Laserfiche WebLink
-8- <br />national proportions occurred. Diamonds were planted on <br />Diamond Peak in the far northwestern portion of the area ~..., <br />soon a company was formed to exploit this "find". However, it <br />was soon proved that [he .iiamonds were a fraud and the boor., died <br />out. The USGS investigated [his find and concluded that there <br />was nothing in the area but coal. Shortly after the Diamond <br />Hoax, the USGS did an extensive survey of this corner of the <br />17 <br />state. It was conducted under Ferdinand V. Hayden's auspices <br />and within three years the entire region had been mapped, <br />surveyed, and the basic geologic reports had been completed. <br />The Hayden survey concluded that the land was rich in coal and <br />near the rivers, the soil could be irrigated. By and large, <br />his survey did little to encourage settlement for he found the <br />13 <br />land "...nearly all uninhabitable...". He noced the existence <br />of coal deposits in t:te.Yampa Valley an3 in the z:cial Basin <br />19 <br />(so named because it was a triangulation point for the survey). <br />Through his efforts, the region was ready for settlement by <br />1880. <br />What towns there were in the area were primarily service <br />towns. They had post offices and general stores with little <br />else. Towns like Axial, Hahn's Peak, Maybell, :Meeker, Rangely, <br />Yampa, and others served a new and growing industry- ranching. <br />Hahn's Peak remained the county seat of Routt county, while <br />Steamboat Springs became the major city of the area. It was <br />laid out in 1884 by William Crawford and soon it was the major <br />transit point into the northwestern corner of the state. Hayden <br />