Dragoon Pass
The only 4 seasons, snow free mountain pass in the west. At just over 4600 feet its the highest RR pass on the Union Pacific Southern Railroad in the west. This pass is also utilized by the US interstate system, electrical, gas, fiber optic and once-upon-a-time, telegraph lines.
The uniqueness of this pass was also instrumental in the Gadsden Purchase. Read more on that page here. The Golden Rule Mine is also located in the "pass" proper. Read more on that page here. In this picture, the little hill to the right center of the lowest part of the pass, is where the Golden Rule Mine is located.
Original photo copyright DragoonArizona.com
Four seasons mountain pass
This map illustrates the value that Dragoon Pass has as the only four seasons aka snow free mountain pass for the western Union Pacific Southern Railroad! The RR crossing in Dragoon has an elevation of 4658 ft. and is the second highest pass on the UP Southern Railroad System that runs from San Francisco to New Orleans. The highest is in Paisano, TX with an elevation of 5078. There are three mountain passes to the north in Utah and Wyoming that range from 7,000 to 7,500 ft above sea level.
Why the railroad mattered so much!
These maps showed how far one could travel from New York City in a six week time period. As you can see, it took 6 weeks to get to Chicago or into Texas from NYC in 1800. In the 1830, that same time of travel was cut in half. So when folks wanted to have a railroad go through their area, it was because it brought with it prosperity.
And with that prosperity also came goods and services. Either goods and services that were not previously offered or the prices became lower because of better or faster supply, so more people could afford them.
