History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV, Part 11

Author: Hall, Frank, 1836-1917. cn; Rocky Mountain Historical Company
Publication date: 1889-95
Publisher: Chicago, Blakely print. Co.
Number of Pages: 791

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HISTORY OF COLORADO.

and tried for the murder, but acquitted, there being no evidence against him, the trial taking place in Denver. After he had returned to his ranch in the fall of 1874. an attempt was made to arrest and lynch him, which resulted in his killing three of the party making the attempt. A safety committee, so-called, was soon after organized and several parties were ordered to leave the county. Judge E. F. Dyer, then county and probate judge, but acting as a justice of the peace, upon complaint being made before him, issued warrants for the arrest of certain of this committee. In obedience to the summons, they, with associates, appeared at Granite for trial. They were heav- ily armed, the sheriff claiming his inability to disarm them, and after the dismissal of the case on the morning of July 3rd, 1875, Judge Dyer was brutally assassinated. shot dead in the court room. The assassins escaped, and but little effort was made to discover or arrest them."

In the course of our general history of Colorado, mention has been made of the fact that large bodies of Indians made a hunting ground and favorite retreat of this region. They were not only secure from attack by their enemies, but game being abundant and grazing excellent, it assured support for themselves and ponies. There were buffalo, elk, mountain sheep, deer, game birds and other sources of food supply. When the white hordes came to dig for gold, both Indians and game fled to the parks and valleys to the westward.

During the first ten years of occupancy, a number of log school houses were built, and schools established therein, but there were no churches, mainly because there were very few women in that region to stimulate religious fervor and spread the gospel. Services were held occasionally in the school buildings, and in the log cabins of the settlers. With the opening of the mineral deposits in 1878-79. a won- derful revival took place, the principal details of which have been set forth in pre- ceding volumes. Many new towns were founded in the valley, both as the result of mining and the building of railways. The records of the county clerk's office show the following:

Bullion, was established May 26th, 1870; laid off by A. T. Ryan, Wm. A. Haw- kins and C. A. Hawkins, on the South Arkansas. It was simply a town plat without a town.

Cleora, April 1st, 1879, by Alden Speare, on the Arkansas. West Cleora was laid off by J. E. Gorrell, June 5th, 1879.

Poncha Springs, July 3rd, 1879, by Thomas Atwood, on the South Arkansas: plat filed July 6th, 1880, by James P'. True.

Maysville, October 20th, 1879. by Thomas Atwood, for Miner, Crane & Co.

Buena Vista, October 4th, 1879. by W. Marsh Kasson, president, for the Buena Vista Land Company, at the confluence of Cottonwood creek and the Arkansas river.

Alpine, in 1877, by J. A. J. Chapman and J. K. Riggins, and the Furnace addi tion by Harriett E. Chapman and Mary J. Riggins, March 9th, 1880: the Placer addition three days later, by Scott L. Land, agent for the East Alpine Placer com- pany.

Salida. August 12th, 1880, by A. C. fiant: plat recorded September 21st.

Hancock, July 22nd, 1881 (corrected plat), located on the South Fork of Chalk creek.

Nathrop. in 1880, recorded August 12th, 1881; laid off by Charles Nachtrieb. on the Arkansas river.

Clifton, July Ist. 1880, surveyed by F. P. Lord: on the North Fork of the South Arkansas.

Granite, surveyed in 1876, by W. H. Bradt: recorded February 17th, 1883; at the mouth of Cache creek.

Junction City, now known as Garfield, August 15th, 1883; filed November 13th, 1883: near the head of the South Arkansas.

LAKE VIEW FARM. T. B. CROKE, PROPRIETOR, SITUATED 6 MILES NORTH OF DENVER, CONTAINS 3200 ACRES, DEVOTED TO FRUIT, FISH, GRAIN, HORSES & CATTLE.

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

St. Elmo, located first as Forest City, December 27th, 1880; at the confluence of the North and South Forks of Chalk Creek.

Arborville, later known as Conrow, was laid off by A. Arbor.

Monarch, Hill Top, Romley, Brown's Canon, Magee, Schwanders ;. Princetown, Riverside, Calumet, Kraft, Centerville, Haywood, Cottonwood Springs, Dolomite, Hummel, Vicksburg, and Winfield, chiefly small stations, complete the town nomenclature of the county. Monarch, however, was and still is a considerable center of gold and silver mining.

Buena Vista occupies a beautiful site, and is a well-built, substantial mountain metropolis, surrounded by magnificent scenery, twenty-six miles north of Salida. and thirty-six south of Leadville; the center of three railroads-the Denver & Rio Grande, Denver & South Park and the Colorado Midland. It was incorporated in October, 1879, and Mr. R. Linderman (now county judge) was its first mayor. #The landscape views of this valley are heightened by the series of collegiately christened peaks, mentioned near the beginning of this chapter. The climate in summer is mild, bracing, and, as Governor Gilpin would say, "delicious," well suited to the rapid recuperation of invalids whose ailments require altitude, with a pure, well-tempered atmosphere, while the winters here are much less rigorous than at Leadville and beyond. Some excellent mining districts are in the near vicinity and contribute to its trade and prosperity. Its growth and advancement were fostered by the land company which founded it. The one principal street, on which are the hotels and business houses, with many fine dwellings, mostly of brick, is lined with shade trees, watered by little rivulets alongside to freshen and advance their growth. While it is simply a railroad town, the terminus of the South Park, it was a pretty rough border settlement, infested by gamblers, confidence men, and clesperadoes, who made it a place to be avoided by reputable people, but all these elements drifted away in due course, leaving the law-abiding citizens to build it into one of the handsomest of our mountain towns, and verify its name-"Beautiful View." It has a fine brick school house built at a cost of $15,000, and five churches erected by the Methodists, Congregationalists, Christians, Episcopalians and Cath- olics. A system of gravity water works was constructed in 1882-83 at a cost of $35,000 under the mayoralty of Mr. J. E. Cole. The water is fresh, pure and cool from Cottonwood creek, where at a point about one and a half miles from the town a bountiful supply for all purposes is obtained. The fire department consists of the De Remer Hook & Ladder Co., and the Buena Vista Hose Co. Theodore Matzen is chief of the department. The Masons, Odd Fellows. A. O. U. W .. G. A. R. and Modern Woodmen have organizations and lodges. The court house and jail. cost- ing about $65.000, two-story brick buildings, were erected in 1882. They are sur- rounded by shaded, well-kept lawns. The Seventh General Assembly appropriated $100,000 for a state reformatory to be built here, the town donating a large tract of land valued at about $15,000. The work was commenced and temporary buildings entered upon, but as there was not sufficient money in the state treasury to meet the appropriation, work was suspended, but afterward resumed and the quarters com- pleted.

Newspapers .- The "Ilerald" was founded in 1881 by W. R. Logan, A. R. Kenney and A. L. Crossan; but finally became the property of Mr. Kennedy, who sold to D. M. Jones, January Ist, 1891. The "Democrat." established by John Cheeley almost simultaneously with the "Herakl." was soon afterward sold to a stock company, with E. B. Jones, manager. In 1883, George Newland bought the paper and the following year sold to W. R. Logan. The Chaffee County "Times." by P. A. Leonard, was the first newspaper in the town: Mrs. Agnes Leonard Hill.

* The tract on which Buena Vista stands was first located as a ranch claim by Mrs. Alsina M W Dearheimer, who built the first house in that section. It was first named Grand View. 6-iv

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

well known in western journalism, contributing much to its fame and large circu- lation.

Banks .- Hiller, Hallock & Co. were the first bankers here. The Bank of Buena Vista was incorporated December Ist, 1890, but had been previously con- ducted as a private bank by R. W. Hockaday and C. L. Graves, who sold to George C. Wallace, president, and A. C. Wallace, cashier, in December, 1890. This is the only bank in the place.

The pioneers of Buena Vista were Frank Loan and Andrew Bard, who located ranches there in 1864, and cultivated them. The town site occupies a part of Loan's ranch. Among the early settlers in the town were James Mahon, James McPhel- emy, the first postmaster. G. D. Merriam, J. E. Cole, J. 11. Johnston, John Mear, L. 1l. Waters, W. R. Logan, John Cheeley, P. A. Leonard, Miss Alice McPhelemy, the first school teacher, Dr. A. E. Wright. George K. Hartenstein, who acquired much wealth from the Leadville mines, expended about $50,000 on a hotel at Cot- tonwood Springs, which was destroyed by fire. Alice, daughter of Frank Loan, is said to have been the first child born at Buena Vista. E. B. Bray, Josiah Bray, John Thompson, John J. Flannagan, J. F. Erdlen, James E. Flannagan, C. S. Libby, Rev. Father Dyer, the Peter Cartwright of the Rocky Mountains, Fathers Cahill and Cassedy, Rev. J. MeDade, Rev. John Gilliland, Rev. Delong, and Mrs. Mellen, the noted lady prospector, were also among the early residents.

The Buena Vista Hot Springs, are situated six miles west of the Capital town, (now owned by the J. A. Chain estate), at the gateway to Cottonwood Cañon, in as pretty and inviting a nook as coukl well be conceived. The water flows from the interior of the mountain and is always hot. There are several springs, but only two have been improved. There is a good hotel and bathing house. These are among the best medicinal springs of our state, considered a specific for catarrhal, rheumatic and other ailments. They were located by George K. Waite, and by him sokl to Rev. J. A. Adams and Mrs. J. A. D. Adams, in November, 1878. Later on a half interest was purchased by Mr. George K. Hartenstein. They expended large sums in improvements, building a fine hotel and accommodations for invalids. The Haywood Hot springs, about nine miles south of Buena Vista, possess similar proper- ties. Cottonwood lake, eleven miles west of the town, is a favorite resort. Twenty- five miles to the northwest are the celebrated Twin Lakes, of Lake county.

Salida .- This flourishing town is the entrepot to the Marshall Pass by the Gunnison and Grand Junction divisions of the Denver & Rio Grande railroad (narrow gauge line), where the Arkansas valley opens out broadly from the long. narrow defile of the Grand Canon of the Arkansas, whose lofty frowning walls leave just sufficient room for a single line of railway. At this point the valley in- clines to the northward along the base of the Continental Divide, the route thereto from Cañon City up through that wondrous awe-inspiring picture of nature's handiwork, plowed, worn and smoothly polished by slowly moving glaciers, thousands of years agone, forms the gateway to all the occupied and unoccupied regions beyond. Salida is the station whence radiate the main line and several branches of the Denver & Rio Grande railway, the first extending northwesterly to Leadville, thence through Tennessee Pass by a long tunnel to the Eagle river. thence to Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction, with a branch to Aspen from Glenwood: the second south via Poncha Pass, thence northwesterly over Marshall Pass to Gunnison, Montrose and Grand Junction; the third via Villa Grove. southwesterly to Alamosa, Espanola and Santa Fe, and the sonthwestern system of lines, with a branch to Del Norte and Creede. There is also a short branch to the mining district called Monarch. It will thus be seen that Salida is, in these and some other respects, the most important station between Pueblo and the western line of our state. In the fall of 1800 the Rio Grande company completed its standard gauge system by laying a third rail from Denver to Grand Junction via Leadville.

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

the Eagle and the Grand rivers, when that was made the main direct line to Salt Lake. But the old narrow gauge route via Marshall Pass was neither changed nor abandoned. Tourists traveling for pleasure to Utah and California are given their choice of routes, and those from the Pacific the same. The change from standard to narrow gauge cars, and vice versa, is made at Salida. The scenic advantages of both lines are about equal, alike marvelously interesting and enjoyable.

Salida is the most important station on the line between Pueblo and Grand Junction, for the reasons given. It is the general transfer and distributing point, and while Leadville is several times larger, and furnishes a large traffic, its relations are of an entirely different character. The round houses, repair shops and division offices are at Salida. It is 217 miles from Denver, via Pueblo and Cañon City, and 28 miles south of Buena Vista. By the recently opened short line from Villa Grove to Alamosa, Salida is connected with Del Norte, Creede, Durango, Silverton and all the San Juan region. It is a well built town, largely of brick and stone, and enjoys much business activity, owing to its peculiar advantages as a railway center. A large and very fine hospital has been built there by the railway company, chiefly for the use of its employés. It has a superb hotel at the station, elegantly fitted up and appointed. The valley is exceedingly fertile, producing grain, grasses and vegetables in great abundance. The railway company occupy all the space with their net work of tracks, and numerous buildings, from the eastern shore of the river back to the bluffs. The town itself is situated on a beautiful slope under the shadow of the mountains on the western side.

The old town of Cleora, in which the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fé company is said to have been interested, one and a half miles below Salida, was founded in 1878, by parties connected with the company just named, upon the expectation that W. B. Strong, and not General Palmer, would build the railway through the Grand Cañon. Therefore they secured the land and laid out a town site which they named Cleora, in honor of the daughter of William Bale, one of the oldest residents and ranchmen in that section, and the proprietor of the stage station used by Barlow. Sanderson & Co. It grew quite rapidly during 1870, and was the supply point for a number of mining camps located about the head waters of the South Arkansas. and the Tomichi in Gunnison county. But when the possession of the Grand Cañon was granted to the D. & R. G. company they crushed out Cleora by build - ing Salida. Among the pioneer settlers here were ex-State Senator J. 11. Stead, .J. P. Smith, W. W. Roller, E. H. Webb, Capt. J. T. Blake, O. V. Wilson, L. W. Craig, D. H. Craig, W. E. Roberson, M. R. Moore, R. Devereaux, F. O. Stead, J. B. Brown, J. A. Israel. Wilbur Hartzell, Charles Hartzell, Charles Hawkins, George McGovern (from Silver Cliff, who became mayor in 1888), and J. Gillett, also from Silver Cliff, who was elected mayor in 1800. The town was incorporated in 1880. and the following were the first city officials:

Mayor, J. E. McIntyre; trustees, Rodney Wyman, W. F. Galbraith, O. V. Wilson and R. Devereaux: treasurer, L. W. Craig; clerk, Robert Hallock: police magistrate, W. A. Hawkins: marshal, James Meadows.

Newspapers. - The "Mail" was started June 5th, 1880, by Henry C. Olney and M. R. Moore, simultaneously with the town, printed on type formerly used by the Cleora "Journal," of which L. C. MeKenney had been the editor. Two years later Moore became sole proprietor. The Maysville "Miner," edited by J. S. Painter, was moved to Salida, and the name changed to the "Sentinel." It was absorbed by the "Mail" in 1884. In August, 1883. Moore sold to W. W. Wallace. Various other changes occurred and, March, 17th, 1890, Mr. Erdlen became proprietor, with M. 1). Sneider as editor. The "Mail" was issued as a daily from 1882 to January 17th, 1885, when it became a semi-weekly. The next important journalistic ven- ture at Salida was the founding of the Daily "News" by W. B. Mckinney in 1883. Ile had edited the Silver Cliff "Prospect" in the more prosperous days of Custer

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

county. He sold the "News" to A. R. Pelton, and then engaged in journalism at Pueblo. Pelton sold to Howard T. Lee. The "Apex" was founded November 5th, 1890, by M. 11. Smith and Howard Russell; The "Call" October 4th, 1889, by James B. Simpson, who sold to M. H. Smith, and he to Mark Scott, November 4th, 18gc, who changed it to a tri-weekly February 3rd, 1891. The "Frog" and "Ledger" were two other journalistic enterprises, one of which was removed and the other burned out.

Banks .- The Chaffee County Bank was established in 1880 by W. E. Robert- son and Robert A. Bain, since deceased. Mr. Robertson is now sole proprietor and manager. It is the oldest financial institution in the place. The First National Bank of Salida was founded January 2nd. 1890, L. W. Craig, president: E. B. Jones, vice-president. and F. O. Stead, cashier. The only change since made was the election of J. B. Bowne as vice-president ; the capital is $50,000. The Continental Divide Bank was opened in 1885 by L. W. and D. H. Craig, who went out of business December 31st, 1880.

The Edison Electric Light company erected a plant here in December, 1887, at a cost of $30,000, which has since been materially enlarged. Mayor George W. McGovern is the manager. There are 20 arc lights of 2,000 candle power, for the streets, 13 for commercial uses, and goo incandescent lamps for private illumination, and at this writing the company is prepared to add goo more. The water-works system was built by the city in 1882, at a cost of $30,000, and $20,000 has since been expended in further improvements. The supply is taken from a large reservoir above the city, which is fed by springs. The place has been visited by three quite destructive fires, but is now better prepared to meet and check the spread of such disasters by the organization of an excellent volunteer fire department.

Churches. - The Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Baptists, Christians and Catholics have church buildings. The Rev. C. A. Brooks, presiding elder of the M. E. church for western Colorado, and who preached in the Wet Mountain valley twenty years ago, resides in Salida. The secret societies are represented by lodges of Free Masons, Odd Fellows, Knights of Pythias, Knights of Labor, A. O. U. W., G. A. R., Modern Woodmen and several orders of Railway men. The Opera House built by a stock company in 1888-89, at a cost of $30,000, is one of the prettiest and most commodious in the state. 75x100 feet. of brick, with a stage of 35x47 feet, and a finely appointed auditorium with a seating capacity of 800.

The Salida Gun Club is one of the most famous organizations of its class in the west, embracing a number of splendid marksmen, who have won laurels in many sharp contests with other expert clubs. Mr. A. R. Rose is the president; J. A. Leheritter, secretary, and E. II. Wheeler, treasurer.

The Presbyterian Academy was incorporated June 2nd, 1884, by William Van Every, E. HI. Webb, J. E. Cole, Samuel Harsh, N. H. Twitchell, A. C. Hunt. S. B. Westerfield, J. L. MeNeil. T. H. Thomas, W. W. Roller, B. H. D. Reamer and J. P. Smith. Capt. John T. Blake donated ten acres of ground in the southern part of the town. One wing of the building was erected in 1886, when State Senator Stead was president of the board. It is of brick, and the property is now valued at $12,000. This Academy together with the excellent system of public schools, and fine church buildings, the general character of the business houses, the intelligence of the people and the picturesque beauty of its situation all combine to make it an attractive point for settlement. It is further supported by numerous mining dis- tricts, and besides, what few mountain towns can boast, a productive agricultural valley. The streets are shaded, there are many emerald lawns, beautiful private residences, and at night is brilliantly illuminated by electric lights. It is not boop- ing upon real estate speculation, but growing steadily.

Poncha Hot Springs, located in Poncha Pass, on the Salt Lake division of the

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

Rio Grande railway, five miles southwest of Salida, are among the most noted of all the curative waters in Colorado. For centuries, perhaps, anterior to our settlement of the country, the mountain Indians made it one of their chief resorts for relief from cutaneous, rheumatic and other ailments. There are ninety-nine of these springs, and many forms of disease yield readily to the use of their waters, by in- ternal and external application. Valuable improvements have been made here by the erection of bath houses, a large hotel and a number of cottages. They are perched high up on the mountain side, where the air is pure and bracing, the slopes covered with pine timber, and whence magnificent views of the valley below and vast ranges of snow clad mountains in the distance are obtained. The analyses of the waters indicate close resemblance to those of the Arkansas Hot Springs, and it is undoubtedly true that they are even more valuable for the treatment of various diseases.

For several years after the general revival of the mining industry on the upper Arkansas in 1879, Chaffee county was a large producer of minerals, from a number of well worked deposits located in the various districts. While the ardor which prevailed from 1879 to 1885 has somewhat subsided, much work is still being done, and material consignments of valuable ores are sent to the smelting centers. It is also extremely rich in iron ores, marble and stone. On the Monarch branch of the Rio Grande road, west of Salida, are the mining towns of Maysville, Arbourville, Garfield and Monarch, the latter the principal point and center of activity. In 1882 Maysville was the largest town in the county. "The town site," says Emerson, "was taken up some years prior to the discovery of mineral, by Amasa Feathers, as a stock ranch, located at the junction of the North Fork with the South Arkansas." Two smelters and some mills were built there. In 1881 it had a population of about 1,000, good hotels, newspapers, and a considerable trade. At the present time it is only a small hamlet. Arbourville is scarcely more than a name. Garfield, formerly known as Junction City, is situated on the Monarch Pass toll road, one and a half miles above Arbourville, and being near the valuable mines of Middle Fork and Taylor Gulch, was at one time a busy place but is now, like so many contemporaneous towns, fallen into decline. But eight to ten years ago some great mining operations were carried on in the neighborhood, for example in the Tiger and Columbus mines. Monarch, first known as Chaffee City, one and a half miles above Junction City, on the South Fork, was made famous by the opening of the Monarch and other mines. The Monarch was discovered in 1878 and in the following year was sold to an eastern company which developed it, extracting large quantities of good ore, which in general characteristics closely resembled the car- bonate ores of Leadville. The Smith & Grey group was also extensively operated : the Madonna, Silent Friend, Eclipse and others have been large producers, and still are capable of yielding heavily under vigorous and competent management, though the original prestige of the district has not been maintained.

St. Elmo, first named Forest City, another exceedingly brisk and promising mining district during the first five years of its existence, surrounded by productive mineral veins and deposits, is four miles above Alpine, on the Denver & South Park railway (narrow gauge) at the junction of Grizzley and Pomeroy Gulches, and the North and South Forks of Chalk creek. In former years the Brittenstein group of lodes or veins, owned by New York capitalists acquired more than local fame. Much St. Louis capital was also invested here. Many extensive tunnel enterprises to penetrate the mountains with the view of striking the ore deposits at considerable depths were inaugurated, and large sums expended upon them, but in most cases the results anticipated were not realized. "The Mary and Pat Murphy mines located on a spur of Chrysolite mountain west of the town were discovered by John Royal and Dr. A. E. Wright in September, 1875, and sold in 1880 to a St. Louis company" became under vigorous management the largest producers in the district, as they

HISTORY OF COLORADO.

were the most extensively opened. The Alamo, Kaskaskia. Lulu, Comstock, Idlewild, Black Hawk, Livingston, Iron Chest, Mollie, Pinnafore and others, were very prominent from 1880 onward. The town of Tin Cup across the range in Gunnison county, about 15 miles west, receives many of its supplies through St. Elmo. The "Mountaineer" was published several years by Howard Russell; the "Rustler," preceded by the same publisher, was changed to "Mountaineer," after the first issue. The Colorado "Mineral Belt" was a later publication by W. R. Logan.

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History of the State of Colorado, Volume IV, Part 11

Author: Hall, Frank, 1836-1917. cn; Rocky Mountain Historical Company Publication date: 1889-95 Publisher: Chicago, Blakely print. Co. Number of Pages: 791

Author: Hall, Frank, 1836-1917. cn; Rocky Mountain Historical Company
Publication date: 1889-95
Publisher: Chicago, Blakely print. Co.
Number of Pages: 791