Fruita

9780738581729

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William Pabor arrived in Western Colorado before the advent of irrigation, and the land presented a barren and desolate sight. But he saw something entirely different. "In the spring of 1884, lying on the bare floor of a log cabin on the site of what is now the town of Fruita, I watched the moonbeams play on the Roan Cliffs and across Pinon Mesa," Pabor wrote. "The silence of centuries seemed resting upon the plain. . . . But visions of the possibilities of the future swept before me. I saw homes founded, I saw family circles gathered together. I saw vineyards and orchards, and rose-embowered cottages in which love and happiness and contentment abode. . . . I heard the merry voices of children yet to be born. I heard the singing of harvesters bringing in the sheaves of golden grain." Pabor soon turned vision into reality and founded the town of Fruita.

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.

Cover image for Roxborough, isbn: 9781467116367

Fountain

9780738595030

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Historic Fountain lays nestled near the confluence of Fountain Creek and Jimmy Camp Creek. Ute Indians, French fur trappers, covered wagons, and stagecoaches all passed through this fertile valley along the Cherokee Trail until Amos Terrell settled here in the early 1860s, followed by farmers and ranchers. Businessmen soon began to buy town lots as Terrell sold off portions of his land. The railroad eventually pushed its way through town from Denver to Pueblo, while new arrivals of Mexican ancestry came up from the south with their strong work ethic and zesty Southwestern culture. Camp Carson became Fountain's neighbor to the west in 1942, and since then, the small town has seen steady growth as it remains an important hub in the Fountain Valley. Fountain was honored to be named "Millennium City" in 2000, as it represents the diverse character of the entire country.

Woodland Park

9780738580579

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Woodland Park, at an altitude of nearly 8,500 feet, is located 18 miles west of Colorado Springs along the north slope of Pikes Peak in eastern Teller County. Much of the history of the West passed through this area on the old Ute Trail--now Highway 24--as hunters, trappers, cowboys, Native Americans, settlers, miners, railroaders, ranchers, and tourists discovered an abundance of natural beauty and varied business opportunities through the years. Woodland Park is now home to about 8,000 year-round residents, many of whom treasure not only the spectacular scenery but also the rich past of the town. This evocative tour through that past shares vintage photographs collected by the Ute Pass Historical Society.

Bayfield and the Pine River Valley 1860-1960

9780738520520

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With the climate, elevation, and abundance of water, early settlers to the Pine River Valley found that the area was ideal for prosperous settlements and the growing of crops. Captured here in over 200 vintage images are the trials and triumphs of these early pioneers determined to develop the land and carve a niche for themselves in the San Juan Mountains. Named Rio de Los Pinos by 18th-century Spanish explorers, the Pine River Valley boasts some of the richest land in Southwestern Colorado. As pioneers and settlers became aware of these natural resources, towns sprouted up throughout the valley proper. One of these communities was historic Bayfield. Pictured here are the earliest days of the community, including the homesteads, lumber camps, churches, downtown buildings, and businesses no longer existing, as well as the events and residents who helped forge the town's destiny.

Bayfield and the Pine River Valley 1860-1960

Basalt

9781467130462

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Once the site of a Ute Indian settlement, Basalt began life as several sleepy little hamlets. From the original Frying Pan Junction and later Aspen Junction, the town of Basalt is comprised of five areas. In the early 20th century, located midway between Aspen and Glenwood Springs, Basalt became the heart of the valley's mining, ranching, and farming operations as pioneering families homesteaded the land. Many hoped to build their fortunes along the tracks of the Denver & Rio Grande Western and Colorado Midland Railroads, whose rail lines merged in the center of today's downtown area. As the silver-mining era passed into history and the railroad operations ceased, so did the fortunes of early Basalt. Today's Basalt is a vibrant and vital residential and commercial community located on the confluence of two world-class Gold Medal fishing rivers.

Kiowa County

9780738580937

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Carved out of Bent County in 1889, Kiowa County is a rural, agricultural area with a rich and varied history. Located in southeastern Colorado in the heart of the Great Plains, Kiowa County was originally dominated by cattle ranches; however, farming quickly became just as important. The construction of the Missouri Pacific Railroad in the late 1880s sparked the growth of towns in Kiowa County, bringing a variety of ambitious settlers facing many challenges. Confronted with a well-documented drought cycle in the semiarid climate, the settlers persevered to establish schools and businesses and to create homes. Although Kiowa County never became home to a booming metropolis as early residents dreamed, the county's citizens take pride in a rich history and strive to preserve it.

The Fraser Valley

9781467132886

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The 1859 gold rush brought swift change to the Colorado region, but it had little impact on the Fraser Valley. Hemmed in by mountains, hammered by cold winters, and lacking in mineral wealth, the valley resisted all but the hardiest settlers. The railroad arrived in 1904 via a torturous crossing of the Continental Divide, ending the isolation and ushering in a ranching and logging boom. Towns sprang up overnight, and the forest filled with logging camps and sawmills. Hard times in the 1920s and 1930s were tempered by the construction of US Highway 40, a major coast-to-coast route that bisected the valley, as well as the completion of the Moffat Tunnel, a six-mile bore that eased the passage of trains and the diversion of precious valley water. During the 1950s and 1960s, tourism grew in popularity. Logging gave way to lodging, and log cabins morphed into condominiums. By 1970, outdoor recreation dominated the local economy.

Berthoud Pass

9780738575292

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Since its official discovery in 1861 by Ed Berthoud and mountain man Jim Bridger, Berthoud Pass has been an important transportation route over the Continental Divide. At more than 11,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains, and coupled with its large number of switchbacks, it has become one of the most beautiful and widely used mountain passes in the West. Henry Ford's inexpensive Model T opened up America to the masses and in the 1920s, following early struggles in road development, a successful construction project gave way to the Golden Age of Automobile Touring. A solid road, US Highway 40, was paved in 1938 that opened the West to a wave of tourists during the 1940s and 1950s. Berthoud Pass's steep terrain and abundant snow provides access to some of Colorado's best skiing and snowboarding activities.

University Park and South Denver

9780738569017

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The University of Denver had existed for less than 30 years when the decision was made to relocate the campus from its original site downtown to a place several miles to the south, a move completed in 1892. The town of South Denver grew up around University Park. At first both a university town and a neighboring suburb of Denver, South Denver was soon annexed into the larger city. In the coming decades, South Denver would establish its own residential and business identities apart from the influence of the University of Denver, known as DU, though it would remain a central character in the shaping and growth of the community. In the 21st century, University Park and South Denver have flourished with beautiful homes, attractive parks, and highly rated schools.

Evans

9781467131216

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In the winter of 1869, the little town of Evans, Colorado, was abuzz with excitement. The Denver Pacific Railroad completed the track that connected Denver to the Union Pacific line in Cheyenne, making Evans a major hub for travelers and home to the railroad superintendent's office. In its early years, Evans welcomed new settlers almost every day. Veterans, innkeepers, businessmen, educators, farmers, and many others chose to make their home in "the Queen City of the Platte." While Evans experienced a few setbacks over the years, it continued to grow and thrive. Now home to nearly 19,000 people, Evans has the distinction of being the oldest town in Weld County, with a rich history full of exciting characters who had a vision for this little town on the plains.

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.

Littleton

9781467132558

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In 1858, gold was discovered where Little Dry Creek joins the South Platte River, four miles north of what is today Littleton. After the initial rush of gold-seekers, agriculture sustained growth when the gold deposits played out. In 1861, Richard S. Little filed claims for agricultural land along the South Platte River in what would become Littleton. Little was not only a farmer but a land developer, and he filed his plat at the Arapahoe County Courthouse in 1872 for streets and homes on his property. When the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad built south from Denver through Littleton in 1871, development soon followed, and Little had no shortage of buyers for his plots of land. Thus began Littleton, and over the years of boom and bust, this early settlement has transitioned from village to county seat to one of Denver's finest suburbs.

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.

Around Niwot

9781467133241

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By the time the Colorado Central Railroad extended its tracks into Boulder County in 1873, much of the land along the foothills was already under cultivation. As rails were laid between Boulder City and Longmont to the northeast, they crossed land belonging to settlers who had first come to the region as prospectors with the Pikes Peak Gold Rush of 1858. At that time, the area was still the hunting and fishing grounds of Southern Arapaho Indians and their tribal leader, Chief Niwot, translated as "left hand" in the Arapaho language. Two ranchers, Porter Hinman and Ambrose Murray, whose land was traversed by the new railroad, platted the town of Niwot in 1875 as a shipping point for transporting local farm goods and livestock to distant markets. Thus the only authentic railroad town in Boulder County was founded.

Early Glenwood Springs

9781467132978

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Originally planned as the town of Defiance, Glenwood Springs was renamed for its natural hot springs along the banks of the Colorado River and for Glenwood, Iowa, the hometown of Isaac Cooper. In the early 1880s, Cooper had the vision of a spa resort here but not the finances to turn his dream into a reality. He sold out to Walter Devereux and his investors, who saw the construction of the Hot Springs Pool, Hotel Colorado, and Vapor Caves completed. Once railroads arrived in 1887, Glenwood Springs became a playground for wealthy travelers who sought out the hot springs as well as other recreational opportunities, such as hunting, fishing, hiking, and horseback riding. With beautiful scenery, caves to explore, and community festivals, visitors today sustain Glenwood's economy. Located at the confluence of the Colorado and Roaring Fork Rivers, our community has also served as a retail hub for the surrounding area from the 1880s to the present.

Parker

9781467133159

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The town of Parker underwent several name changes before adopting its current title. First called Pine Grove for its setting in a copse of ponderosa pines at the northern edge of Colorado's Black Forest, that name lasted through the final days of stagecoach travel. When the US Post Office officially began operations in the 1880s, officials requested that Pine Grove be renamed, as another town with that name existed on the Platte River, causing the mail to be mixed up. James Sample Parker requested that the town's name be changed to Edithville, in honor of his young daughter. Again, the US Post Office denied the request, renaming the town Parker to recognize James Sample Parker and his brother, George. From these early beginnings, Parker faced spurts of growth and recession, more recently becoming a significant Denver suburb.

Park County

9781467132459

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Created in 1861, Park County is one of Colorado's original 17 territorial counties. It is named after South Park, which is the vast, high alpine valley at the county's center. By the time the first fur trappers and explorers arrived in the early 1800s, Ute Indians had long visited the area to hunt the mountain valleys and fish the trout-filled streams. In 1859, prospectors discovered gold along Tarryall Creek, ushering in a mining boom that gave rise to dozens of boisterous mining camps. Ranchers soon followed, taking advantage of the nutritious native grasses and raising cattle to feed hungry miners, often under harsh conditions. By the 1880s, the Denver, South Park & Pacific and Colorado Midland Railroads arrived, spurring the growth of new towns and opening new markets for Park County's minerals, hay, ice, lumber, and cattle. As mining waned, tourism emerged as a major economic force attracting visitors eager to experience Park County's authentic character and stunning natural beauty.

Douglas County

9781467126526

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Castle Rock Writers bring readers a collection of vintage images and sketches of Douglas County from approximately 1861 to 1950, covering the settling of towns such as Parker and Sedalia and rural areas like Cherry Valley and Daniel's Park. Early homesteaders, adventurers, and prospectors journeyed west following the 900-plus miles along the Cherokee Trail, seeking the wealth of gold or needing the curative air of Colorado. On the long and arduous trip, travelers stopped at the Twenty Mile House in Parker or the Pretty Woman Ranch on the First Territorial Road. They needed to clean off the dust and dirt and enjoy a nourishing meal before the final push to Denver and beyond. Some simply stayed. They homesteaded ranches, staked out mines, and built small towns in the rolling plains, mesas, forested hills, and mountains that make up the 843 square miles of Douglas County. In the first half of the 20th century, the region grew into cohesive communities, where families thrived through ingenuity and hard work. Neighbors supported neighbors.

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.

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.

Cover image for The Eagle River Valley, isbn: 9780738556352

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.

Thornton

9780738558950

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In 1953, developer Sam Hoffman set out to build modern brick homes in a brand-new neighborhood north of Denver. He envisioned a planned community with land reserved for schools, churches, and shopping centers. Many veterans of World War II, with their young families, moved into houses built by Hoffman's F&S Construction, and these new citizens formed the Thornton Community Association, which eventually led the effort to incorporate the city in 1956. The history of Eastlake, founded in 1905, is tied to that of Thornton, and it is therefore included in this volume as well. Eastlake retains its own identity even though it now lies within Thornton's boundaries, and both communities continue to see housing and population growth as new families move in seeking the same opportunities as those who first settled here.

Cover image for Thornton, isbn: 9780738558950

Lost Denver

9781467132916

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Newcomers to the Mile-High City of Denver, whether arriving during the 19th, 20th, or 21st centuries, have often remarked on how new the city seems, and how proud its citizens are of it. Heady boom times at various intervals have inspired successive waves of city builders eager to make their mark by building grand, new edifices. Often, these new wonders replaced older structures that earlier Denverites had once seen as great accomplishments. As Denver has grown to become the hub of a major American metropolis, remnants of its earlier heritage have vanished into history, leaving newcomers to ponder, What makes Denver Denver? and longtime residents to ask, Where has my Denver gone? Lost Denver celebrates what the city once built and has since lost, along with what has made it unique, exploring where and how Denverites once worked, shopped, and played.

Poudre Canyon

9781467133708

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Carved eons ago by the Cache la Poudre River, the Poudre Canyon, north and west of Fort Collins, Colorado, has long been a favored recreation place, for fishing, hiking, camping, and more, of area residents and tourists. The canyon has many colorful tales to tell; this book takes readers on a drive through that history, milepost by milepost, stopping at historic places and taking some side trips along the way. Beginning with trappers and mountain men, the canyon has been traveled since the early 1800s, and Native Americans roamed here for times unknown before that. Explorers came, as did seekers of gold and silver. The expanding railroads resulted in logging enterprises, and mining interests brought about better access to mining towns. Near the end of the 19th century, tourists began to enjoy the hunting and fishing of the area. In 1920, the road, which had been blocked from either direction by a place in the canyon called the Narrows, finally went through all the way, bringing resorts and tourists.

Fruita's Historic Moon Farm

9781467109857

$23.99 $17.99 Save 25%

In the summer of 1954, Wallace and Ella Moon moved their family to an 80-acre resettlement farm north of Fruita, Colorado. Over the next six decades, the family would transform the property into a children's wonderland. Wallace and Ella constructed 30 unique playhouses and museums influenced by their pioneering history growing up in Utah. Fruita's Historic Moon Farm details its transformation from a family farm to a field-trip destination, children's day camp, pumpkin patch, vacation rental hub, and place to be enjoyed by kids of all ages. The nonprofit Grand Valley Equine Assisted Learning Center has taken the reins from the Moon family and plans to continue the farm's vacation rental and pumpkin patch traditions.

Early Lakewood

9780738574417

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Since Lakewood's settlement in the 1860s, it has been a community in search of an identity, fluctuating from farm center to factory town, from Denver streetcar suburb to the map's stopover point between the big city and the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Once known for its fruit orchards and dairy and poultry farms, Lakewood in modern times has been home to the western third of the nation's longest commercial street, Colfax Avenue, and houses more federal agencies than any community outside of Washington, DC. Most of the buildings associated with Lakewood's agricultural and manufacturing past are gone, but the can-do spirit of the men and women who forged and fashioned the city's destiny as a microcosm of western American life from the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries is recalled in these pages.

Brighton

9780738569413

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The town of Brighton was founded by railroad man and real estate developer Daniel F. Carmichael at the junction of the Denver Pacific (now Union Pacific) and Denver and Boulder Valley Railroads. Carmichael determined, "There should be a town here that would do credit to the splendid valley." The junction, originally named Hughes after the first president of the Denver Pacific Railroad, had a long history as a crossroads of the West. The town grew into an agricultural center for the Platte River Valley with a thriving sugar beet industry, dairies, and canning factories, but the changing economy would transform Brighton first into a suburban community and now into one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States.