Otto Mears facts for kids
Otto Mears (born May 3, 1840 – died June 24, 1931) was a famous Colorado railroad builder. He was also a successful businessman. Mears played a very important part in developing southwestern Colorado in the early days.
People called Mears the "Pathfinder of the San Juans." This was because he built many roads and railroads. These projects went through Colorado's San Juan Mountains in the late 1800s. He built hundreds of miles of toll roads in the rough mountains of Colorado. One famous road is the Million Dollar Highway over Red Mountain Pass. This road connects Silverton to Ouray.
Early Life
Otto Mears was born in Estonia, which was part of Russia at the time. His parents were Jewish. He became an orphan when he was only 3 years old. As a boy, he was sent to the United States to live with relatives. He sailed to San Francisco when he was 11. There, he lived on his own without any family.
Mears served in the California Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War. He finished his service in late 1864. After the war, he stayed in New Mexico. He managed a store called the Gallup Mercantile Co.
Building a Career
Later, Mears worked in the gold mines of California. But he soon moved to Colorado, where he became well-known. He first settled in Conejos County. Then he moved to Saguache, Colorado, and later to the San Juan Mountains.
Mears was a farmer in Saguache. He first built a road over Poncha Pass. This road helped him get his flour to a mill in Nathrop. The mill served the market in Leadville. Mears often told a story about how he decided to become a road builder. He met William Gilpin, who was a former governor of Colorado. This meeting happened on Poncha Pass. Mears was struggling to bring his flour to market on a very bad road.
He asked the Colorado government for toll road charters. These charters gave him permission to build roads and charge people to use them. He built his roads in a way that they could later be used for train tracks. The Denver and Rio Grande railway later bought his routes over Poncha Pass and Marshall Pass. They used these routes to build their own train tracks.
Railroad Builder
Mears built several railroads during his long life. These included the Rio Grande Southern Railroad from Durango to Ridgway. He also built the Silverton Railroad and the Silverton Northern Railroad. Some of his railroads were narrow gauge. This means their tracks were closer together than usual.
From 1888 to 1892, Mears gave out special railroad passes. These passes allowed important people and friends to ride his trains for free. Some of these rare passes were made of silver or gold. Today, they are very valuable items for collectors.
Later Life and Legacy
In 1876, the state government chose Mears to be one of Colorado's three presidential electors. He supported the Republican candidate, Rutherford B. Hayes. In the 1880s, Mears was elected to the Colorado legislature.
The Panic of 1893 was a time when the economy was very bad. This reduced the value of Mears' investments. He had to sell much of his property. He also lost control of his railroad businesses.
Mears then moved to the East Coast. There, he worked on railroad and manufacturing projects. One of his successful railroads on the East Coast was the Chesapeake Beach Railway. This train ran between Washington D.C. and southern Maryland.
The dome of the Colorado State Capitol building was first covered in copper. But the weather made the copper look dull. Mears suggested covering the dome with gold instead. He convinced the Colorado Mining Association to give 200 ounces of gold for the project. By 1908, the dome was covered in gold for the first time.
Otto Mears died on June 24, 1931, in Pasadena, California.
In 1964, he was honored by being added to the Hall of Great Westerners. This hall is part of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
Mears Peak in the San Juan Mountains is named after him.
