Re: Bondad Tank (Aerial) May 2020
| May 27, 2020 01:11PM |
Back with my "however" after some fast research... When you mentioned the name “Elkco” it had rung a bell, but not as the name of the section town. Understand my interest in this is because I have lived in the general area of Bondad for over 25 years and very close to 50 years in the Durango area, arriving in 1970 after the flood. I have watched things change and disappear. Just last week I had unearthed a 1924 topographical map of the Ignacio Quadrangle I purchased at Durango Magazine in 1971 during lunch hour when I was a freshman in high school. Let me share the Bondad area from this 1924 map to tie it all together.
Elco has been located… Things that I found interesting was the location of major roads in the area at the time compared to where we know roads are located today. The main road at that time crossed the railroad at the siding location of Bondad which would have also been the boarding point for trains at the time. Then it crossed the river and through Elco.
I then remembered that I had a friend buried in the “Elco” cemetery, often referred as the Bondad cemetery… I thought about checking on-line and sure enough…
[www.findagrave.com]
Seeing the names brought back memories and ancestry of friends I had gone to school with. The earliest grave I found was 1906. A little further digging resulted in finding these clippings from a book I now need to download...
At this point I got on Google satellite image to see if I could see any sign of the old road from Elco to Bondad. Just as on the 1924 map, I believe I could see remains of a farm road going down a draw to the river, across to the other side very close to the location of the stop and siding of Bondad… The river looks to be easily fordable at this location... Just a thought... Also, as a side note, the Elco / Bondad school house still stands and is a private residence...
Looking at the satellite view there are other things to note… Elco Court for one. This is where a woman named Edith Rhodes lived at one time. Back in 1974, I remember that there was a little article written about her in the Durango Herald. She was going to write a article about her experience as a young girl helping prepare the food for the crews that were changing the railroad from standard gauge to narrow gauge. I don’t remember ever reading this article or know if it was ever published although she has several articles in the "Pioneers Of The San Juan Country" series. The story may be in that publication. She is buried in the Elco Cemetery as well as many of her family members.
To me, I always found it interesting that the Bondad Tank and the Bondad siding were almost 2 rail miles apart. The siding and station were located for easy access for the early shippers and suppliers and the water tank hopefully had better water quilty because it was located after the Florida River emptied into the Animas and the pump house had a deeper water source…
Just my 3¢, just something else to ponder...
Elco has been located… Things that I found interesting was the location of major roads in the area at the time compared to where we know roads are located today. The main road at that time crossed the railroad at the siding location of Bondad which would have also been the boarding point for trains at the time. Then it crossed the river and through Elco.
I then remembered that I had a friend buried in the “Elco” cemetery, often referred as the Bondad cemetery… I thought about checking on-line and sure enough…
[www.findagrave.com]
Seeing the names brought back memories and ancestry of friends I had gone to school with. The earliest grave I found was 1906. A little further digging resulted in finding these clippings from a book I now need to download...
At this point I got on Google satellite image to see if I could see any sign of the old road from Elco to Bondad. Just as on the 1924 map, I believe I could see remains of a farm road going down a draw to the river, across to the other side very close to the location of the stop and siding of Bondad… The river looks to be easily fordable at this location... Just a thought... Also, as a side note, the Elco / Bondad school house still stands and is a private residence...
Looking at the satellite view there are other things to note… Elco Court for one. This is where a woman named Edith Rhodes lived at one time. Back in 1974, I remember that there was a little article written about her in the Durango Herald. She was going to write a article about her experience as a young girl helping prepare the food for the crews that were changing the railroad from standard gauge to narrow gauge. I don’t remember ever reading this article or know if it was ever published although she has several articles in the "Pioneers Of The San Juan Country" series. The story may be in that publication. She is buried in the Elco Cemetery as well as many of her family members.
To me, I always found it interesting that the Bondad Tank and the Bondad siding were almost 2 rail miles apart. The siding and station were located for easy access for the early shippers and suppliers and the water tank hopefully had better water quilty because it was located after the Florida River emptied into the Animas and the pump house had a deeper water source…
Just my 3¢, just something else to ponder...
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488 stops for water at Los Pinos tank on closing day Oct. 1979. Photo courtesy Don Richter
The NGDF was started by Don Richter and is currently operated in his memory by Nathan Holmes and others. Others who have contributed to the upkeep of this board are (in no particular order): Charles McCandless, Everett Lueck, Ted Wilton, Cole Adams, James Bane, John Moellmer, Jon Bentz, Linn Moedinger, lloyd lehrer, Rod Jensen, John Craft, Steven Forney, Herb Kelsey, Bill Ramaley, Russ Sperry (El Russo Loco), Josh McNeal, John West, Jim Armstrong, Bob Bergstrom, Greg Scholl, Blake Forbes Doug van Veelen and Mark Fuller.