| Show A word picture of the different sections infections of the great san juan editors note the following article is a reprint from the december 26 1929 issue of the san juan record the article wo we feel is worth the time and effort to regent reprint MONTI monticello ELLO the town situated in almost the geographical center of the county is the county seat scat and is the central trading point for the extensive non irrigated farm section lying between the blue mountains and the colorado line it is located on the east slope ot of the foothills of the mountains overlooking a vast rolling roiling plain extends to the east clear to the breaks of the dolores river canyon in colorado and to the north and south for many miles a of territory within its immediate trade radius of nearly half a million acres and containing a population of some 3 people much of the privately owned land within this radius is in the form of enlarged homesteads and is of a non irrigated character although immediately surrounding the town are some acres of irrigated land on which alfalfa and forage crops predominate on the larger holdings with orchards and gardens and dairy herds and turkey flock surrounding the home around the town as a material aid to their main sources of income which are non irrigated farm farming ing of small grains potatoes beans and other serials on their more extensive land holdings outside the town limits or their herds and flocks ranging rang ing the public lands I 1 located at an altitude of feet above sea level summer climate of monticello is one of the most ideal in the united states the mercury never reaches higher than 90 degrees in the summer time and sodom falls below zero in the winter the lowest temperature ever recorded being 16 blow zero the town has an electric light and water system he water being brought from snow fed springs in the mountain and being as pure as water can be it has good church facilities high school and recreational advantages as ample as can be fountin found jn any town of similar or much larger population with banking and merchandising facilities in PI plent enta non irrigated farm communities the non irrigated districts of the county which have been appropriated are the comman itice of boulder lockerby summit point horsehead ginger hill ucolo bucolo and cedar point in in all of which there are school facilities for the children of the surrounding farms and they are arc inhabited by a thrifty social intelligent citizenry with whom the most exacting would not object to mingle all of these communities muni ties depend entirely on the products of th farm and its adjuncts for thir means of subsist ance and they are increasing in extent of acreage cultivated and population on many of these farms are arc to be found pure bred dai dairy herds with flocks 0 of f turkeys ah chickens and the all im important hog as contributors to the family exchequer and larder here one will find tractor farming being inaugurated on a large scale in many places there having been sold to farmers of the great upland plain which reaches to dolores colo last year farm tractors tractor i r farming during the past two vears has bas taken on an impetus that is speedily being emulated by farmers of comparatively small acreage it is being practiced by many with farms of from 1000 acres down do wn to tho the regulation acres the usual size of the majority of the farms WEALTH the most outstanding mineral deposit in the county is that of the big indian mining company situated some six miles south of the town of la sal here there is a surface deposit of more than tons of copper carrying car a small silver content along the strike of this deposit some ten miles distant there are other deposits of the same character of ore which although not showing the immense tonnage on the surface as is exposed at the big indian give promise of in the future being no mean additions to the countes coun tys mineral output in the lasal mountains in the north end of the county is found gold and silver which has as yet only received the attention of the wandering prospector with here and there more or less development which may in future be of commercial importance to the states wealth the same is true of the blue mountains where at least one immense deposit of gold bearing ore only awaits the investment of capital on a large scale to place it among the producing mines of the state RARE METAL TIES there Is within the county many deposits of rare metals such as uranium vanadium and their associated mineral edalin in east canyon and along the rims of the mesas throughout the northern part of the county these deposits crop at intervals and have been worked to a considerable sid erable ble extent much of the rare mineral of the theio country having been extracted from the ores taken |
