Marshall Pass, elevation , is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

in the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

of central-southern

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, US. It lies in northern

Saguache County Saguache County (suh-WATCH ) is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,368. The county seat is Saguache. History Saguache County was formed December 29, 1866 in the Territory of Colorado wh ...

on the

Continental Divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

between the

Sawatch Range The Sawatch Range or Saguache RangeThe place name "Saguache” is pronounced “Sawatch” . This name derives from the Ute language noun "''sawup''" meaning "sand dunes" and is spelled using the Spanish language version of this name "Saguach ...

to the north and the Cochetopa Hills to the south. The pass is part of a backcountry alternative to

U.S. Highway 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

between Salida and Gunnison. Marshall Pass was discovered by and named for Lt. William L. Marshall, of the

Wheeler Survey The Wheeler Survey, carried out in 1872-1879, was one of the "Four Great Surveys" conducted by the US government after the Civil War primarily to document the geology and natural resources of the American West. Supervised by First Lieutenant (lat ...

, in 1873.

History

When William Marshall first crossed the pass he realized that it would be a good route for a road, and shortly after this a company was organized to build a toll road. The Marshall Pass Toll Road was completed in 1880, with stagecoach service from Gunnison to the

Arkansas River The Arkansas River is a major tributary of the Mississippi River. It generally flows to the east and southeast as it traverses the U.S. states of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The river's source basin lies in the western United Stat ...

where it connected with the

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...

. The new road at the pass summit was barely passable, and the grades on both sides of the pass were reported to be very steep. In 1881, the

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

mainline of the

was built across Marshall Pass on the way from

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

. This railroad line was completed before the

Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad The Denver, South Park, and Pacific Railroad (later called the Denver, Leadville and Gunnison Railway) was a historic narrow gauge railroad that operated in Colorado in the western United States in the late 19th century. The railroad opened up the ...

completed the

Alpine Tunnel Alpine Tunnel is a narrow gauge railroad tunnel located east of Pitkin, Colorado on the former Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad route from Denver to Gunnison. At an elevation of , it was the first tunnel constructed through the Conti ...

, so it was the first crossing of the

continental divide A continental divide is a drainage divide on a continent such that the drainage basin on one side of the divide feeds into one ocean or sea, and the basin on the other side either feeds into a different ocean or sea, or else is endorheic, not ...

in Colorado by any railroad. The line reached

Sargents, Colorado Sargents is an unincorporated community and a U.S. Post Office in Saguache County, Colorado, United States. The Sargents Post Office has the ZIP code 81248. History The community was established in 1880 and was originally called Marshalltown, ...

in August 1881. By 1884, the line was complete from

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

to Denver. The line saw the daily '' Shavano'' passenger train until closure. Interestingly, there are many reports of a phantom train chasing the Shavano along the route. The line closed with the Gunnison Division in 1955, and the rails were removed the same year. Marshall Pass, Colorado was a small settlement, railroad station and post office, located at the pass. The population was 11 in 1948; there were six buildings then.

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...

called it "the U.S.'s smallest post office."

Water diversion

In 1939, the Catlin Canal Company built the Larkspur ditch to divert water from upper Harry Creek (a tributary of Marshall Creek and eventually

Tomichi Creek Tomichi Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 18, 2011 tributary of the Gunnison River in Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. Description Tomichi Cree ...

) south over the

at Marshall Pass, delivering its water into Poncha Creek and thence to the South Arkansas River. The 1.5 mile (2.4 km) ditch has a capacity of approximately 8 cubic feet per second (0.2 m³/s) and average annual deliveries between 1990 and 1999 were 31 acre-feet (38,000 m³). The Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District entered a cooperative agreement with the Catlin Canal Company to improve the ditch in 2004, doubling the length of the ditch and increasing its average annual delivery to over 300-acre-feet (370,000 m³). The water district completed purchase of the ditch in 2011.

Geography

Marshall Pass is just a few miles south of

Monarch Pass Monarch Pass (elevation ) is a high mountain pass in central Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as th ...

, and in fact, both were considered as potential routes for U.S. 50, with the latter ultimately being chosen. Today, a gravel road still follows the old railroad route over Marshall Pass. In the summer and late fall, this drive is especially beautiful. It may be driven by regular passenger cars in good conditions. From the east, take

U.S. 285 U.S. Route 285 is a north–south United States highway, running 846 miles (1,362 km) through the states of Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. The highway's southern terminus is in Sanderson, Texas at an intersection with U.S. Route 90. ...

south from Poncha Springs (near Salida) about 6 miles to County Road 200 and turn right; from the west turn right off

U.S. 50 U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic ...

at Sargents. While grades are gentler (the railroad had a ruling grade of 4%) than on U.S. 50 over Monarch Pass (7% grades), please note that the Marshall Pass Road is closed to wheeled vehicles during the winter months. Marshall Pass is usually—but not always—a better route for small aircraft passing over the Continental Divide than is Monarch Pass.

Gallery

File:MarshallPass1947.jpg, A great deal of Philatelic mail originated at the post office at Marshall Pass File:Marshall Pass, D&RG train, c.1890.jpg,

Denver & Rio Grande Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...

train at Marshall Pass, around 1890. Photo by

William Henry Jackson William Henry Jackson (April 4, 1843 – June 30, 1942) was an American photographer, Civil War veteran, painter, and an explorer famous for his images of the American West. He was a great-great nephew of Samuel Wilson, the progenitor of Ame ...

References

External links

"The Phantom Train of Marshall Pass"
{{Authority control Rail mountain passes of the United States Mountain passes of Colorado Sangre de Cristo Mountains Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad Landforms of Saguache County, Colorado Transportation in Saguache County, Colorado