Salida Centennial Photo Collection

Salida, Colorado celebrated its centennial in 1980. The Salida Centennial Committee compiled this collection of old photographs to help preserve the history of Salida and the surrounding areas. Photos were donated from: • Frank Thomson • Donna Nevens • Salida Museum • Alice Chinn • Salida Fire Department • Josephine Soukup (Kratky) • Ernest Brownson • Alta Proctor • Janice Pennington • Dick Dixon


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Robert Martin Stein in Front of the Smokestack
Robert Martin Stein, age 7, in front of “My Rock” looking East, and happy in his first suit of homemade clothes. R.M. Stein Collection.
Salida Band on July 4th
A listing of who's in the band: • Basses – James Pearce, Leo Vail • Trombones – Frank Albright, Forman Garretts, Fred Coombs • Altos – John Bush, Mr. Guy (?) • Cornets – John Manful, Earnest Feichtinger, Ulrich Waggener, Frank Holman • Clarinets – Otis Camp, Paul James, Frank Peck • Piccolo – Frank Mason • Drums – Harry William(s), George Gorham Leonard Perschbacher Collection.
Salida Elks #808
Salida Elks (Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks) Chapter 808. Nina Churcher is 4th from the left. Frank Thomson Collection.
Salida Fire Company
Construction rubble is heaped in the open space beyond the horses hitched to Salida’s new chemical and ladder truck about 1903. Unidentified firemen wear new dress uniforms, and harness on the team is complete with fancy decorations and feather plumes attached to the top of the bridles. When the town council outgrew its first offices, members bought Fraternity Hall at 140 E St. and moved the new fire equipment in downstairs and took the upstairs for city offices. By 1911, firemen were moved into the building at the right and city offices expanded onto both floors in Fraternity Hall. Both buildings are still used for city offices and fire department equipment. This truck is the only one that the fire department doesn’t still have. John Ophus Collection.
Salida Hose Company No. 1
Members of Salida Hose Co. No. 1 display their new rubber coats and recently purchased hose cart February 27, 1883. The fire house was on East First St. and included a tower for drying hose – which always seemed to be in short supply. The bell is believed to be the one purchased by women of Ascension Church. Although firemen couldn’t know it yet, they would be faced with using this equipment to fight four major conflagrations in the future. The December 31, 1886 blaze took out two blocks in the area bounded by F and G streets and from First Street to the Arkansas River. In 1888, a larger fire destroyed about two blocks on either side of F Street, north of First Street. Fire destroyed the D&RG Hospital in 1899. All were rebuilt. Firemen who turned out for the photo are Thomas Dansbury, Samuel King, Charlie Shirk, William Haight, Harley North, Frank Churcher (foreman), Call Smith, Fred Bateman, Samuel Mogan, Harry Whitehead, Charles Hawkins, Richard Griffith, Thomas Doubbie, Morgan Smith, M. W. Hicks, J. P. Smith and George McLain. The roster read like a “Who’s Who” of Salida businessmen. Frank Thomson Collection.
Salida Hose Company No. 1 Subscription List
This remarkable document is the subscription list dated 1892 that Mayor Wright put together to reorganize the Salida Fire Department and keep it from disbanding. It is a veritable who's who of Salida's notables. Among the signatures are Territorial Governor of Colorado A.C. Hunt, who was instrumental in bringing the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad here and platted the town of Salida. R.M. Ridgway, railroad superintendent of the Denver & Rio Grande and founder of the town of Ridgway, is visible. All of Salida's most famous businessmen are here: Peter Mulvany, William Roller, J.A. Eddy, Harbottle, Hively, Corbin, Collins, and Haight & Churcher are just a sampling of the names listed. Courtesy the Salida Fire Department. ​
Salida Lumber Company
Located at the west corner of G and Second streets, a lumber yard had been established by V. C. Davenport, with a railroad siding in the rear. A load of wood roof shingles was ready for delivery to a new home site. The fenced area (at left) was a livery stable that became the base of operations for E. G. Hellman’s Turret & Whitehorn Stage Line in 1903. Steve Frazee Collection., The Salida Lumber Company was located at 200 G St. in Salida, Colorado. V.C. Davenport was the president and manager of the Salida Lumber Company, the Salida Granite Company, and First National Bank.
Salida Shoeing Shop
This horseshoeing business had the financial backing to locate in a brick building – much preferred after the 1888 fire – which is said to have been located between First and Second streets on G Street (at the corner of the alley). Netting was draped over the body of a horse to ward off flies and mosquitoes, terrible pests for both horses and people in the days before sanitation and mosquito-control districts. Used buggies were in the lot beside the shop. Steve Frazee Collection.
Scotty Buchanan's Tailor Shop
Merchant and tailor William S. (Scotty) Buchanan employed men and women in the manufacture of clothing. Peeling wallpaper attests to a leaky roof and holes in the window blinds speak of neglect and wear. It doesn’t appear to be a comfortable work place. John Ophus Collection.
Sheep near the Arkansas River
Sheep in holding pens near the Arkansas River. Harry Williams Collection.
Slag Dump at Smeltertown
Standing on the slag dump looking Northeast at the blast furnaces, a corner of the power house is visible at the right. R.M. Stein Collection.
Smeltertown
The smelter, on the slag dump looking East at the power house, and the smokestack. Note the center plant in front of the smokestack. The overhead cables supplied electricity. The slag engines were evidently motorized, not steam mules as in other smelters. R.M. Stein Collection.

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