The original trail was in operation from the late 1820's to late 1840's as a trade route between Santa Fe and California and lay approximately where the hwy is now then more or less paralleled the east side of the river from here on into Grand Junction. See OST #1 at Ft. Uncompahgre in Delta for the location of the OST visitor center which has much more info on the trail space allows here. Just south a few miles on Hwy 50 you will also find OST #2 at Wells Gulch which provides more information as well as view of the trail as rebuilt by the Gunnison expedition
Captain John Gunnison of the U.S. Topographic Engineers and a party of 62 men passed by here in September of 1853, while searching for a route for a railroad along the 38th parallel. As you leave Whitewater going west you will cross the Gunnison River. Originally known as the Rio Javier, or by its Indian name, Tomichi, the river was renamed to honor Captain Gunnison and his party.
This Junction of Hwys 50 and 141 at Whitewater marks the northern end of the 133 mile Unaweep Tabeguche (pronounced Tab-a-watch) Scenic and Historic Byway (UTB) through the Uncompahgre Plateau.
For some really cool videos go to this site http://www.utbyway.com/ so see shots of the Driggs "mansion" as well as of the engineering feat of the Hanging Flume. Beginning in 1887, construction took three years to hang a 6' x 4' wooden flume for 12 miles along the shear cliff face over the Dolores River Canyon. The flume carried 80,000,000 gallons of water a day for the three years that it was in use for hydraulic mining. To see this item alone is well worth the drive!