Article by Don Simonton
Local History – December 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
ANYONE INTERESTED IN A COMBINATION of beautiful scenery and interesting history should pay a visit to Hillside in the Wet Mountain Valley, ten miles south of Cotopaxi and Texas Creek. Perhaps you’ve never heard of it — and you’d better not blink or you’ll miss it — but it’s there, a cluster of nondescript buildings behind a simple sign.
Article by Charles F. Price
Local History – October 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
Terrorists inspired by religious fanaticism launch a murderous attack on a culture they regard as godless, greed-based, racist and colonialist.
Fear-stricken, yet determined to protect themselves and discover and exterminate the terrorists, that culture retaliates with urgent violence, overriding civil liberties and resorting to extralegal actions, including torture.
Sound familiar? Maybe. But this happened in the mid-nineteenth century, not in the early years of the twenty-first, and these terrorists were Roman Catholic Hispanics, not Muslim jihadists.
Brief by Central Staff
Local History – August 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
Among the many Independence Day festivities in Central Colorado was an open house at the old Maysville School, which operated from 1881 until it closed in 1939. Organizers said they had feared no one would come, so were pleasantly surprised to receive a steady stream of visitors on July 4.
Article by Betty Plotz
Local History – July 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
THE MYSTIQUE of the Hutchinson Ranch lies in the simple ranching world to which it carries us. To stand in the barnyard of the old homestead is like stepping into another reality. A feeling of peace exudes from the lilac bushes, log buildings, and rippling irrigation ditch.
Article by George Sibley
Local History – April 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
NEWSPAPERS IN THE Upper Gunnison Valley compose a topic that has long interested me, perhaps because I had a brief career as a newspaper publisher in the valley, up in Crested Butte, close to forty years ago; and I was not just the publisher, I was also the managing editor, copy editor, main reporter, compositor and janitor for one of the smallest papers in an illustrious history of small newspapers.
Brief by Central Staff
Local History – April 2008 – Colorado Central Magazine
Eleanor Perry Herrington, author of several books about Tin Cup and Taylor Park, and an occasional contributor to Colorado Central, died on March 11 in Denver. She was 88.
Originally from Vermont, she and her first husband, Maurice Perry, moved to Denver in 1943. In the fall of 1951, they used their home as a down payment on the primitive Tin Cup resort in the old mining camp — a dozen cabins without electricity, running water, or telephones — and moved there with their two sons.
Brief by Central Staff
Local History – September 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine
Two pioneer family ranches, both dating back to the 1860s, were open to public tours in August. The Salt Works Ranch near Antero Junction in South Park, above, attracted about 60 visitors the South Park Symposium on Aug. 4. The Salt Works buildings, including the chimney, have collapsed and await restoration.
Brief by Central Staff
Local History – August 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine
Anza Day, set for Friday, August 24 in Poncha Springs, commemorates the first written account of our part of the world. It is named for Juan Bautista de Anza, governor of the Spanish province of New Mexico, who in late August of 1779 camped at the present site of Poncha Springs with an army of 800 men and 2,400 horses. They were after the Jupe Comanche, who had been raiding the Taos area, and the soldiers were taking a roundabout route to keep the Comanche from fleeing before a battle could be fought.
Review by Ed Quillen
Local History – July 2007 – Colorado Central Magazine
Beyond the Gorge – A History of Western Frémont County, Colorado
by Carol McNew
Published by the author
Available from Carol McNew, P.O. Box 54, Coaldale CO 81222
No ISBN
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
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.
Brief by Central Staff
Local History – November 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine
ONCE UPON A TIME, there was a town named Cleora about two miles east of Salida. It’s been fading away for more than a century, and the most recent step in the process came in October as Chaffee County prepared to vacate the long unused streets and alleys of Cleora.
Brief by Central Staff
Local History – November 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine
The bicentennial of the 1806-07 Zebulon Pike expedition is getting plenty of deserved attention, but hard-core history buffs know that Juan Bautista de Anza came to Central Colorado in 1779, well ahead of Pike.
Article by Gary Minke
Local History – August 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine
THE HUMAN MIND has a way of sidestepping fears. Even though we all know that more people die in motor vehicle accidents in our counties than almost any other activity, we don’t think twice about getting behind the wheel. Yet we wonder why so many men took on very risky jobs in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Review by Ed Quillen
Local History -April 2006 -Colorado Central Magazine
The Southwestern Journals of Zebulon Pike 1806-1807
Edited by Stephen Harding Hart and Archer Butler Hulbert
New introduction by Mark L. Gardner
Published in 2006 by the University of New Mexico Press
ISBN 0826333907
Article by Sharon Chickering Moller
Local History – August 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
When a fellow gets to pondering,
In the twilight hours of life,
With his mind just idly wandering
Through old scenes with memories rife;
Of strange happenings that teased him
In the days of long ago;
Of the many things that pleased him,
In the changing, passing show .
(Frank Vaughn, Leadville newspaperman and poet, 1905)
THE RED BRICK WALLS of the Tabor Opera House give few hints of the tragedies and comedies that were enacted within, nor of the equally compelling scenes that played out on the muddy, manure-strewn streets of the 1870s and 80s. Today, pigeons huddle on the windowsills and fire escape of the opera house, and there is little left to indicate the wild, often violent incidents that characterized late 19th century Leadville – where anything could happen, and often did. The streets were a frenzy then, as thousands of prospective miners arrived hoping to strike it rich.
Review by Ed Quillen
Local History – July 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
Currents of Change – A new era for the Upper Arkansas,. Salida, Buena Vista, Poncha Springs
edited by Pat Windolph
Published in 2005 by Arkansas Valley Publishing
No ISBN
Article by Marcia Darnell
Local History – July 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
IF YOU’RE IN MONTE VISTA and looking to fill a half-hour or so after lunch or before an early movie, step into the new Transportation of the West museum. Located on the town’s main drag, the one-room showplace is a great way to get a quick view of regional mobility.
Article by Kirt J. Boyd
Local History – May 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
ON JULY 4, 1919, in Toledo, Ohio, 20,000-plus fans watched Jack Dempsey destroy Jess Willard, and become heavyweight champion of the world. By the end of the third round, Jack had broken Willard’s jaw, knocked out six of his teeth, and closed one of his eyes. Many people lost money that day, not believing that a fighter 58 pounds lighter than Willard could possibly win.
Letter from Miles Saltiel
Local History – May 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
Editors:
A cousin has drawn my attention to “Hard Times: The Jewish colony at Cotopaxi,” an article by Nancy Oswald which you published in the February 2005 edition of Colorado Central Magazine.
In this Ms. Oswald refers to my paper on the topic, which I prepared after researches and visits to Cotopaxi on a couple of occasions. I did this as a rebuttal to the account generally provided by the descendants of the colonists and I attach a copy.
Brief by Central Staff
Local History – May 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
We know that Cañon is one of the older settlements in the area, but we don’t think it’s quite as old as this sign indicates. The sign is in the park with the missle on the west side, and we suspect the author meant to say “late 19th century and early 20th century.”
Brief by Ed Quillen
Local History – May 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
They used to make railroad ties near Salida, and the process resulted in a Superfund site. In the future, railroad ties may come from recycled plastic milk bottles.
Review by Abby Quillen
Local History – April 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
Huerfano: A memoir of life in the counterculture
by Roberta Price
Published in 2004 by University of Massachusetts Press
ISBN: 1-55849-469-3
Brief by Central Staff
Local History – March 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
Several area institutions are turning 125 this year: Salida, its Mountain Mail newspaper, the Chaffee County Times in Buena Vista, the Saguache Crescent, and the town of Poncha Springs.
Salida celebrated its centennial in 1980 with many events, starting with New Year’s Eve fireworks from Tenderfoot Hill, but if any municipal festivities have been announced for this year, we’ve missed them.
Review by Ed Quillen
Local History – February 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
Anza and Cuerno Verde: Decisive Battle
by Wilfred O. Martinez
Second Edition
Published in 2004 by El Escritorio
ISBN 0-9628974-9-3
Sidebar by Martha Quillen
Local History – February 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
Assuming that we couldn’t be the only ones with scant knowledge of Jewish/Russian history and culture, we thought we’d expand on some of the things Nancy Oswald refers to in her article.
By the time the Cotopaxi colonists arrived, Russia had a very long history of repressing Jews. In 1791, Catherine II restricted Jewish residents to an area called “the Pale of Settlement.” Jews paid higher taxes, couldn’t lease land, run taverns, or obtain equal educations. In 1827, Nicholas I established the Cantonist Decrees which called for the conscription of Jewish boys between the ages of 12 and 18, to serve in the military for a period of twenty-five years, during which time, every effort would be made to convert them to Christianity.
Article by Nancy Oswald
Local History – February 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
ON MAY 8, 1882 a group of Jewish Russian immigrants disembarked from the train at Cotopaxi to establish an agricultural colony. They thought they were leaving the hardships of Tzarist Russia behind, but as it turned out they were exchanging the privations of “home” for new hardships, which included non-arable land, broken promises, and the difficulty of living in a culture where language, religion, and terrain were foreign and inhospitable.
Sidebar by Ken Jessen
Local History – January 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
The Story Behind the Story
I met the Salazar family quite by accident during the summer of 2000. My wife Sonje and I were in the San Luis Valley hunting ghost towns for Volume 3 of Ghost Towns, Colorado Style. We were eating in La Jara and talking about the location of Los Cerritos, when John Salazar overheard our conversation and introduced himself and his father Henry. John told us about Rincones and the Salazar ranch. The information was added to the book.
Sidebar by Ken Jessen
Local History – January 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
Archuleta, Ruben E. Land of the Penitentes; Land of Tradition, El Jefe, Pueblos West, Colorado, 2003.
Bauer, William H., James L. Osment and John H. Willard. Colorado Post Offices 1859-1989. Golden, Colorado: Colorado Railroad Museum, 1990.
Sidebar by Ken Jessen
Local History – January 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
Francisco Esteban de Salazar y de Sandoval (b. 1800) married Maria del Carmen Valdez. Two of their children were Refugio and Eusebio Salazar. Eusebio married Amada Garcia and Refugio married Felipe Cantu.Eusebio and Amada’s son, Juan Bautista Salazar (b. 1884) married his first cousin, Antonia Cantu (b. 1884), daughter of Refugio and Felipe.The Cantu family had also moved from New Mexico to Los Rincones.
Article by Ken Jessen
Local History – January 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
ONCE UPON A TIME, the Mexican government expanded its domain northward into what is today New Mexico and southern Colorado, not only to add to their territory, but to provide a buffer zone to reduce raids by aggressive Indians. Wealthy families were given generous land grants and the only requirement was that they promise to establish a colony.
Review by Martha Quillen
Local History – January 2005 – Colorado Central Magazine
Gunnison Kid
by Phil Klingsmith
Published in 2004 by Dunsmith Publishing House Ltd.
ISBN pending
Review by Marcia Darnell
Local History – December 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine
Nicholas Creede & the Amethyst Vein
by Mary F. Schroder
available from the author for $15.50 per copy from:
Bonanza Books, P.O. Box 601, Creede CO 81130
Brief by Central Staff
Local History – December 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine
Camp Hale, the World War II Army base north of Leadville that trained the ski troops of the famous 10th Mountain Division, occupies a secure place in the history books.
And recently, there was a breathless announcement that there was more to the base’s history — specifically, 200 women served there during the war, among the 16,000 men.
Review by Martha Quillen
Local History – June 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine
Chaffee County – The First 125 Years
by Kay Marnon Danielson
published by GARNA, 2004
ISBN: 0-9670604-3-5
Article by Marcia Darnell
Local History – February 2004 – Colorado Central Magazine
DURING WORLD WAR II, German prisoners of war lived and worked in the San Luis Valley. The stories of their lives here, and afterward, abound throughout the Valley. Although they were only here for a couple of years, their work lives on, and the impact of their time here still resonates.
Sidebar by Wynelle Catlin
Local History – December 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
My interest in Sears-Bilt homes was sparked by my sister, Shirley Patterson, of Henrietta, Texas, who presented a paper on the subject at the National Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock. She said there was one in my area — the Ferris home.
Article by Wynelle Catlin
Local History – December 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
ROB AND KATIE FERRIS are the proud owners of a Sears Honor Bilt Home which is their Tumble Creek Ranch residence in north Chaffee County.
For 75 years, the sturdy well-constructed house has stood, surrounded by a white picket fence, on the gently sloping base of Buffalo Peaks, a few miles north of Buena Vista.
Article by Ed Quillen
Local History – October 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
ASK SOME PEOPLE WHERE Laura Evans’s whorehouse was, and you’ll hear that it was on Sackett Street.
However, there’s one piece of Salida trivia that goes something like this: “Despite what you may have heard, there’s no Sackett Street in Salida.” “How can you say that? It’s right there, between Riverside Park and the Victoria Tavern.” “Yeah, but if you look at the street signs, or on the city maps, it’s really Sackett Avenue.”
Article by Orville Wright
Local History – October 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
WHEN I WAS A CHILD, Salida had at least two brothels. Both were conveniently located close to the train depot to provide the weary traveling man easy access to the services offered. The lesser known enterprise supposedly operated out of the Victoria Hotel and catered mainly to the independent hooker who worked the streets, bars, and train depot waiting room.
Article by Betty Plotz
Local History – March 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
WENDELL HUTCHINSON is a man with a sense of place. He was born on the Hutchinson Ranch in 1924 and has lived there for most of his life.
And this year, Colorado Preservation Incorporated (CPI) has recognized that place.
Brief by Central Staff
Local History – January 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
For more than a generation, economic factors preserved Salida’s historic buildings. In the early 1950s, when many other places were getting suburbs, shopping centers, urban renewal, and other blights, Salida was spared because it was losing its major industry — the railroad — and nobody was investing in anything new.
Brief by Central Staff
Local history – January 2003 – Colorado Central Magazine
We had a good time when Salida celebrated its centennial in 1980, and we note that San Luis celebrated its sesquicentennial in 2001, since that was 150 years since Colorado’s oldest town was founded in 1851.
However, we need a word for what comes between centennial and sesquicentennial — the 125th anniversary — since we’ve got several of them in 2003: Alamosa, Leadville, and the Jackson Hotel in Poncha Springs.
Article by Lynda La Rocca
Local History – November 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
For me, at least, the words “Salvation Army” generate benign visions of holiday bell-ringers, donation kettles, and prim, button-downed characters like Miss Sarah Brown in the musical Guys and Dolls.
It’s hard to imagine this evangelical Christian movement, which began in England in 1865, causing a near-riot in frontier Leadville.
Brief by Central Staff
Local History – September 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
The Salida Regional Library has just opened its Local History Archives, which will serve as a repository and local history research center for Salida and Central Colorado.
Currently the archival collection is small, but it will be open whenever the library is. An inventory of the collection is available on the Archives website at http://www.salidalibrary.org/Arhives/home.htm. Visitors to the Archives should bring a photo ID and be prepared to fill out an Application for Archives Use form.