Editing Salida, Colorado (section)

==History==
The Arkansas, Colorado, post office opened on June 16, 1880, but was renamed Salida on March 28, 1881.<ref name=CPO>{{cite book|title=Colorado Post Offices 1859–1989|first1=William H.|last1=Bauer|first2=James L.|last2=Ozment|first3=John H.|last3=Willard|date=1990|publisher=[[Colorado Railroad Museum|Colorado Railroad Historical Foundation]]|location=[[Golden, Colorado]]|isbn=0-918654-42-4}}</ref> Salida, meaning "exit" in Spanish, was named on account of its location near the point where the [[Arkansas River]] flows out of the valley and into Bighorn Sheep Canyon, upstream from the [[Royal Gorge]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Dawson|first=John Frank|title=Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015051116740;view=1up;seq=50|publisher=The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co.|location=Denver, CO|page=44}}</ref> The Town of Salida was incorporated on March 23, 1891.<ref name=MuniIncCO/>

The [[Denver & Rio Grande Railroad]] built their 3 foot [[Narrow-gauge railroads in the United States|narrow-gauge]] railroad up from [[Texas Creek, Colorado|Texas Creek]] and built a station at Salida, known at the time as "South Arkansas" in 1880.<ref name="Wilkins74">{{cite book |last1=Wilkins |first1=Tivis E. |title=Colorado railroads: chronological development |date=1974 |publisher=Pruett Pub. Co |location=Boulder, Colo |isbn=0-87108-073-7 |page=33 |edition=1st}}</ref> bypassing the nearby community of Cleora.  Rather than risk their settlement withering away from lack of rail service, it is said that the population of Cleora moved to Salida ''en masse''.<ref>{{cite book | last = Wolmar | first = Christian | author-link = Christian Wolmar | year = 2012 | title = The Great Railroad Revolution: The History of Trains in America | location = New York | publisher = Public Affairs | isbn = 978-1-61039-347-8|page=221}}</ref> That same year, the railroad continued from "South Arkansas," following up the Arkansas river, connecting with the rich silver mines of [[Leadville, Colorado|Leadville]]. Later that year, the Rio Grande connected South Arkansas to Poncha Junction. This small start would connect via [[Marshall Pass]] with the western slope and [[Salt Lake City]], [[Utah]], turning the newly re-christened Salida into an important junction in the early history of Colorado.<ref name="Wilkins74" /> In 1890, the railroad laid an additional third rail through Salida, but only on the line towards [[Tennessee Pass (Colorado)|Tennessee Pass]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=LeMassena |first1=Robert A. |title=Rio Grande to the Pacific |date=1974 |publisher=Sundance Publications Ltd |isbn=0913582107 |page=57 |edition=2nd}}</ref> As a result, Salida became known as a tourist and railroad enthusiast mecca into the mid-20th century.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kalmbach |first1=Al |title=Trains, November 1941 |url=https://www.trains.com/trn/magazine/archive-access/trains-november-1941/ |access-date=16 May 2025 |work=Trains |volume=2 |issue=1 |publisher=Kalmbach Publishing Co., Milwaukee Wisc |quote=Salida, Colo., Mecca of the railfan; Salida, with big D&RGW articulateds huffing after the climb over Tennessee Pass, top of the world; Salida, with tiny narrow gauge engines starting southwest for their uncompromising attack on the Rockies. The spirit of Salida has been truly captured in "Salida Yards at Sunrise," as Jim Morley, ... Berkeley, Calif., calls his photo.}}</ref>