Kenneth Jessen

Colorado’s Hardest to Reach Ghost Town: Commodore Camp

by

By Kenneth Jessen Excluding ghost towns on private property, possibly the hardest to reach by vehicle is located in Alamosa County near the base of three fourteen thousand peaks, Ellingwood Point (14,048 feet), Blanca Peak (14,345 feet) and Little Bear (14,036 feet). It was called Camp Commodore (a.k.a. Commodore Camp or simply Commodore). The treacherous …

Read more

A Burro Named Prunes

by

By Kenneth Jessen Halfway up Fairplay’s main street stands a curious monument made of dull gray cement adorned with ore samples from many of the mines in the Fairplay-Alma area. Etched in the cement is the following expression of respect to one particular burro called Prunes. It reads, “Prunes—A burro—1867— 1930. Fairplay, Alma—All Mines In …

Read more

Moffat: A Boomtown Wannabe

by

By Kenneth Jessen Moffat came close to becoming a town of great importance in the north-central part of the San Luis Valley. Historian Holly Rechel-Felmlee wrote about Moffat in 1980: “A cold wind blows through, swirling dust around old buildings. One can hear the swings on the playground squeaking and a loose door slamming open …

Read more

Lynn Kircher: Jaroso Sculptor and Artist Liaison

by

By Kenneth Jessen Located in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, Jaroso resident Lynn Kircher and his wife Jane managed one of the largest, most complex sculpture projects in the United States. It consists of 14 larger-than-life Stations of the Cross, now installed at Cloisters on the Platte between Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. In 2015, Kircher was …

Read more

Places – Iris: A Very Remote Ghost Town

by

Article, photo and map by Kenneth Jessen Iris, located in the northern part of Saguache County south of Gunnison, was one of the most remote ghost towns in the state. Until recently, the roads into the area were private, gated and posted. New home construction west of the site has opened up the area to …

Read more

Book Review: Frontier Colorado Gunfights

by

Frontier Colorado Gunfights
True Stories of Outlaws and Lawmen in the American West
by Kenneth Jessen
J V Publications, 260 pages
ISBN 978-1-928656-12-8

Reviewed by Forrest Whitman

Readers of this publication have come to expect careful and detailed historical writing from Kenneth Jessen. His new book lives up to that standard. Jessen describes gunfights and shootings in thirty one cases and clears up mysteries about some of them. My only criticism is that the book lacks context about the situations that led to the shootings.

When it comes to Jessen’s clearing up mysteries, a good example is Charley Harrison. He was a partner in a famous Colorado saloon, the Criterion. Myths abound about this gambler and killer. Jessen’s story clears up Harrison’s killing of “professor” Charles Stark. The Rocky Mountain News accused Harrison of wantonly killing “Professor” Stark. Was that true?

Jessen shows that Stark (a black man from Missouri) threatened Charley first, with a knife in hand. But did Charley have to shoot Stark six times? What was the context here?

Read more

The Strange Tale of Samuel Derry

by
Samuel Derry’s ranch house is quite complex with multiple additions. The tower was said to be used by Derry to look for vigilantes coming from Leadville after his acquittal for the murder of Major General Bearce in June, 1884.
Samuel Derry’s ranch house is quite complex with multiple additions. The tower was said to be used by Derry to look for vigilantes coming from Leadville after his acquittal for the murder of Major General Bearce in June, 1884.

By Kenneth Jessen

In modern society, those responsible for mass shootings of innocent people are sometimes sent to a mental hospital instead of death row. Some are sentenced to life in prison. This often infuriates much of the public who wish to see a more severe form of justice served. But the insanity defense goes back a long way in Colorado.

Read more

The Hippies of Archuletaville

by

By Kenneth Jessen

Hippies are usually thought of in negative terms, especially when it comes to any kind of work ethic. To run across a town – ragged and run down or not – founded by hippies is certainly a rare find. During the late 1960s, landowner Dan Archuleta allowed a hippie colony to move into his goat sheds along the north side of C.R. 580 a little over a mile west of Red Wing. The hippies named the place Archuletaville and made improvements to the property. A row of south-facing stone sheds was enclosed and windows added. They may have added several free-standing log cabins, but these may have been moved from another location. There is also an adobe house. 

Read more

Three Governors in One Day

by

by Kenneth Jessen Most politics today are comprised of attack ads, but in the past, politics were downright dirty. Leave it to Colorado to raise the bar and do something unprecedented in United States history by having three different governors in one single day! The November 1904 election was so intense that few Coloradans paid …

Read more

The Sand Creek Massacre, 150 Years Later

by

by Kenneth Jessen On Nov. 29, members of the Cheyenne Nation gathered at the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site for a time of healing with private services on “The Hill.” The significance of The Hill is that this was where the brutal attack by 750 soldiers under the command of Col. John Chivington started. …

Read more

Historic Architecture – The La Veta Pass Depot Constructed by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad

by

Photo and story by Kenneth Jessen The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad reached La Veta Pass in 1877 on its way westward into the San Luis Valley. At 9,390 feet, it was the highest railroad pass in the United States at that time. A stone depot was constructed at the pass along with other railroad …

Read more

A Rare Arrastra Near Buena Vista, Colorado

by

By Kenneth Jessen

In its simplest terms, an arrastra is a grinder and dates back thousands of years. The grinding surface is typically flat bedrock situated near a stream. A vertical pocket is drilled into the rock, and a perpendicular pole is placed in the pocket. Attached to the pole near its base is a horizontal beam and attached to the beam, usually by chains, is a heavy stone that does the grinding. Farther up the pole is a long horizontal beam that is used to turn the arrastra. As the pole is rotated, ore is placed in the path of the stone and the ore is crushed against the bedrock. Eventually, this process creates a groove in the bedrock that is telltale evidence that an arrastra once existed.

Read more

South Fork to Wasson at 12 Miles Per Hour

by

by Kenneth Jessen

At the western end of the San Luis Valley, near the town of South Fork, passengers can enjoy a most unique railroad experience. It is a 12-miles-per-hour trip in a motorcar along the historic Creede Branch of the former Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway. Trips run twice a day between South Fork and Wagon Wheel Gap, with special extended trips to Wasson.

This portion of the original Denver & Rio Grande Western Railway was constructed as a narrow gauge line in 1883 and ended at Wagon Wheel Gap, a resort designed for the wealthy. Just 10 miles away, the silver mines at Creede began to produce large quantities of ore. The railroad was asked to extend the line, but it lacked the financial resources. In 1891, financier David Moffat formed the Rio Grande Gunnison Railway and took the tracks to the mines at North Creede. The Denver & Rio Grande Western leased Moffat’s extension, and in 1908, they purchased the line.

Read more

Historic Architecture

by

by Kenneth Jessen

The adobe brick Garden Park Schoolhouse is located about nine miles north of Cañon City on the Garden Park Road leading to Cripple Creek. The area was settled during the late 1860s, not long after the Colorado Territorial Legislature established Fremont County. The attraction of Garden Park is obvious – a lush north-south valley with fertile soil and a good supply of water. It was perfect for a variety of crops, especially apple trees. Starting in the early 1890s, vast quantities of gold ore were discovered in the Cripple Creek area, spawning the last great gold rush in Colorado. The need for fresh produce was immediate, and a toll road was constructed from Cañon City through Garden Park to Cripple Creek in 1892. This substantially added to the agricultural business.

Read more

Sculpting Humanity – Jaroso Artist Lynn Kircher

by

by Kenneth Jessen

Jaroso was founded in 1910 as the southern-most point reached by the San Luis Southern Railway originating in Blanca, 31.7 miles to the north. A year later, Jaroso (pronounced Hah-roh-soh) got its own post office and with rail access, it grew to become an agricultural trade center. The Dust Bowl, the Great Depression, sustained droughts and the fact that the land was never developed caused the town to fade away. The railroad was dismantled and its depots abandoned. Located just north of the Colorado – New Mexico line in Costilla County, it could have become one of the 1,500 or so Colorado ghost towns. The Anderson family became its only occupants.

Read more

Duncan, Colorado – The Story of a Short-Lived Town on the Edge of the Great Sand Dunes

by

Story and photos by Kenneth Jessen

There are well over 1,500 ghost towns in Colorado. Many are abandoned mining camps spread out over the western half of the state. Among the most obscure is Duncan, located along the western base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

The history of Duncan started in 1874 when John Duncan followed an old trail over Medano Pass into the San Luis Valley. At the mouth of Pole Creek, he discovered some “float,” or gold-bearing ore, that had washed down from the mountains. He constructed a durable cabin made of hand-hewn logs locked tightly together with corner notches. As word got out other prospectors were attracted to the area, and in 1890 a town grew up around his cabin. Duncan then turned from prospector to town promoter, laid out the town of Duncan, and sold lots for $25 each.

Read more

Executive Order 9066: Misdirected Exercise of War Powers

by

By Kenneth Jessen

They had committed no crime, yet 110,000 of them were forced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to leave their West Coast homes and move to concentration camps scattered throughout the West, including Colorado. There they would remain, held behind barbed wire, treated like criminals, and guarded by military police. They were singled out because of their physical characteristics, as well as their ancestry with America’s new enemy, the Japanese. One of the smallest of these camps was located in southeastern Colorado, officially called the Granada Relocation Center and locally known as Camp Amache.

Read more

The price of gas, politicians, and our way of life

by

Letter from Kenneth Jessen

Transportation – October 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors:

Politicians are promising something they cannot possibly deliver. The price of oil, thus the price of gasoline, is not controlled by the United States. Oil is an international commodity, and 79% is owned by foreign countries, many of which are not friendly to the United States. It seems that politicians want to beat up on “Big Oil,” but this is not the problem. Oil is become increasing scarce -it is not renewable. The increase in price during the last year is due in part to the steady decline in the value of the U.S. dollar. Recent strengthening of the dollar has resulted in a temporary reprieve in the price at the pump -but it will not last. Another even larger factor is demand, especially in India and China. These countries add millions of new cars each year. The oil futures market and speculators add to the problem. Production quotas, set by cartels such as OPEC, also control the supply and thus the price of oil. All of these factors conspire to drive up the cost of gasoline, but conservation is something under our control.

Read more

Multiple gauges

by

Letter from Kenneth Jessen

Transportation – August 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors:

I was fascinated by the July edition covering the history of railroads in south-central Colorado. Otto Perry’s 1952 photograph taken of a Rio Grande passenger train clearly shows the dual gauge used in the Salida yards to accommodate both standard and narrow gauge trains. Colorado was lucky in that it had to contend with only two gauges. Granted, there was an extensive two-foot tram system in the Central City-Black Hawk area, but it did not complicate matters in other parts of the state.

Read more

Joseph Lamb Sources

by

Sidebar by Kenneth Jessen

Local History – April 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

References:

Lamb, Frank R. The Pioneer Story of Joseph Milton Lamb. Self-published by the Lamb family, date unknown.

Jessen, Ken Colorado Gunsmoke, J.V. Publications, 1986

Read more

Pioneer Joseph Lamb hunted Texas steers and serial killers

by

Article by Kenneth Jessen

Local History – April 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

JOSEPH MILTON LAMB came to Central Colorado to search for gold, but before he turned thirty he was hunting for something far more dangerous: Colorado’s worst serial killers.

At the tender age of twenty-three, Joseph Lamb traveled by oxcart caravan to Denver to join other “’59ers” eager to strike it rich at Cherry Creek and the South Platte River, and Joseph Lamb and a small group of men were among the first gold seekers to arrive at California Gulch, south of the future City of Leadville. There he learned how to pan for gold and locate good claims. But after the placer gold was exhausted, he moved on to other trades.

Read more

The saga of Snippy and the alien invaders

by

Article by Kenneth Jessen

History – March 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine

0N A CLEAR SEPTEMBER night in 1967, a flying saucer descended in the San Luis Valley, and according to some residents, this was almost a daily occurrence then. This spaceship had the traditional (for a flying saucer) pulsating red, green, and white lights, and landed on the King Ranch about twenty miles northeast of Alamosa. The curious aliens wanted to examine a horse and they picked Snippy.

Read more

Off the Beaten Path

by

Letter from Kenneth Jessen

Cotton Creek – March 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine

Dear Ed,

I love those out-of-the-way places such as the Mirage Cemetery in the San Luis Valley. John Mattingly brings interesting information about this little-known place in the February 2006 issue of Colorado Central Magazine.

Read more

Becoming part of the art

by

Letter from Kenneth Jessen

Christo – October 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine

Editors:

Doris Dembosky’s article (September, 2005, edition) about the “Over the River” project by Christo and his wife, Jeanne-Claude, begs the question what is art? After having completed 55 interviews with Loveland- area artists for my weekly column in the local newspaper, I have learned that the definition of art is as murky as the water in the Arkansas River after a rainstorm.

Read more

Creative cartography?

by

Letter from Kenneth Jessen

Colorado history – April 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine

Creative cartography?

Editors:

Buyer Beware: The much touted 1894 map of Colorado, originally published by the Caxton Company, was just too good to be true. It has many long forgotten places, and added an amazing amount of information on long abandoned Colorado towns. It is generally accurate; however, there are towns on this map that appear in no other source, leading me to be somewhat suspicious about “creative” map making.

Read more

Colorado Geography References

by

Sidebar by Kenneth Jessen

History – December 2001 – Colorado Central Magazine

References

Bauer, William H. et al. Colorado Post Offices, Colorado Railroad Museum, Golden, Colorado, 1990, pp. 38, 48, 59, 98.

Campbell, Rosemae Wells. From Trappers to Tourists: Fremont County 1830-1950, Century One Press, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 1972, pp. 7-8, 10, 14-19, 25, 65.

Read more

Thanks for the compliment

by

Letter from Kenneth Jessen Colorado Central – July 2000 – Colorado Central Magazine Thanks for the compliment Editors: Colorado Central offers an excellent blend between contemporary issues and historical articles. It is difficult to plot a course for the future of the mountain regions of Colorado without knowing where you have been, yet at the …

Read more

Royal Gorge RR plans to run next spring

by

Brief by Kenneth Jessen

Transportation – December 1998 – Colorado Central Magazine

Rolling Next Spring

Passenger trains will once again run through the Royal Gorge from Cañon City to Parkdale and back beginning in May of next year. Plans call for three trips a day, each lasting about two hours. The new Cañon City & Royal Gorge Railroad, carried guests during the weekends of October 17-18 and again October 24-25 to test schedules and public reaction.

Read more