The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 70, July 1966 - April, 1967 Page: 217

alesto: Deer's Deep- Water
Port
BERNARD AXELROD
A THOUSAND MILES INLAND AND A MILE ABOVE SEA LEVEL SITS
Denver, Colorado, far removed from the Texas port of
Galveston on the Gulf of Mexico. Yet, during the last two
decades of the nineteenth century the leaders of these two widely
separated cities were allied in a struggle which, when won, was
to be mutually profitable for both communities.
A group of Denver businessmen-practical, yet each gifted with
a touch of the visionary-looked down, early in the 188o's, from
their growing community nestling at the foot of the Rockies
to the harbor which lay behind Galveston island. This bay, a
fine natural anchorage, was a scant six miles from the open waters
of the Gulf of Mexico and the ocean trails to the markets of the
world. A railroad already was advancing from Denver through
the Texas Panhandle on the way to Fort Worth,' where it could
secure connections and through lines to tidewater. The prime
mover in this group of foresighted men was John Evans-Colo-
rado's second territorial governor, western railroad builder, pio-
neer educator, and successful businessman. Appointed governor of
Colorado Territory in 1862, Evans quickly perceived that the
vast, unpopulated territory with its virgin resources was strategi-
cally located at the heart of a Rocky Mountain "region." Evans
spoke later of this area-approximately 1,8oo miles long and goo
miles wide-as being bordered by the Rocky Mountains on the
west, and the Mississippi River on the east. He envisioned Denver
1The road referred to here was originally the Denver and New Orleans Railway
Company, chartered on January 25, x881. On May 28, 1885, the Denver, Texas and
Gulf Railroad Company was organized and succeeded to all the assets of the old
company. On April 1, 1888, this road secured connections and through line to
tidewater by consolidation with the Denver, Texas and Fort Worth Railroad
Company which, in turn, controlled the above company plus the Fort Worth and
Denver City Railroad Company and operated all three roads as one line under the
title of the Texas Panhandle Route, which extended from Denver to Fort Worth.