State Historical Society of Colorado Markers

North Central Colorado - The Rich Earth

Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Clear Creek, Douglas, Gilpin, Jefferson, Larimer, and Weld Counties

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Begun on a Bet
Arapahoe County
In Deer Trail at Elm St. and 2nd Ave. Wooden sign is missing.
N 39°36'55" W 104°02'48"
photos taken 5/15/08
           
(Text from original sign.) Begun on a Bet. At first, a rodeo had no chutes or fences or deadlines, just a cowboy, a horse, and the open prairie. After long spells off by himself, one of the most lonesome, yarn-spinning, natural-born gamblers in the world - the workaday cowboy - looked for action and found it betting he could stay atop the devil himself wrapped in horsehide if he could be roped and saddled. Then, man and horse battled it out until one or the other gave up or gave out. One of the earliest rodeos, the first recorded with rules and prizes, took place at Deer Trail when the Hashknife, Mill Iron, and Camp Stool outfits celebrated the Fourth of July in 1869 trying to bust the cussedest of the biting, twisting broncos. After the daylong mixup of rawhide and denim, the dust settled to reveal the "champion bronco buster of the plains" to be - Emilnie Gardenshire, an Englishman! Through the years the rules have changed, but to this day rodeo remains a match between a willful cowboy and an unwilling beast. Erected with the Deer Trail Pioneer Historical Society, 1969.

Richard S. Little
Arapahoe County
Littleton - From Santa Fe Blvd and Church St, one block west and one block south, along the Mary Carter Greenway trail next to the South Platte River.
Originally located on Santa Fe Blvd. (US-85) just south of Church St.
N 39°36'32" W 105°01'23"
photos taken 3/15/08
              
Richard S. Little. Westward at the base of the hill, Richard S. Little built near a running spring the first cabin in the Littleton area. A New England engineer, he took up a land claim here in 1860, and homesteaded in 1862. A ditch of the Capitol Hydraulic Company, which he surveyed across this land, later powered the Rough and Ready Flour Mills erected by Little and others in 1867. On his land in 1872 he platted the town which now bears his name. He helped build its first store, hotel, church and schools. Elected to the legislature in 1873, he promoted irrigation legislation. In 1884, he erected a substantial stone house on Rapp Avenue, where he lived with his family until his death in 1899. Erected with the Littleton Area Historical Society, 1959.

640 Miles to Denver
Arapahoe County
At rest area on north side of I-70 3.5 miles west of Strasburg. Wooden sign replaced by 1/2002 by 4-panel sign.
N 39°44'13" W 104°23'51"
photos taken 5/15/08
                 
(Text from original sign.) 640 Miles to Denver. Those dangerous, discomforting days of staging to Colorado ended when the Kansas Pacific Railroad (paralleling U.S. 40) built west to tie Denver with Kansas City and the East. Pushing their hell-on-wheels town along as they made their way, thousands of brawling, thick-skinnned men shoveled and scraped a roadbed over the prairie, threw down roughhewn ties - 2475 to the mile - and armed against Indian attack, ironed the road - three strokes to the spike, 25 spikes to the rail, 375 rails to the mile, 640 miles to Denver. On August 15, 1870, at 3:00 P.M., when the last rail was spiked just east of Strasburg, for the first time it was possible to cross this continent on rail unbroken by a river crossing over temporary track laid on ice or by ferry. On that final day, a record 10 1/4-mile gap was filled, and a 1 1/2 day ride by palace car replaced the jolting, sleepless, week-long trip by stage and rambling two-month journey by prairie schooner over the sunburned plains. Erected with the Comanche Crossing Historical Society, 1969.

Boulder Canyon
Boulder County
West of Boulder on south side of CO-119 between mileposts 39 and 40, about 1.8 miles west of Broadway and Canyon in Boulder.
N 40°00'49" W 105°18'39"
photos taken 10/12/08
              

Old Engine No. 30
Boulder County
Boulder. Near southeast corner of Broadway and Canyon, between train site and bandstand.
N 40°00'55" W 105°16'44"
photos taken 10/12/08
              
This tablet is the property of the State of Colorado. Old Engine No. 30. Operated over the narrow guage railroad (opened in 1883), affectionately know as "the Switzerland Trail", between Boulder, Eldora, and Ward, 1898-1919; and over the Denver and South Park and the Rio Grande Southern until 1952. A memorial to Colorado railroad and mining pioneers. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Wm. A. Braiden Fund and by the Arapahoe Chapter, D.A.R. 1952

Ryssby
Boulder County
Northeast of Boulder at 9000 N 63rd St., north of US-36 Diagonal Highway.
N 40°08'22" W 105°12'24"
photos taken 10/12/08
           
This tablet is the property of the State of Colorado. Rsyyby. First Swedish settlement in Colorado. Begun 1869-70. Homesteaded claims filed, 1870. Swedish ditch constructed, 1871. Log schoolhouse built, 1875. Ryssby church, religious and social center, built 1881-82. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J. N. Hall Foundation and by descendants and friends of the original Swedish settlers. 1933

Berthoud Pass
Clear Creek County
US-40 north of Empire
N 39°47'54" W 105°46'34"
Photos from 5/21/05 and 9/20/08 showing old and new monument at pass.

     

     
This memorial is the property of the State of Colorado. Berthoud Pass. Across the Continental Divide between South Platte and Colorado River drainages. Altitude 11,314 feet. Discovered by Capt. E. L. Berthoud, Colorado pioneer, May 12, 1861. Surveyed by Berthoud and Jim Bridger July, 1861. Toll road opened 1874. Improved highway opened 1923. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J. N. Hall Foundation and by the State Highway Department and the U.S. Forest Service, 1929.

Clear Creek Canyon
Clear Creek County
US-6, 2 miles east of CO-119. (Original wooden sign has been replaced.)
N 39°44'06" W 105°22'00"
photos taken 5/31/08
           

Georgetown
Clear Creek County
Beside west bound I-70, at the scenic overlook above Georgetown.
photos taken 7/6/08
     

Georgetown
Clear Creek County
In Georgetown, 1/2 block west of 6th and Rose.
N 39°42'21" W 105°41'49"
photos taken 7/5/08
           
This memorial is the property of the State of Colorado. Commemorating the historical importance of the Georgetown Mining Region. The Griffith Lode (2500 ft. N.E.), later a silver producer was discovered June 17, 1859, by George W. Griffith, for whom Georgetown was named. Town site claimed June 29, 1860. The Belmont Lode (5.7 miles S.W.), first important silver discovery in Colorado, located Sept. 14, 1864. Boom productions in 1870s and 1880s. Metal output totals $50,000,000. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J. N. Hall Foundation and by the Georgetown Library Association, 1935.

Georgetown Loop
Clear Creek County
In Georgetown, at the end of Loop Drive near the train station, at the end of the upper parking lot by the bicycle path.
N 39°42'07" W 105°42'19"
photos taken 7/5/08
           
This memorial is the property of the State of Colorado. Site of the high bridge of the Georgetown Loop. Famed scenic railroad attraction, built in 1883-84 as a branch of the Union Pacific, and later acquired by the Colorado and Southern. Here the railroad track looped over itself. The high bridge being 75 feet above the track beneath. Daily trains bulging with awed excursionists once climbed the loop. It was abandoned and the high trestle dismantled in 1939. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the William A. Braiden Foundation and by the Georgetown Civic Association, 1947.

Hotel de Paris
Clear Creek County
In Georgetown, near 6th and Taos on the front wall of the Hotel de Paris.
N 39°42'21" W 105°41'44"
photos taken 7/5/08
           
This memorial is the property of the State of Colorado. Hotel de Paris. A Norman inn built in a great silver mining camp by a mysterious Frenchman called Louis Depuy. Opened in 1875, richly furnished from New York and abroad. It became nationally noted for Continental delicacies and the literary bent of its proprietor, a philosopher, social rebel and master cook. Upon his death in 1900, Dupuy was revealed as Adolphe Francois Gerard, a French gentleman and refugee, formerly a journalist in Paris, London and New York. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado and the Colonial Dames Society in Colorado, 1954.

McClellan Opera House
Clear Creek County
In Georgetown, on the west side of 6th Street, between Taos Street and the Hotel de Paris.
N 39°42'22" W 105°41'46"
photos taken 7/5/08
        
This memorial is the property of the State of Colorado. McClellan Opera House. In 1868 Erskine McClellan erected on this site a place of public gathering, McClellan Hall, which he later enlarged, calling it the McClellan Opera House. During the years 1869-1892, the great and the near-great of the theatrical world performed here. Georgetown was a two-night stand on both the silver and gold circuits which played the Colorado mining camps. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado, Barbara and Benjamin Draper, the National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in Colorado and the McClellan Players, 1962.

Franktown
Douglas County
Franktown - 0.2 miles south of the US-83 / US-86 intersection. Marked by "Point of Interest" highway signs.
N 39°23'21" W 104°45'10"
photos taken 3/26/08
           
This tablet is the property of the State of Colorado. Franktown. Named for J. Frank Gardner, a pioneer who settled here in 1859. First known as "California Ranch," it was a way station on the stage line between Denver and Santa Fe. In a stockade built here, neighbors found refuge from Indians in 1864. Franktown became the first county seat of Douglas County, in 1861. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J.N. Hall Foundation and by the American Pioneer Trails Association, Dr. Margaret Long, and the children of Franktown, 1946.

Nighthawk
Douglas County
8.7 miles northeast of Deckers via CR-67 and CR-97 (South Platte River Road). Just southwest of the corner of Pine Creek Road and CR-97.
N 39°21'22" W 105°10'17"
photos taken 3/26/08
           
Nighthawk, a gold mining town and lumber camp with a population at its height of one hundred, took its name from that adopted by the mining district. It was platted by E.L. Rogers in 1896, on the east bank of the South Platte River near the mouth of Pine Creek. Three hundred feet southeast of this marker a hotel, post office, general store, livery stable, and blacksmith shop were located. Two newspapers were published in the settlement. The "Mountain Echo," from 1897 to 1899, and the "West Creek Mining News," from 1898 to 1903. Travelers arrived by wagon and stagecoach until the Colorado and Southern Railway built a narrow guage road to Twin Cedars Lodge in 1904. The line was abandoned in 1916. Erected by the Colorado State Society Children of the American Revolution, the State Historical Society of Colorado, and the State Highway Dept.

Twenty Mile House
Douglas County
Parker - On Main Street, just east of US-83 (Parker Road).
N 39°31'07" W 104°45'48"
photos taken 3/26/08
              
This tablet is the property of the State of Colorado. Due west 1/4 mile stood the Twenty Mile House (twenty miles from Denver). First house built in Parker, 1864, on the Smoky Hill Trail, an emigrant route that was dotted with unmarked graves of pioneers. Junction of the Smoky Hill and Santa Fe Stage lines. A refuge for early settlers against Indian attacks. Hostelry kept in turn by Nelson Doud and by James S. Parker (for whom the town of Parker is named). Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J.N. Hall Foundation and by the American Trails Association, Dr. Margaret Long, and school children of Parker, 1945.

Gregory Diggings
Gilpin County
Between Central City and Black hawk, on south side of Gregory St.
N 39°48'01" W 105°30'01"
photos taken 5/31/08
                 
This memorial is the property of the State of Colorado. On this ground, later known as Gregory Diggings, John H. Gregory of Georgia discovered the first gold lode in Colorado on May 6, 1859. This discovery inaugurated the permanent development of Colorado. The district has produced $85,000,000 in gold. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J.N. Hall Foundation and by state civil service employees of Colorado. 1932.

Arapahoe City
Jefferson County
Golden - On south side of 44th Ave 1/4 mile west of McIntyre St, east of Colorado Railroad Museum.
N 39°46'30" W 105°10'42"
photos taken 12/1/07
        
This tablet is the property of the State of Colorado. In this immediate area once stood Arapahoe City, a pioneer placer mining camp, the earliest town in Jefferson County. Named for the Arapaho Indians. Town company organized Nov 28, 1853. From here went George A. Jackson and John H. Gregory to make their historic gold discoveries near Idaho Springs and Central City. Arapahoe's population was 80 in 1860. Extensive gold dredging operations of 1904 covered part of the site. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J. N. Hall Foundation and by students of Fairmont School, A.D. Quaintance and the American Pioneer Trails Association. 1946.

Bergen Park
Jefferson County
Bergen Park - At corner of Bergen Parkway and Bergen Park Road.
N 39°41'25" W 105°21'39"
photos taken 1/26/08
           
This tablet is the property of the State of Colorado. Bergen Park. Thomas C. Bergen took up the first squatter's claim here, June, 1859. On this spot he completed his first log cabin July 4, 1859. "Bergen's Ranch" became a famous way station on the stagecoach and wagon road to the mines. This ground acquired for Denver Mountain Parks System, Oct. 13, 1915. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J. N. Hall Foundation and by the city and county of Denver. July 4, 1934.

Capital of Colorado
Jefferson County
Golden - On building at northeast corner of Washington Ave and 12th St.
N 39°45'20" W 105°13'17"
photos taken 5/31/08
           
This tablet is the property of the State of Colorado. From 1862 to 1867 Golden was the territorial Capital of Colorado. Legislative sessions were held in this building (erected by W.A.H. Loveland) and in others, now demolished across the street. Golden was named for Thomas L. Golden who camped on the site in 1858. Town founded by Boston Company June 12, 1859, incorporated Jan. 2, 1871. Placed by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J. N. Hall Foundation and by the Mount Lookout Chapter, D.A.R. 1936.

Golden
Jefferson County
Golden - Just north of the corner of x Washington Ave and 11th St.
N 39°45'20" W 105°13'17"
photos taken 5/31/08
        

Morrison
Jefferson County
Morrison - On south side of Morrison Road between C-470 and entrance to Bear Creek Lake Park.
N 39°39'12" W 105°10'44"
photos taken 12/1/07
        
This tablet is the property of the State of Colorado. Morrison. George Morrison (1822-1895), of Scottish ancestry and a native of Canada, came to Colorado in the Pikes Peak gold rush of 1859. He acquired this land in 1864. He was an organizer of the Morrison town company (1872), which helped to bring the Denver, South Park and Pacific narrow guage railroad to the town in 1874. Placed by the State Historical Society of Colorado through the William A. Braiden Fund and by the Red Rocks Lions Club. 1954.

Cameron Pass
Larimer County
At Cameron Pass on north side of CO-14. Bronze plaque is missing from stone.
N 40°31'15" W 105°53'32"
photos taken 8/1/09
     
Bronze plaque read: This memorial is the property of the State of Colorado. Cameron Pass. Across the Continental Divide between Cache la Poudre and Michigan rivers. Altitude 10,285. Discovered 1870 by R.A. Cameron, founder of Fort Collins. Used as an early mail and freight route. Improved highway opened 1926. Erected with the U.S. Forest Service, 1929.

Cameron Pass
Larimer County
At Cameron Pass on north side of CO-14, in rest area.
N 40°31'14" W 105°53'38"
photos taken 8/1/09
        
Auto Tourism - Forest Conservation - Cameron Pass Country - The Industrial Frontier

Namaqua
Larimer County
Loveland - From US-34 / Eisenhower St, 2.7 miles west, then 0.6 miles south on Namaqua St..
N 40°23'58" W 105°07'24"
photos taken 10/12/08
           
This memorial is the property of the State of Colorado. Namaqua. Home, trading post and fort of Mariano Modena, early trapper, scout and pioneer. First settlement in the Big Thompson valley. Station on Overland Stage route to California in 1862. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J. N. Hall Foundation and by the Namaqua Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. 1931

Denver Pacific Railway
Weld County
Just north of Nunn, on east side of US-85.
N 40°42'36" W 104°46'54"
Photos taken 3/15/09.
        
The Denver Pacific Railway. When the Union Pacific Railroad decided to go through Wyoming instead of through Colorado, many people moved from the territory. Denver itself was shrinking. Former Governor John Evans rescued Colorado Territory by promoting a connecting railroad from Denver to Cheyenne. The new railroad received no federal bond subsidy as had the Union Pacific, but Congress provided a generous land grant to encourage investment. Grading began in 1868, and the road was completed in June, 1870. The tracks ran through this point. Denver Pacific agents encouraged settlers to purchase land on the company's grant, and Horace Greeley supported the idea of an agricultural colony in the pages of his New York Tribune. The Union Colony at Greeley (1870) was one result of these efforts. In 1880 the Denver Pacific was absorbed by the Union Pacific. Erected by the State Highway Department, by the Department of Game, Fish, and Parks, and by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J. N. Hall Endowment. Built by C.S.P. 7-65.

Evans
Weld County
Evans - East side of US-85 just north of 42nd St.
N 40°22'19" W 104°41'44"
photos taken 10/12/08
        
        
Evans. Construction of the Denver Pacific Railroad, linking Denver and Cheyenne, stopped here for the winter of 1869, and a town was begun. It was named Evans in honor of the second territorial governor, John Evans, builder of the Denver Pacific. According to tradition, the first church services were held in railroad passenger coaches. The townsite was part of a 900,000 acre land grant the railroad received from the federal government to help finance construction by selling land to settlers. The St. Louis colony, a cooperative agricultural community, brought enough settlers to Evans to create a "boom town", which was the Weld County seat until it lost the honor in the seventies. A stage line ran between Evans and Denver until the completion of the railroad in 1870. Erected by the students of Evans Junior-Senior High School and by the State Historical Society of Colorado from Mrs. J. N. Hall Endowment. Built by C.S.P.5-65. JW.-W.W.

Fort Lupton
Weld County
Fort Lupton. On west side of US-85 0.3 miles north of 14th St. / CO-14 1/2.
N 40°05'54" W 104°48'40"
photos taken 10/12/08
              
This memorial is the property of the State of Colorado. Due west 1/4 mile is the site of Fort Lupton. Established in 1836 by Lieut. Lancaster P. Lupton. A rendezvous of the early fur trappers visited by Fremont and Kit Carson in 1843. Farming begun here in the early forties. Overland Stage station and refuge from Indians in the sixties. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J. N. Hall Foundation and by the Thursday Afternoon Club, citizens and pioneers of Fort Lupton. 1929

Fort Junction
Weld County
East of Longmont at southeast corner of I-25 and CO-119, at northeast corner of RTD Park-n-Ride lot on east frontage road.
N 40°09'34" W 104°58'38"
photos taken 10/12/08
              
This memorial is the property of the State of Colorado. Two hundred feet due east of this point stood Fort Junction, a sod enclosure erected in 1864 by the pioneers of Boulder and St. Vrain valleys as a protection against hostile Indians. Garrisoned by the Home Guards. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J. N. Hall Foundation and by the Tri-Town Lions club (Frederick, Dacono and Firestone) and the Rinn community. 1939

Fort Vasquez
Weld County
South of Platteville in center of US-85 between mileposts 249 and 250.
N 40°11'40" W 104°49'15"
photos taken 10/12/08
              
(Original wooden sign replaced by new 2-panel sign.)
        
This memorial is the property of the State of Colorado. Fort Vasquez. Established in 1837 by Louis Vasquez and Andrew W. Sublette. Maintained until 1842 as a post for trade in buffalo robes and beaver skins with Arapahoes and Cheyennes. Rendezvous of early trappers. Emigrant station on Platte River Trail after gold rush of 1859. Erected by the State Historical Society of Colorado from the Mrs. J. N. Hall Foundation and by State Civil Service Employees of Colorado. 1932

Majestic Plains
Weld County
Near Rockport, on west side of US-85 near Wyoming border.
N 40°53'40" W 104°47'45"
Photos taken 3/15/09. Sign was erected in 1956.
        
Sign originally began with:
Colorado. Welcome to our plains and mountains! Here for centuries vast herds of buffalo darkened the landscape, grazing on the short grass. Indians hunted them for food and skins.
Sign now reads:
Majestic Plains. On these widespread plains blown clean by the wind and rains large herds of buffalo roamed and gained in number. Then the warriors of Indian tribes hunted them for food and skins. Later white men came to trap beaver in the prairie channels and the mountain glens. Then thousands of adventurers were lured to the peaks and canyons by the discovery of gold. They plowed fields, built cities and founded a commonwealth. This highways travels straight south to Denver and beyond, past ranches and then irrigated farms rich in grain and sugar beets. Eastward lie hundreds of miles of prairie now dotted with prosperous towns. Westward rises the rampart of the Rocky Mountains crested with summits like Longs Peak, James Peak, Mount Evans and Pikes Peak, old in story.

New Raymer
Weld County
New Raymer, on north side of CO-14, near rodeo area on east side of town.
N 40°36'29" W 103°50'24"
photos taken 06/06/09
        

Weld County Irrigation
Weld County
Ault - In city park on east side of US-85.
N 40°35'01" W 104°43'54"
photos taken 3/15/09
           

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Last modified: September 21, 2009