Going to the Depot?

This cache is located just South of “downtown” Lazear, Colorado. Here is a brief history of the small town:

Before modern transportation, it was necessary for the residents of Rogers Mesa to have a place to buy groceries, get supplies and have a post office. The original homestead of Lazear was obtained by John Ashbaugh. He later sold 40 acres to James B. Lazear who later sold the land to a group of men for the construction of a packing shed which opened in 1908. Farmers across the Rogers Mesa area at one time had to haul their fruit and other crops into Hotchkiss to be sold or put on the train to be shipped out. With the addition of the train depot at Lazear, it was much easier for area farmers to get their product to market.

In 1909 Bennet Stone platted the town and named it after Lazear. However, the town was never officially incorporated. Stone even published a brochure to lure settlers to the area. He touted mineral springs, coal at $1.50 per ton, an orchard of 10 acres that would support a family and even irrigation water. It also stated there was a need for hotels, newspapers and blacksmith shops.

However, Stone’s dreams never came to fruition. With the advent of modern transportation, the close proximity of five miles to Hotchkiss made the depot at Lazear redundant. After its closure, a general store, post office and small number of residents remained. At present day, all that remains of the original settlement of Lazear is a rural post office and a single business (whose main branch is in Delta). The post office is not staffed and its closure has been hotly debated in recent years.

The cache should be easy to locate. The road isn’t traveled very heavily, but people do drive slowly past the cache site and have a tendency to be lookey-loo’s. The hiding spots were limited for this hide, so the cache isn’t camo’d very well. Please use caution when finding and signing.

I’m not sure where the original depot was located before it was torn down, but the present-day rail line can be spotted from the cache site. However, now only coal trains roll by.

Happy Hunting!

Congrats to Linecacher and beth1957 on the FTF!