISBN 0-913582-12-3 , pp. 35-51 .
- ↑ Jim Pettengill: Otto Mears Built a Transportation Empire That Transformed Southern Colorado. In: historynet.com. June 2012, accessed on March 23, 2020 .
- ^ Colorado Business Hall of Fame: Otto Mears
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Mears, Otto |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Russian-American entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 3, 1840 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Courland |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 24, 1931 |
| Place of death | Pasadena , California |