POTATOES ONCE RIVALLED VALUABLE ORES
IN THE CRYSTAL VALLEY
by Larry Meredith
A number of railroads traversed the Crystal River Valley in the early 1900s, mainly for the transportation of coal, marble and other valuable ores. But another important and valuable product of Crystal Valley soil was also transported by rail – potatoes.
In fact, the growing and harvesting of potatoes reached its heyday during the Crystal Valley’s boom mining days in which coal, marble and other ores occupied center stage in the minds of many.
Those days are now recalled and celebrated annually in October during Potato Days, Carbondale’s traditional agricultural community celebration of this life-sustaining tuber. According to Carbondale Historical Society Vice President Sue Gray, Potato Days, which began in 1909, is the longest running annual community event in Carbondale. Sponsors of the event are the Carbondale Historical Society, the Town of Carbondale Recreation Department, the Garfield County Regional Library in Carbondale and The Sopris Sun.
The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies (ACES) claims that in the Roaring Fork Valley, “the soils and climate. . . are perfect for growing potatoes. It has been said that in the 1920’s the Valley produced more potatoes than the entire state of Idaho. At one time, the town of Carbondale was exporting around 400 railroad cars of potatoes annually. By the 1930’s labor shortages and low potato prices essentially killed the potato industry in the [two] valleys.”
The story of potato-growing began in the Crystal Valley in the late 1800s when Thomas McClure, an Irish immigrant who had been a miner in the Leadville area, moved to near Carbondale and began a life of farming. He introduced a variety of potato now called the “Red McClure.” This potato quickly became a favorite of growers statewide.
However, the most effective and strongest advocate for farming and ranching in the Carbondale area was Eugene Grubb whose 1,800-acre ranch south of Carbondale was renowned as a state-of-the-art farming operation, with potatoes as the main cash crop.
Grubb said, in 1912, that no part of the world is better fitted by nature for growing potatoes than the mountain districts of Colorado. “The Roaring Fork and Crystal River Valley section of Colorado is as nearly perfect in soil condition as can be found, and the potatoes grown there are not excelled anywhere in the world, and are equaled in but a few places.”
In 1901 Grubb traveled throughout Europe studying agriculture. He was impressed by potato cultivation techniques in England and adopted many of them for his Carbondale operation.
Grubb became a consulting agriculturalist and was commissioned by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to write a definitive book describing potato cultivation all over the world. The book became the standard text on the subject after it was published in 1915.
Many varieties of potato have been grown in the Carbondale area. According to Elk Mountain Odyssey by Paul Andersen and Ken Johnson they include: Russet Burbank, White Peachblow, Gold Coin, Peoples, Red Peachblow, Red McClure, Russet Rural, White Cobblers, Red Pontiac and Bliss Triumph. Of course, there may be others too numerous to mention.
In 2010, members of the Roaring Fork chapter of the “Slow Food” movement added the Red McClure potato to the Slow Food USA Ark of Taste, a group of more than 200 foods that are deemed delicious, endangered, and worth fighting to protect.
A hub for environmental education, wildlands preservation and sustainable agriculture is Rock Bottom Ranch, owned and operated by ACES and situated between the crown of Mt. Sopris and the Roaring Fork River. The 113-acre ranch includes wetland, spring-fed ponds, teaching farmyards, pasturelands, and gardens.
Ranch Director Jason Smith says the ranch features a diverse selection of livestock and vegetables. The ACES website says the ranch is western Colorado’s “school” for teaching people of all ages how to grow healthy, local sustainable food.
Among the many varieties of crops grown at the ranch are potatoes, of course. Each year the ranch plants and harvests a small area. Other growers are putting potatoes back into area agricultural lands as well. Woody Creek Distillers, for example, harvests well over one million pounds of potatoes annually.
Rock Bottom Ranch is also home to ACES educational programming featuring in-school environmental science for Aspen, Basalt, and Carbondale elementary schools as well as field programs for more than 50 regional schools.
Today, China and India are the main producers of potatoes, with the United States ranked fifth. In the United States, Idaho topped the ranking of leading potato producing states. Washington and Wisconsin were the next largest producers.
Depending on the year, Colorado ranks 4th to 6th among potato growing states. In Colorado’s San Luis Valley farmers grow red, yellow and even purple spuds. Each year between 50,000 and 60,000 acres of the crop are harvested.
In 2020 the value of potatoes grown and harvested in Colorado amounted to nearly 260 million dollars. And it began near Carbondale, in the Crystal River Valley, more than 100 years ago.
By Larry K. Meredith, who is also the author of the historical novel This Cursed Valley which deals with the early history of the Crystal River Valley.