Otto Mears

Otto Mears in 1902
Toll road owned by Otto Mears between Ouray and Silverton, Colorado, 1880s
Gold Bond of the Rio Grande Southern Railroad, issued 1. July 1890, signed by President Otto Mears
1892 pass to use the Mears system toll roads

Otto Mears (May 3, 1840 – June 24, 1931) was a Colorado railroad builder and entrepreneur who played a major role in the early development of southwestern Colorado.[1][2]

Mears was known as the "Pathfinder of the San Juans" because of his road and railroad building projects through Colorado's San Juan Mountains in the late 19th century.[3] He built hundreds of miles of toll roads in the rough terrain of the young state of Colorado,[4] notably the Million Dollar Highway over Red Mountain Pass, connecting Silverton to Ouray.[5]

  1. ^ Stone (1919), pp. 640–641.
  2. ^ "Colorado State Archives: Colorado State Capitol Virtual Tour: Otto Mears". 20 June 2003. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  3. ^ Williamson, Ruby G. "Otto Mears Pathfinder of the San Juan: His Family and Friends" (Gunnison, 1981).
  4. ^ Strong (1988), p. 2.
  5. ^ Rocky Mountain PBS, Colorado Experience: Million Dollar Highway on YouTube, November 2022, minutes 33:30–35:27