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Poncha
Springs ... and Salida ....
Poncha Springs (US 50 and
CO 285) -– The first written
description of this area was recorded by Spanish governor Juan
Bautista de Anza, who led 600 soldiers from Santa Fé augmented
by Ute Indian warriors over Poncha Pass in August 1779 on their
way to the eastern plains and victory over Comanche Indians
under chief Cuerno Verde.
The town on
the South Arkansas River at the bottom of the pass, the gateway
to the San Luis Valley, was platted as Poncho Springs in
1879. It
grew as a railroad junction and popular resort because of its
location and healthful hot springs. The
historic Jackson Hotel records visits by notables of the time,
both famous and infamous. Today it sustains Chaffee County’s
third largest community and the flag flies proudly from the
cupola on the prominent two-story Town Hall, which was completed
in 1883 as a school in the Italianate style.
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