Colorado

Name: Denver's Washington Park
Brand: Sarah O. McCarthy
SKU: 9781467130745
Price: 17.49 USD
Availability: InStock

There is decidedly less pickaxe toting in contemporary Creede than when wild frontiersmen first flooded the gold mines in Colorado. But the pioneering exploits of Colorado history didn’t cease when modern comforts lined the shelves at Denver Dry Goods and luxury hotels opened shop in Durango. Just visit Fort Collins to observe the work of Temple Grandin or watch the laws of physics flex at Lowry Airforce Base. From pristine Rocky Mountain peaks to the deepest incursions of a coal cart, push the limits with our Colorado history books. [View all Colorado books]

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Denver's Washington Park

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Western Colorado Fruit & Wine:

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Ghosts of Boulder

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Around Nederland

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Compendium of Curious Colorado Place Names, A

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The Uncompahgre Valley

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Early Craig

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Baseball in Colorado Springs

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Dillon and Silverthorne

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Colorado’s Daring Ivy Baldwin

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Communities of the Palmer Divide

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La Plata:

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Security-Widefield

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Around Frederick

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Historic Colorado Mansions & Castles

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Manitou Springs

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Colorado's Historic Churches

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A History of Leadville Theater

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Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp

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Forgotten Colorado Silver

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Legendary Locals of Arvada

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The Haunted Heart of Denver

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Boulder County Beer

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Around Monarch Pass

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Commerce City

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Legendary Locals of Fruita

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The Eagle River Valley

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Historic Tales of Colorado’s Grand Valley

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Prisons of Cañon City

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Haunted Creede

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Northglenn

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Johnstown

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Highlandlake and Mead

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Roxborough

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Lost Ghost Towns of Teller County

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Denver's Washington Park

9781467130745

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In the Rocky Mountain West, Denver is considered the big city. Yet its urban core consists of numerous neighborhoods developed in the late 19th century that act today as virtual small towns. South-central Denver's Washington Park is one of those "small towns," and its name refers both to a 166-acre historic park and to the surrounding blend of residential and commercial neighborhoods. Cited as a model for new urbanism, this area serves as an enduring example of the City Beautiful movement. Touted in the late 19th century for its "rapid transit," clean air, and pure water, the area once known as Broadway Terrace, Myrtle Hill, and the Miracle Mile of South Denver continues to serve as a recreational mecca for Denverites. Over a span of 100 years, it has transformed from prairie to potato fields to "posh."

Western Colorado Fruit & Wine:

9781626197800

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Enterprising pioneers transformed the isolated lands of the North Fork and Grand Valleys into blossoming oases. Sowing cultural roots in this arid rocky landscape, the settlers cultivated what became delectable destinations boasting world-class wine and award-winning fruit. Midwestern immigrants cultivated orchards, Europeans produced their own table wine and growers delivered their harvest by horse and wagon to the first locavore market--area miners. Sit down, pour a glass of wine or cider and join journalist Jodi Buchan on a journey through the Western Slope's fruit and wine country. Meet orchardists and viticulturists, and celebrate the discoveries, traditions and innovations thriving today across the region.

Ghosts of Boulder

9781609497361

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Founded in 1859 and situated at the base of the Rocky Mountains, Boulder's small size harbors a big-city feel, and its rich past hides plenty of hair-raising lore. A home in the Newlands is said to be haunted by a previous owner who was displeased with remodeling done on his longtime abode, while a small Victorian on Pearl Street has been plagued by strange events for over a century. Guests at one hotel might be surprised by the number of mysteries wrapped around the building, and local spirits have a standing reservation at a popular restaurant that was once a mortuary. Authors Ann Alexander Leggett and Jordan Alexander Leggett offer up a tour of the tales that haunt this Colorado college town.

Around Nederland

9780738581491

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Nederland survived three boom-and-bust cycles involving three different minerals. During the silver boom, U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant visited Central City in 1873 and walked on silver bricks that had been mined in Caribou and milled in Nederland. The second boom followed the discovery of gold in Eldora in 1897 and lasted only a few years. The third boom was sparked by the discovery of tungsten by Sam Conger, the same man who made the original discovery of silver in Caribou. The Conger mine eventually became the greatest tungsten mine in the world. During World War I, Nederland's population swelled to 3,000--twice the size it is today--and another 2,000 were estimated to live nearby. In each boom, men came to mine, open stores, and transport goods and ore. They brought families with them, and many towns sprang up, including Caribou, Eldora, Lakewood, Tungsten, and Rollinsville. Some of these communities have survived, while others remain only in memories and photographs.

Compendium of Curious Colorado Place Names, A

9781467137324

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The origins of Colorado place names offer insightful glimpses into the state's formative years. Emanuel Saltiel named his new community along the Arkansas River Cotopaxi, after a volcano in Ecuador. Rifle Creek and the town of Rifle earned their names thanks to a rifle left behind along the banks of the creek. Optimistic miners mistakenly believed Tarryall had an abundance of gold and thus named it as a place where prospectors could mine and tarry. And despite attempts by government officials to rename a small community along the I-70 corridor in western Colorado, locals refused to call it anything other than No Name. Learn these stories and more as author Jim Flynn unravels the intriguing origins of Centennial State place names.

The Uncompahgre Valley

9780738580715

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Settlers of European heritage arrived in the Uncompahgre River Valley after the Ute tribe was ordered to reservation lands in Utah by the federal government in 1881. The pioneers staked out properties and established covenants. The Uncompahgre River carried the usual annual melt from the San Juan Mountains through today's Ouray, Montrose, and Delta Counties toward its confluence with the Colorado River near Grand Junction. But the settlers' crops required more water than the river or irrigation ditches could bring. Engineers assessed the failed farms and abandoned villages in the wake of the Uncompahgre Valley's over-settlement and looked east of Montrose to the Black Canyon, cut by the nearby Gunnison River. They drilled the Gunnison Tunnel to bring the snowcap melt from the Continental Divide's western slopes to the Uncompahgre Valley, creating one of the Rocky Mountain region's most fertile valleys. The tunnel, completed in 1909, was the biggest irrigation project up to that time.

Early Craig

9780738599694

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Dreams of what the West could offer brought the earliest settlers into the Yampa Valley. After the Homestead Act of 1862 and the westward expansion of the railroad, the first trickle of land seekers arrived in this remote area in the mid-1870s. Interest in the vast coal lands was a main driver for investors seeking to develop the region. But the smaller yet more inherently valuable interests of family, farming, and agriculture were the real deciding factors in the settling of this vastly beautiful and challenging corner of Colorado. During those early years, the homesteaders in Craig managed to capture images of the area they had come to claim as their own. They photographed immense stretches of solitary land, quiet scenes of the family living room, and the optimism of the developing business districts. They left a photographic legacy that proves a picture is indeed worth a thousand words.

Baseball in Colorado Springs

9780738599540

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From Boulevard Park and Memorial Field to Security Service Field (formerly Sky Sox Stadium), Colorado Springs is a baseball town. Professional baseball arrived in 1901; the Brown Bombers, a semiprofessional black team, came in the 1940s; and the original Sky Sox won the Western League Championship in 1953, 1955, and 1958. Local players such as Ed Kent, Bill Everitt, Jim Landis, Sam Hairston, Connie Johnson, Vinny Castilla, and Todd Helton have made it to the major leagues. Rich "Goose" Gossage, a Colorado Springs native, went directly from Class A ball to the Chicago White Sox, starting his hall-of-fame career in 1972.

Dillon and Silverthorne

9780738570167

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Lake Dillon sits at almost 2 miles high in the Rocky Mountains. The dam and reservoir that produced this Summit County resort, along with Dillon Village on its shore and the town of Silverthorne just below it, are collectively one of Colorado's winter-summer fun destinations. Dillon Dam is 5,288 feet long by 231 feet high, creating a large freshwater source for the city of Denver, as well as 25 miles of scenic shoreline. The dam stores 85.5 billion gallons of water from the Snake and Blue Rivers and Ten Mile Creek. On cue, these waters rush eastward to the South Platte River Basin through the Transmontane Project, or Roberts Tunnel--augered hundreds of feet under the Continental Divide in one of the West's most controversial water relocation epics. Today Dillon, Silverthorne, and the Blue River Basin on Colorado's western slope see their share of sailboating, snow and Nordic skiing, windsurfing, and snowboarding.

Colorado’s Daring Ivy Baldwin

9781467146333

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At the beginning of the twentieth century, aerialist Ivy Baldwin had achieved celebrity status as a premier tightrope walker, aeronaut and aviation pioneer. He executed astonishing and perilous performances across America and internationally, including Mexico and the Far East. First by flying balloons, he went on to pilot dirigibles and, finally, aircraft. In his later years in Colorado, he became famous for crossing canyons on a tightrope. Historian Jack Stokes Ballard deftly captures Baldwin's colorful and hazardous life from childhood runaway to aviation record holder.

Communities of the Palmer Divide

9780738581903

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Native American tribes once traversed the east-west anomaly of the Rocky Mountains known as the Palmer Divide as a passage between the high ranges and the Great Plains. Lying between Denver and Colorado Springs, and named for William Jackson Palmer, founder of Colorado Springs, the offshoot range divides the great Platte and Arkansas River systems. Settlers homesteaded, farmed, and ranched the area. Railroad construction in the 1870s led to towns supporting commerce and tourism, particularly in the western section of the Palmer Divide, in what eventually became known as the Tri-Lakes Area. The area drew tourists who enjoyed hiking, wildflowers, and the outdoors, and facilitated such local industries as ice harvesting, lumber milling, ranching, and potato farming. A vast area north of Colorado Springs, the Palmer Divide retains a picturesque rural nature and cohesive small-town feeling--creating such social events as the Rocky Mountain Chautauqua and the Yule Log Festival, as well as the enduring Palmer Lake Star on Sundance Mountain.

La Plata:

9780738520506

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Despite some of the darker aspects of the upper San Juan Basin, such as the Meeker Massacre, "Mexican Flats," and the presence of the Ku Klux Klan, the fact remains that Utes, Anglos, and Hispanics have co-existed peacefully together in this region for well over a century. Collected in this new book and accented with over 100 vintage images is an oral history of La Plata County and the surrounding areas, featuring the voices of cowboys and Native Americans, ranchers and miners, outlaws and in-laws alike.

In compiling these stories of local San Juan Basin residents, Fred Wildfang has recreated life during turn-of-the-century Southwestern Colorado. These individual recollections detail the hardships and triumphs of early pioneer families from the San Juan Basin, including tales of the Old West movie sets, arranged marriages, rash elopements, runaway horses, and ancient native rituals. The voices captured here epitomize the spirit of "nan¡-ma"-as the Utes say-"together," a word meant to stand for a spirit of cooperation among all the peoples in this land.

Security-Widefield

9781467130929

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On the southern outskirts of Colorado Springs lies the peaceful community known as Security-Widefield. With the installation and expansion of nearby Camp Carson, a vision unfurled of a suburb convenient for military families, including affordable homes, parks, recreation programs, schools, and easy access to the Mountain Post. Fred Sproul first purchased dairy and truck farms in the Fountain Valley and developed the area into Security Village, and later, Jules Watson developed more farmland into Widefield. With no mayor and no town council, the two neighborhoods have uniquely come together through Widefield School District No. 3, which has been instrumental in maintaining the parks and library, as well as delivering top-notch education. Together, the school district and volunteer fire department have provided community activities for nearly 60 years. Many of the first families to reside in the area are now seeing their great-grandchildren reap the blessings of growing up in Security-Widefield.

Around Frederick

9781467130356

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In the 1880s, Frederick was nothing but prairieland, and its only inhabitants were prairie dogs, rabbits, coyotes, and snakes. Coal brought settlers to the area, and Frederick was incorporated in 1907 as a coalmining town. The mines needed workers, and immigrants arrived from across the globe to help fill this need for labor. Men and their families came from Italy, Russia, Turkey, Greece, Mexico, and the Slavic countries to make Frederick their home. While not considered a gold or silver boomtown, Frederick had its share of growing pains. Liquor and illegal gambling were constant sources of problems, and the town saw natural disasters such as persistent flooding as well. As its location on the Union Pacific Railroad helped the miners, farmers, and merchants build a strong community, the history of Frederick provides a classic example of growth and development on the eastern Colorado plains.

Historic Colorado Mansions & Castles

9781626197480

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The discovery of gold and silver in Colorado's Rocky Mountains minted millionaires by the ton. The rough settlements of miners and ranchers quickly transformed into habitations more suitable for the newly wealthy class. William Newton Byers founded the Centennial State's first newspaper and built an Italianate-style palace with the proceeds, while Walter Scott Cheesman's Capitol Hill home later became the governor's residence. Stroll into the parlors and drawing rooms of oligarchs like August A. Meyer, Lyman Robison and James Joseph Brown. Visit Romanesque castles cut from native lava and country retreats designed by the country's foremost architects. Linda Wommack offers a tour of the finest mansions in Colorado, all proudly bearing the mark of the State and National Registers of Historic Preservation.

Manitou Springs

9780738528564

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Hidden between the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak lies the magical town of Manitou Springs. Drawn to the healing waters of its numerous mineral springs, the Ute, Cheyenne, and other native tribes once considered the area sacred. As more and more Europeans traveled to the area, the city of Manitou Springs was established as a health resort and visited by thousands, from vacationing families and wealthy celebrities to tubercular patients and medical professionals. Through the years the city faced the challenges of changing tourism patterns, but the formation of a national historic district in the 1980s launched the restoration and renewal of many of the city's most cherished buildings and traditions, reminding both residents and visitors alike of the charm Manitou Springs has always offered.

Colorado's Historic Churches

9781467142823

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Colorado's houses of worship reflect the same trademark resourcefulness and fortitude that the pioneers and history makers demonstrated throughout the state's history. Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, established in 1854, remains the state's oldest church. Formed by a group of African American settlers, including former slaves, Zion Baptist became Colorado's first black congregation on November 15, 1865. On May 23, 1868, famed frontiersman Christopher "Kit" Carson died in the historic chapel at Fort Lyon. And thanks to con artist Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith, who raised $600, Creede erected its first church in 1892. From notable parishioners to murders in two separate Denver churches, historian Linda Wommack surveys the heritage and wealth of holy houses in the Mile High State.

A History of Leadville Theater

9781609497118

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When the West was wild, the glitziest streets in Colorado ran through Leadville, where opera, variety and burlesque lit up Magic City theaters. Theatrical legends Buffalo Bill and Oscar Wilde graced the Tabor Opera House, while revolutionary Susan B. Anthony reached a rough mining audience from a stage atop a bar. Thomas Kemp spared no expense on the risque Black Crook at the Grand Central Theater, complete with a grand waterfall, a trapdoor and dragons. Follow Leadville historian Gretchen Scanlon through these theatrical glory days, from the glamorous productions and stump speeches to the offstage theft and debauchery that kept the drama going even when the curtain fell.

Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp

9781625859273

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In 1914, Charlotte Perry and Portia Mansfield envisioned a secluded institution nestled in the mountains, where art and nature could intersect. By the 1920s, their remote Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp in Steamboat Springs was serving as a hub for top dancers such as José Limon and Harriette Ann Gray to hone their craft. In addition to training thousands of pointed toes and arched feet, the school showcased equestrian jumping and performed plays by masters, including Shakespeare, García Lorca and Tennessee Williams. The theater program eventually attracted budding actors like Julie Harris, Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Biel. Author Dagny McKinley presents the story of America's longest continuously running performing arts camp.

Forgotten Colorado Silver

9781467135252

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At the turn of the last century, miner Joseph Lesher attempted to raise the price of silver by privately minting octagonal "Referendum souvenir medal" coins with values of $1.25 or $1. They were common in Victor, Cripple Creek, Denver and other places in Colorado in the days after William Jennings Bryan fought unsuccessfully for free silver. Surviving an initial dust-up with the Secret Service, Lesher found a loophole to place them in circulation in 1900 and 1901. Today, coin collectors pay more than $1,000 for one. This is the story of Joseph Lesher and his audacious private mint, along with the merchants in the mining towns and elsewhere who supported him.

Legendary Locals of Arvada

9781467101295

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Unique characters have always made up the landscape of Arvada. Pioneers, ranchers and farmers, business leaders, community-minded individuals, doctors, sports figures, and even a Broadway star have all called home the city on a bluff overlooking Clear Creek. Benjamin Wadsworth was not only one of Arvada's founding fathers but also the town's first postmaster, and he donated many parcels of land for schools and churches to be built in the burgeoning town. Lloyd King, in 1947, opened the first King Soopers grocery store in Arvada. From this one small market grew an empire of more than 100 King Soopers stores in Colorado. Popular radio personality Irv Brown is known as "Denver's go-to guy" for sports talk. Brown coached at Arvada High School during the 1960s, leading the Redskins to 10 conference football titles and one state championship. And two-time Cy Young Award-winner Roy Halladay honed his baseball skills in Arvada as a youth. The starting pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies graduated from Arvada West High School in 1995. From Louis Ralston's discovery of gold in 1850 along the creek that bears his name, to the present day sprawling suburb, Arvada's people have helped make the town a jewel of the Centennial State.

The Haunted Heart of Denver

9781609492939

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The Gates of Hell are rumored to lie below a hotel near Denver's capitol building, and there are tales of restless spirits of those buried in Cheesman Park. Above the subterranean darkness, the city streets are haunted by the murderous poltergeist of the Capitol Hill Thug. Even the stately mansions of Millionaires' Row hide their own secrets, a sad Victorian lady begs for help before vanishing in the Sheedy Mansion, and an eerie face appears on the facade of the Cresswell House. Join tour guide and reluctant ghost hunter Kevin Pharris as he takes a chilling journey through The Haunted Heart of Denver.

Boulder County Beer

9781467144759

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In 1979, two University of Colorado professors decided to open Boulder Brewing Company--the forty-third brewery in the nation and the first in the state since Prohibition. Over the next four decades, young entrepreneurs from across the country flocked to the picturesque region to follow their bliss and brew beer. The county's brewing heritage is brimming with stories of how a band of ragtag ruffians helped launch a nationwide revolution. The likes of Oskar Blues, Avery Brewing Company and Left Hand Brewing Company laid the fertile ground for torchbearers such as Upslope, Bootstrap Brewing and many others. Packed with firsthand accounts from adventurous brewers, Michael J. Casey recounts the tale of those who turned Boulder County into ground zero for craft beer in the Centennial State.

Around Monarch Pass

9780738580708

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Monarch Country is an incredibly beautiful mountain region spanning both sides of the Continental Divide in the southern portions of Chaffee and Gunnison Counties in the Rocky Mountains of south-central Colorado. Monarch Pass, at 11,312 feet above sea level, divides the Gunnison Country in the west from the Arkansas River watershed in the east. This scenic, wild, and rugged region surrounding the crossroads of U.S. Routes 50 and 285 is rich in mining, railroad, and skiing history and once included booming mining camps such as Maysville, Garfield, Monarch, and White Pine. The crown jewel of this spectacular high-country landscape is the Monarch Ski Area, which enjoys 350 to 500 inches of snowfall every year.

Commerce City

9780738580203

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Among Colorado's fastest growing cities in the 21st century, Commerce City was settled in the 1850s, located today 8 miles northeast of Denver's capitol building. Known for hog farms, truck farms, and dairies, as well as refineries and grain elevators, Commerce City was, during World War II, the site of the enormous Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a U.S. Army weapons manufacturing facility. Incorporated in 1952 as Commerce Town, the name was changed to Commerce City in 1962, which adopted home rule in 1970. Commerce City is regionally famous and nationally recognized for parks and recreation, Buffalo Run Golf Course, Mile High Kennel Club (dog racing), and nearby Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. The new Commerce City Civic Center and Dick's Sporting Goods Park, which is home to pro soccer's Colorado Rapids, were completed in 2007. Commerce City remains a speedily changing municipality with a diverse cultural mix and generations of residents with strong community roots.

Legendary Locals of Fruita

9781467102292

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New York City poet and newspaper editor William Pabor headed to Colorado in 1870, heeding Horace Greeley's advice to "go West." After helping to establish Greeley, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins, Pabor continued west over the Rocky Mountains and founded Fruita as a family-oriented, agrarian-based community in 1884. Since its inception, Fruita has attracted farmers, ranchers, shopkeepers, entrepreneurs, writers, and visionaries, who all came in search of community spirit and the wide-open spaces. The area has also been fertile ground for fossil hunters, and Fruita has both its own fossil, Fruitafossor windssheffeli, and its own dinosaur, Fruitadens haagarorum. Fruita is also known for its unusual characters, including a headless chicken named Mike and a feline journalist named Charlie the Cat. From the 1910 apple queen Mabel Skinner to the pizza queens, Anne Keller and Jen Zeuner, of today, presented here are just a few of the stories of Fruita's always fascinating legendary locals.

The Eagle River Valley

9780738556352

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Starting as a trickle in the Rocky Mountains, the Eagle River emerges in a glacial valley, cuts through a spectacular gorge near Red Cliff, and then creates the broad flood plain of the Eagle River Valley. At Dotsero, the river joins the mighty Colorado River. As long as humans have settled along the river, they have depended on it for their livelihood, trapping beaver for hats, mining gold and silver, collecting water for locomotive engines and channeling it for crops and ranching, harvesting ice for food preservation, and, most recently, converting water into snow with modern machines. Today the Eagle River Valley is the backbone of two of the greatest ski areas in the world, Vail and Beaver Creek. Sparkling through the ancient riverbed, the Eagle River continues its course to this day, flowing through the same valley that drew pioneers here in the 19th century.

Historic Tales of Colorado’s Grand Valley

9781467136297

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Colorado's Grand Valley has an extensive geological and human history going back millennia. Franciscan priests worked in tandem with the native Ute people to plot passage through the territory, opening the valley to unprecedented settlement. The region became the playground of enterprising visionaries, murderous outlaws, hooligans and harlots alike. From the gruesome Meeker massacre and its tragic consequences for the Ute nation to the mysterious murder of Sam McMullin and a showdown with the Ku Klux Klan in 1925, uncover the engrossing stories of an unyielding land. Author Kate Ruland-Thorne recounts many of the defining and damning moments throughout Grand Valley history.

Prisons of Cañon City

9780738548456

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Cañon City sits in a geological bowl surrounded by the Rocky Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo mountain range. Historically, it has been known as the prison capital of the world, with eight-- soon to be nine--state prisons in the area and four federal facilities located 11 miles away in Florence. The first prison in Cañon City was built in 1868, before Colorado became a state, and was opened in 1871. Originally known as the Colorado Territorial Penitentiary, it is currently called the Colorado Territorial Correctional Facility and holds approximately 800 male inmates. Cañon City has grown up around the prisons, and the area's colorful history is defined by daring prison breaks, infamous inmates, such as the Colorado cannibal Alferd Packard, and by the stories of the inmates and employees who have been part of the prison system.

Haunted Creede

9781467144551

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Brave men and women came to seek their fortunes in the rough-and-tumble boomtown of Creede. Miners, merchants, dance hall girls, gunslingers and gamblers still haunt its streets and halls. How many ghosts are thought to haunt the historic Creede Hotel? How did the baddest man in camp meet his untimely end, and what do the old-timers say is buried under the floorboards at Freemon's Ranch? What happened the night an actress from the Creede Repertory Theatre summoned a ghost to join her on stage? Author Kandra Payne matches fascinating historic details with spine-tingling tales to find out what made the Creede Camp one of the wildest and spookiest boomtowns in the West.

Northglenn

9780738596754

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On June 30, 1959, over 15,000 people came to view Perl-Mack Enterprises' five show homes built at the corner of 104th Avenue and Grant Drive. Named "the most perfectly planned community in America" by Life magazine, the developers named this new community North Glenn and built it into a community designed with designated industrial, commercial, recreational, and school areas around a central, regional shopping center--the Northglenn Mall. Facing annexation from surrounding cities, concerned residents formed the North Glenn Civic Association and encouraged residents to go to the polls in April 1969 to vote for incorporation. The name was changed to the City of Northglenn, and it went on to be a vital city, winning awards for revitalizing the largest park in its extensive park system, E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park with Webster Lake, as well as being named Tree City, USA, and Playful City, USA, several years in a row.

Johnstown

9780738581194

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The story of Johnstown did not begin with the founding of the town in 1902, nor did it end there. The story begins and ends with enterprising people. These people were determined to make a life for themselves despite all the hardships of living on the prairie of Colorado. These were the same people who were among the first Americans to go west. Trappers came for beaver pelts, and traders set up forts to trade for buffalo hides from the Arapaho. Gold miners whose claims went bust later settled in the Johnstown area. Cattlemen's herds found the prairie grass a natural food source, and they flourished. And, finally, the homesteaders claimed farmland that became rich and fertile with the use of irrigation. Johnstown is the story of people who established a new life in a new world.

Highlandlake and Mead

9780738596013

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Today, Mead is a vibrant "Little Town with a Big Future," but when Lorin C. Mead homesteaded 80 acres in 1871, it was nothing more than virgin prairie with a small spring-fed pond he named Highland Lake after Sir Walter Scott's poem "The Lady of the Lake." In 1873, he completed the Highland Ditch and enlarged the pond into a reservoir. The availability of irrigation water attracted additional settlers, and soon a village named Highlandlake sprang up along the shore. In late 1905, a promised railroad bypassed Highlandlake and instead established a beet dump along the eastern border of Paul Mead's farm. Paul, the son of Lorin C. Mead's brother Dr. Martin Luther Mead, immediately platted a new town, naming it after his father. Mead thrived until the Great Depression, during which several businesses were lost, including both banks. For almost 60 years, the town struggled to overcome the resultant losses until finally, in the 1990s, families rediscovered Mead's quaint charm and rural beauty.

Roxborough

9781467116367

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Paleo-Indians hunted Ice Age mammoths and ancestral bison in what is now Roxborough, Colorado. In 1820, Stephen A. Long's expedition traveled west across the plains into America's western frontier and camped along the South Platte River where water rushed into the Platte Valley from Rocky Mountain peaks. They discovered an area described by their geologist as "a range of naked and almost perpendicular rocks . . . resembling a vast wall, parallel to the base of the mountain . . . the whole scenery truly picturesque and romantic." During the next 200 years, Roxborough has been home to Native Americans, mountain men, homesteaders, farmers, miners, dam builders, ranchers, railroad men, cowboys, and rocket scientists. Families live in sight of hogback formations, soaring red rocks, foothills, and mountains. Thousands arrive each year to hike trails in Roxborough State Park, Waterton Canyon, Colorado Trail, and Highline Canal. Roxborough's history, geologic wonders, and wilderness is a story of those whose eyes reached toward the stars.

Lost Ghost Towns of Teller County

9781467135122

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Throughout Teller County, history lovers can find abandoned towns and forgotten main streets that once bustled with life and commerce. Even before Teller was carved from surrounding counties, the scenic mountains and lucrative mines of the gold rush era brought thousands of settlers and attracted resort owners and tycoons eager to exploit the rich setting. Seemingly overnight, towns in the Cripple Creek District and other places popped up, flush with gold and people looking for opportunity. As the ore disappeared, the miners moved on in search of the next big lode. One by one, the towns were all but forgotten. Join Jan MacKell Collins and discover the booming history, lost towns and hardy settlers of Teller County.