Image Number001-1198Date1877DescriptionElevated view of the short-lived railroad town of Garland City located 29 miles from La Veta and six miles from Fort Garland. With a railroad depot in the foreground and a Denver & Rio Grande Railway boxcar parked adjacent, dozens of recently completed structures of the town are seen in the background with foothills in the distance. Research indicates that immediately upon completion of the Denver & Rio Grande tracks through the area in the summer of 1877, Garland began growing. Within 12 days, there were 125 houses and innumerable tents and shanties. Some were built on the spot, keeping four sawmills churning out lumber. Others had ridden the rails from as far away as La Junta, where a Santa Fe terminus had been abandoned and its camp deserted. The town was prosperous, but dependent upon the railroad since there was no agriculture or hope for it in the sagebrush covered fields nearby. A new town to be named Alamosa would be the next terminus, and most folks in Garland City were poised to move on at any time. On the 4th of July 1878, the first train entered Alamosa. On June 28, the post office at Garland City was discontinued and the entire settlement at Garland disappeared almost as quickly as it had been built. Written on negative "Garland City, Cola. 60 days old".PhotographerunknownLocationGarland City (Colo.)SubjectDenver and Rio Grande RailroadCities and townsRailroad depotsNotes Thanks to J Richards of Colorado Springs for background research on this image. CollectionMargaretta M. Boas Photograph CollectionPublisherPikes Peak Library DistrictOriginal FormatPhotographsPhysical Description9 1/2 x 7 1/2 b&w print
