Show LETS LET fiu GUARD ARD WHAT IS 13 lex rm i by W earl Rhine rhinehart bart district co soil conservation service I 1 CHAPTER chaiten bluff montle Mon ello carlisle ri isle verdine the founding of blutt bluff city was wa the first recorded deil settlement of the afie san juan valley topographers ers Ors of 0 the ha hayden survey vey in 1874 found no white men living in n the southeastern part ot of the state early day scouts reported that this CO country antry at excellent gitles for dr irrigation farming arming and stock raising railing the lie ito was waa more or less leas BIO alo from the rest ot of utah to the north ot of bluff city the only white V eople were a few settlers at moab miles away east in colorado 7 ml miles leg south miles and west Ea c calama WM was miles away the near eat market and source of 01 plies piles was albuquerque miles mile to the southeast I 1 salt lau lace icily was VM miles mile to the tha northwest in order that the tha people ot of Bluff could lie be kept in close con itaco with their religious and political beliefs in utah a road waa contemplated from the high plateaus ot of central utah across glen canyon the red rock and grand gulch plateaus and the comb and butler washes destined tor for fort montezuma 18 miles up the san juan the san ban juan mission constructing the roads roada as they went stopped construction st ot at the mouth ot of cottonwood creek april 6 5 1880 men women and children they could go no further the who survived untold hardships for or days were exhausted and cattle were vere barely able able to move thus blutt bluff city was founded the next nert day an act of the legislature in february pary 1880 had organized san juan county and leaders of the san ban juan mission were its officers official reports and personal records in the early days at bluff were very discouraging continuous trouble with irrigation ditches floods from cottonwood covered fields with mud as protection from the indians women and children lived in a tort fort stock block had to ibe be herded to prevent stealing in the tall fall of 1810 1880 about halt half the moved sway away crops during 1880 81 82 were very poor the great flood of june 1884 covered the farmlands above bluff wiped out oui the ithe settlement of fort montezuma and changed the meadows on cottonwood creek into sand and It lata more farmlands were flooded away in 1886 farming in ia the san juan country had proved unprofitable and in 1835 replaced agriculture as aa the primary industry the town of hammond now called monticello was organized organ lied in 1887 by settlers from bluff and mancos they were attracted by opportunities to supplement summer forage farag e on elk ridge and abajo mountain by rals lagrain ralson graan on an dry farms and field irrigated by headwater trib of the montezuma As a result carlisle was wag also founded in 1888 1889 and in 1884 R ranches anches started in strawberry creek cottonwood canyon and indian creek the town of lasal was at first the headquarters of the pittsburg cattle company in 1885 CHAPTER lasal iasa bluff blanding mexican hat monticello during the settlement of the san juan county there were it h ree events which come up U 1 the ahe gold excitement on the S san juan between 1890 92 2 the mining boom in abajo mountains Mount alna between 1890 2890 92 and 3 the oil boom at mexican hat between 1907 and 1910 A report indicating that rich placer gravel was strewn all along san juan canyon brought in about 2000 people through bluff in 1892 the return of the disillusioned miners to stream bottoms and ledges of abajo Mo mountain still caused bluff to prosper according to diaries there were 40 to 60 miners passing through gh bluff I 1 every day to today day monticello la Is bortt ing cattle and sheep town with a population of about in ih and abound monticello are 1200 acres 0 of f irrigated land watered from the streams of abajo thuu mountain in the te hope of successful Inh inhabitants abitantO dry farming arming the hatt broken up landi wet east dudl anda north of town tow E blast of II 11 I 1 on on the cage ag plains near cerar point Lockler ly asolo and arado settlers are trying dry farming Blan dlag one of tho the last laet frontier towns in san sall juan county was settled by farmers who were flooded out at bluff blanding was originally orgin nally ally called grayson at the time the first irrigation ditch was dug in 1803 1903 blanding was a waterless expanse of sagebrush vinon and bare rock A few ew families settled aled the community in 1901 1904 1 today it la is the largest town in san juan county boasting a population of more than 1400 most support comes from farming the acres of irrigated and berni irrigated lands acres of dry laud land and grazing districts M most ost unusual tor for utah settlements yenta mexican hat the newest L town in san juan county lies iles I 1 in a rough arid region with unfertile soil and drinkable water its chief attraction was placer gold and oil gold miners of the early nineties continued their search tor for gold in and around mexican hat until 1901 the drilling of a successful oil well near here in 1907 aga again ir was a chief attraction mexican hat and goodridge were loth both laid out on the assumption that new oil fields would be b e productive but gold prospects and oil wells both proved unprofitable mexican hat was abandoned in 1330 1930 goodridge today Is inhabited by three families who operate era to a store to care tor for needs ot of tourists |