The History of the San Juans

The first people arrived in the San Juans over 12,000 years ago. These Paleo-Indians were mobile hunter-gatherers who sustained themselves on the diverse flora and fauna in and around the San Juans. By the time of the birth of Christ, the inhabitants of this area had begun to actively farm food and use the more sophisticated bow and arrow for hunting purposes. Ancestral Puebloan culture marks the period from the birth of Christ to the first European contact. The Southwest was richly inhabited by these ancestral Puebloans who left their record by way of numerous pithouses, room blocks and multi-level pueblo structures such as those seen at Mesa Verde and Hovenweep National Parks. Ute culture also played an important role in the history of the San Juans. It is thought that the ancestors of the Utes moved into this area between 1200-1400 A.D. By the time the Spanish arrived in the Southwest the Utes ranged through most of Colorado. But that all changed with the mining boom in the latter half of the 19th century, which was marked by constant pressure by the U.S government on the Ute land base. The mining boom, with all it's dreams of quick fortune only lasted 20-30 years before a combination of government regulatory changes, market fluctuations and the exhaustion of the mineral stores brought it to an end. Even though producing mines remain to this day, the heyday was never to return.

Read More on the History of the San Juans