Paonia, which is a Spanish
derivative for the "peony" flower, was founded in 1882. Delta County was created
by the Colorado legislature on February 11, 1883, out of portions of
central Gunnison County.
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It was named
after the city of Delta, which was named for its location on the delta
of the Uncompahgre River.
At one
time, Paonia was on the North Fork
branch of the D&RG. The branch line
begins
at Delta and follows the North Fork Gunnison
River all the way
to the mines at Somerset.
The branch was constructed in 1902 and
the narrow gauge track was laid
on standard
gauge rails. In 1906 the tracks were converted
to standard
gauge when the Montrose to
Grand Junction tracks were changed. |
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