Gezicht op een spoorweg door de bergen van Clear Creek County before 1874

This photograph of a railway through Clear Creek County was made by J. Collier. The photograph is mounted in a book alongside a chapter on travelling to Estes Park and Long's Peak. This image offers a powerful insight into the cultural and institutional history of the American West. Completed in 1872, the railroad was built to extract silver ore from the rich mines in the mountains. The railway lines were destructive to the natural landscape and enabled exploitation of its natural resources. Such railways also encouraged tourism, further influencing the environment. The book in which this photograph is included speaks directly to this tourism. As historians, we might consult maps, railway company records, tourist guides and other historical documents to understand better the social and environmental impact of the railway and the growing culture of tourism that it enabled. This image reminds us that the meaning of art is not fixed but shaped by its historical context.