Shakespeare reminds us that "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." The same holds for the Western Colorado town, of Montrose. Or Mon-TROZE, or MONT-roze.
Once known simply as “The New Town,” it sprang up in the late 1800s to supply nearby mining communities. It's also gone by other names: Uncompahgre Junction, Ute City, Pomona, Dadtown. One early resident, an avid reader who loved the classics, suggested the town take the name of one of his favorite characters in literature: a legendary Scottish nobleman from a novel by Sir Walter Scott. But since the town's incorporation in 1882, one question persists: how do you pronounce the name? For the answer, we asked Mayor Barbara Bynum.
[Mayor Bynum]: “MON-troze, not mont-ROZE."
About Colorado Postcards
Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado.
