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Montrose history

How Montrose Got Its Start

A stake in the ground, an approaching railroad and a few fast-moving months shaped the beginning of modern Montrose.

Long before Montrose was platted as a town, the Uncompahgre Valley was Ute homeland. The modern town’s story began after the 1880 agreement and the forced removal of the Uncompahgre Ute people, as settlement and railroad development reshaped the valley.

A panoramic postcard view of storefronts and wagons along Main Street in Montrose in 1908
Main Street in 1908, about a quarter-century after Montrose was founded. J. Luchsinger / Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ds-02341
December 1881

The first chapter

A Townsite Takes Shape

Montrose began with a stake in the ground.

The first townsite stake was driven in December 1881, before the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad had reached the community. Its approaching route nevertheless gave settlers and land promoters reason to believe a permanent town could succeed here.

Joseph Selig and O. D. Loutzenhizer were among the principal figures who helped establish the new townsite. Within months, streets and lots were being laid out, and a permanent community was beginning to replace the first rough settlement.

Montrose did not simply grow into a railroad town years later. It was planned with the railroad already on its way.

Spring 1882

From plan to place

Montrose Becomes a Town

By spring, the townsite was more than an idea.

The original Montrose plat was recorded in April 1882. The filing put the growing settlement’s streets, blocks and lots on paper, giving legal shape to the town that had started only months before.

An 1886 Sanborn fire insurance map showing streets, blocks and buildings in Montrose
One of two Sanborn fire insurance map sheets documenting Montrose in August 1886. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division

Official City sources say Montrose became a town in 1882.

The change happened quickly. In one season, a stake and a plan had become an organized town.

Later that year 1882

A regional connection

The Railroad Reaches Montrose

The train arrived the same year the town did.

The Denver and Rio Grande reached Montrose in 1882 after crews pushed west from Gunnison and through the difficult Black Canyon route. Montrose had already been platted and organized by then, but the rails connected that new town to passengers, freight and markets beyond the valley.

A steam locomotive arriving at the Montrose railroad station in September 1940
The morning train arriving in Montrose in September 1940. Russell Lee / Library of Congress, FSA/OWI Collection, LC-USF34-037549-D

The connection strengthened Montrose’s role as a supply point for mining communities and travelers headed toward the San Juan Mountains. By 1885, the station was being described as the most important west of Gunnison City.

The railroad did not create Montrose from nothing. It confirmed the town’s founding bet—and helped turn it into a regional hub.

The people 1882

More than one founder

The People Behind the Townsite

Montrose was organized by a group, not one lone founder.

An April 1882 newspaper account named Joseph Selig, O. D. Loutzenhizer and A. Pumphrey among the town’s principal locators. They helped choose, promote and organize the townsite while the railroad was still approaching.

Other early names belong to different parts of the story. William Eckerly, a business associate of Selig, operated a sawmill that supplied lumber as buildings went up. Transportation entrepreneur Otto Mears was connected to the growing community through the Mears Hotel, but the evidence does not place him among the original townsite locators.

Keeping those roles distinct gives a clearer picture: some people laid out the town, while others supplied, financed and connected it.

The name 1882

A literary connection

How Montrose Got Its Name

The name came from a novel.

The growing settlement tried several names, including Pomona, Dad’s Town and Uncompahgre Town. Townsite organizer Joseph Selig suggested Montrose, inspired by Sir Walter Scott’s 1819 historical novel A Legend of Montrose.

The title refers to James Graham, the Marquis of Montrose, a 17th-century Scottish military leader. The name endured, and when Montrose County was created in 1883, the county took its name from the town.

Water and growth 1882–1909

A lasting economy

From Railroad Stop to Agricultural Center

Montrose’s long-term future depended as much on water as rail.

The town first served nearby mining communities, but agriculture soon became central to the valley’s economy. Farmers and ranchers needed more than fertile ground: they needed a dependable way to move water across a dry landscape.

Private ditch systems developed alongside the town. The Loutzenhizer Ditch began serving Montrose and nearby farmland in 1882, followed by systems including the Selig Ditch and the canal later known as the Montrose and Delta Canal. By 1903, private systems irrigated about 30,000 acres in the valley, but late-season shortages still limited growth.

The Gunnison Tunnel changed that equation. Completed in 1909 as part of the federal Uncompahgre Project, it carried water from the Gunnison River toward the Uncompahgre Valley and supported a much larger irrigation network.

Rail gave Montrose reach. Irrigation gave the surrounding valley a more dependable agricultural future.

At a glance

The Years That Shaped Early Montrose

  1. The first Montrose townsite stake was driven.

  2. The original Montrose plat was recorded.

  3. Montrose became a town and the Denver and Rio Grande arrived.

  4. Montrose became the seat of the newly created Montrose County.

  5. The Gunnison Tunnel was completed.

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Sources and Further Reading