I've been digging a lot into historical peak names and maps lately. After scanning through John L. Jerome Hart's Fourteen Thousand Feet second edition (1931 - original was 1925), I found some interesting info that I'll share.
Below the attached images I'll share some old sketches and maps of the area.
From this, it appears that the name Trois Tetons (or Three Tetons) was used to describe the Crestones (Crestone Peak, East Crestone, and Crestone Needle) by some, the Kit Carson group (Challenger Point, Kit Carson Peak, and Columbia Point) by others, and a group of three peaks closer to the head of the Crestone Creek by still others.
In 1853 on his route across Colorado to survey a possible route for the Pacific Railroad between the 38th and 39th parallels, John Gunnison's group noted the Trois Tetons. I came across a sketch by expeditionary artist Richard H. Kern, drawn on 8/11/1853 as they explored the top of what they called "the Sangre de Cristo Pass." Titled "Les Trois Tetons in the distance," you can see some jagged peaks in the distance, left of center. This was later lithographed by John Mix Stanley. In the early 2000's, Robert Shlaer took a photograph from the approximate area where this sketch was drawn (though perhaps the sketch was drawn closer to about 37.6349, -105.1860, somewhere on that hillside, vs Shlaer's ~37.62047, -105.1889 location?) What Kern described from near the top of La Veta Pass in the distance were Crestone Peak, East Crestone, and Crestone Needle. There's a cool interactive map showing the route of the Gunnison expedition, Kern's sketches, and Shlaer's photos side by side.
The Trois Tetons are shown on this map drawn by F.W. Egloffstein in 1855, published in 1861. Though the location here appears to be closer to the Kit Carson area vs the Crestones area. The "Riviere des trois Tetons" is the current Crestone Creek, and "Chatillons Creek" is the current Deadman Creek.
https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servle ... -Coo-che-t
Another early map showing these peaks is John Pierce's 1863 "Map of Public Surveys in Colorado Territory."
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67 ... 9452/m1/1/
Thayer's "1873 Map of Colorado" also shows this group (as well as his 1875 map), though in less detail.
https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servle ... -Colorado-
https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servle ... 8:Colorado
Wheeler's 61D 1878 section map shows this area, this time with new names. Kit Carson Peak is labeled "Frustum" and the current Crestone Peak location is labeled "Three Tetons."
https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servle ... orado,-Atl
Hayden's map from 1877 (reprinted in 1881 with the same topography but new towns, roads, and railroads) labels the current Crestone Peak location as "Crestone." The name "Kit Carson's Pk" is shown, but hovering closer to the current Humboldt location than the current Kit Carson location (probably an error).
https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servle ... rado--V-X-?
Rand McNally's 1883 “Denver and Rio Grande Railroad System” map shows the name Three Tetons.
https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servle ... lroad-Syst
The Survey General's Office's 1888 "Luis Maria Baca grant no. 4, Saguache Co. Colorado" is a little vague. But it seems to show Les Trois Tetons in the current Crestone Peak location, between Spanish and Cottonwood Creeks (or more specifically in the vicinity of the Spanish Creek/South Branch Spanish Creek area)
https://digital.denverlibrary.org/nodes/view/337069
Clason’s 1908 “Map of the San Luis Valley” is interesting, contrasting "Les Trois Tetons" (Kit Carson location) with "Crestone Pk" (Crestone Peak location)
https://cudl.colorado.edu/luna/servlet/ ... uis-Valley
Regarding the different names from the Hayden and Wheeler surveys, on page 20 of John L. J. Hart's "Fourteen Thousand Feet" 1925 edition, he states:
"The discrepancy between these definitions and the Wheeler maps was removed in 1907 by the U.S.B. of G.N., in report No. 3, who ruled 'Crestone, peaks, Sangre de Cristo range, Saguache County, Colorado, not Three Tetons'; and 'Kit Carson, peak, Sangre de Cristo range, Custer and Saguache Counties not Frustum.' That these decisions were made to get rid of the Wheeler names is evident, for at the same time the Wheeler Survey names of Glacier, Chalk, Blanco [Blaines], and Cero Blanco, were dropped in favor of Hayden's Wilson, Princeton, Sneffels, and Blanca."
Colorado's Trois Tetons
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Colorado's Trois Tetons
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Re: Colorado's Trois Tetons
This is super cool, and I'll probably spend too much time staring at all of these maps for the next few days. Thanks a ton for sharing!
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Re: Colorado's Trois Tetons
More proof that 1800s men in the west were obsessed with naming mountains after boobs, even if they didn't look like them. There has to be at least a hundred of those out west.
I'm old, slow and fat. Unfortunately, those are my good qualities.
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Re: Colorado's Trois Tetons
It gets lonely out there on the frontier! Eventually even mountains look tempting.
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Re: Colorado's Trois Tetons
How many Nipples did Molly have?
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Re: Colorado's Trois Tetons
A premonition of that Total Recall scene...