Otto Mears was an early pioneer of road and railroad construction in this area. He charged $5 for a wagon team, and 10 cents a person, to pass over the bridge. upper left of the top photo is his toll booth. the same bridge today Given its location, there was no way to sneak around it. the road cost a thousand dollar a foot to make. It's still the shortest way from Grand Junction to Durango (left side of the map, West side of Colorado) Otto Mears was born in Russia in 1840, his parents died when he was very young, so he was passed between a series of family members moving to England, then sent to New York, out to California – and finally arriving in San Francisco in 1851. No one was there to meet him, his Uncle had left for Australia... so as an eleven year old only speaking Russian he supported himself selling newspapers. Later he worked in stores in the California Gold County where he also learned to be a tinsmith. He was robbed of his savings and moved to Sacramento where he l...
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