Como Depot

The story of Como Depot begins like so many others in the American West. Immigrants searching for a new life and new wealth put their ears to the ground, waiting for rumors of the next big mining jackpot, ready to move at a moment’s notice. In fact, Como likely took its name from a large group Italian immigrants who named the Depot after Como, Italy. Unfortunately, where they were digging, there were more likely to hit coal instead of precious metals.

In the 1880s, the silver was falling into miner’s pockets around Denver, Colorado. When the railroad track was extended to better move goods and people, it landed in an unincorporated area just to the north of South Park. There they built a railroad depot known as Como Roundhouse to repair and house trains, which remained in service until the 1930s when the railroad moved away.

This did a number on the population, with families and residents moving to the next stop, today Como has less than 20 permanent residents. Since 2008, efforts have been made to preserve and restore the buildings that do still remain – most importantly the Depot, Roundhouse and Hotel – along with plans to bring a steam train back to Como for historical exhibitions. It is currently being leased by the Denver South Park & Pacific Historical Society, the same company that ran trains to this outpost over a century ago.

 Written by: Chris Gilson