Rubidoux Hill – In the early days of Pagosa Springs and Archuleta County, before the 1900’s, the land was inhabited by fur trappers (mountain men), Native American Tribe, the Spaniards, and a military outpost (Fort Lewis). The hill in the south east corner of Pagosa Springs was named Robidoux Hill after the famed Frenchman Antione Robidoux.
Antoine Robidoux was born in Saint Louis, MO, in 1794, the six child of Joseph and Catherine Robidoux. While he is described as an Indian Trader, Antoine might well be called a “jack-of-all-trades” in today’s lingo. Spending his youth in Missouri, Antoine had his sights on what was west of the Mississippi. Given the freedom to strike out on his own, he ended up following immigrant carts to Sante Fe. As part of the Mexico territory, Antoine became a Mexican citizen and wed the governor’s adopted daughter Carmel Benevides. Carmel and Antoine did not have children of their own, however, they adopted an orphan girl from Sante Fe. They named her Carmelette, Spanish for “Little Carmel”. Carmelette courted and married Isdore Barada. Sadly, Carmelette would die giving birth to their first child, Amanda Marie. Antoine and Carmel adopted their little grand-daughter, Amanda Marie, and provided her a good social and intellectual education. Ironically, Amanda Marie would court and marry a young German immigrant named Christian Stollsteimer. Old timers in Pagosa Springs recognize the Stollsteimer name as part of the county’s lumber industry.
Antione’s career started as beaver trapper; however, he eventually got into the trading business establishing three trading posts/forts in Colorado and Utah. Fort Uncompahgre, in what is now Delta, Colorado, was perhaps his largest trading post. His other two trading posts/forts were in Eastern Utah: Fort Uintah and Fort Robidoux. Changing with the times, while his trading business started out with beaver pelts, it evolved over time in which the staples of coffee, flour, sugar, knives, and clothing were traded between the Native Americans, the mountain men, and the locals.
In the early 1900’s Pagosa Springs was emerging as a fledging community. Town leaders began the process of bringing electricity to the community and a modern water system. The Pagosa Springs Waterworks/electrical plant was built on the edge of the San Juan River on the eastern part of the town. Water was brought into three holding tanks for the process of the settling of mud and then pumped to a tank on the top of Robidoux Hill. A paddlewheel was used to mechanically pump the water up the hill. It was at this time the name of Robidoux Hill was changed to Reservoir Hill.
After the flood in 1911, the power plant, supplying electricity to the community, was moved to the southern part of town on “Light Plant Road.” Today, Pagosa Springs water supply is the San Juan River. Water from the San Juan is diverted from the river to a reservoir north of town on Snowball Road. As the demand for electricity increased in the community, the “light plant” south of town was abandoned and electricity was brought to town through transmission lines.