The Cortez region as well as all of southwestern Colorado, is rich with history.
Some of that fascinating history has been captured in a new book from a trio of local residents.
Local authors Vila Schwindt, Janet Weeth and Dale Davidson were recruited to write about the history of Cortez and find historical photographs.
The three will be at the Spruce Tree Coffeehouse tonight for a book signing and discussion from 5-7 p.m.
The book, Images of America: Cortez, is part of a series of historical publications from Arcadia Publishing.
The (Images of America series) features a town or area and tries to get locals to tell the history of the area or town in pictures, Schwindt said in a Cortez Journal article last month. The (Cortez) book is full of photographs, maps and timelines.
The authors signed a contract with Arcadia in late summer 2009 and spent the next year or so steadily researching and gathering photos for the book.
There are more than 200 photographs in the book that provide the history of Cortez in chronological order.
A large focus of the book, which was released on Aug. 29, is about the need and dependence on water in the region.
The authors discovered that the first water directly delivered to Cortez was in 1889 from the Great Cut and an irrigation tunnel that pumped water from the Dolores River.
The first water company, Montezuma Valley Water Supply Co., was owned by James W. Hanna. The pioneer was instrumental in building Cortez and created Montezuma County after urging the state to split La Plata County in half.
A steady supply of water wasnt available until almost 100 years later.
Although we had early water rights on the Dolores River, Cortez didnt have a guaranteed water source until McPhee came in, Weeth said in the August Journal article, referring to the McPhee dam that was completed in 1986 that created McPhee Reservoir.
Many of the old photographs came from newspaper archives; donated photos from long-time members of the community; the Cortez Public Library; the Denver Public Library; the Colorado State Historical Society; the Utah State Historical Society; the Anasazi Heritage Center; and First National Bank Cortez, which owns the publication rights for many historical photos but donated them for use in the book.
