Western Slope
Ignacio once shipped Depression-era turkeys east by rail
La Plata County is railroad and mining country, but farming and ranching have always been part of its backbone. An old railroad warehouse in Ignacio also carries the story of a Depression-era turkey cooperative.
A structure that began as an 1880s railroad warehouse was later used by a turkey-packing cooperative. During the Great Depression, local farm families banded together, raised turkeys, and brought them to the co-op to be packed and shipped east on the railroad, especially ahead of the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. It was a way to bring outside income into a hard rural economy, using the same rail line that had been built for the mines.
That kind of cooperative effort, neighbors pooling labor to reach distant markets, is a thread that runs through Western Slope ag history. And agriculture is not just history here: La Plata County still raises cattle and horses, and ranching shapes much of the land outside the towns.
La Plata County’s identity is part mining town and part ranch country, and the ranching side is still very much alive.
Sources
Official or primary sources used for this note. Local details can change, so confirm before acting.