Volume 16, Issue 24, 2003 HHII SS TTOORRIICCAA LL LLYY JJEE FF FF CCOO CONTENTS HI S TORR ICC Traceries 2 First Place Winner Writer’s Award Contest E F F C O Prohibition in J Republican County J 8

Moonshiners, Robbers and Frontier Law 14

Preserving Your Family’s Heirlooms 18

Jefferson County Historic Hall of Fame 22 Lois Cunniff Lindstrom Kennedy George Morrison Sr.

An Historic Setting on a Stop of the Leyden Rail Route 24

The Leyden Mine 30

Lingering Along the Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway 32

Golden’s Endangered Sites List 36

Lost Places in Jefferson County 40

Historic Sites Designated in Jefferson County 43

JCHC News & Members 44

JCHC Publications Committee Erlene Hulsey-Lutz, Chair, Milly Roeder, Vice Chair, Lee Heideman, Editor, Larry Lotito, Norm Meyer, Mark McGoff

Published by The Jefferson County Historical Commission (JCHC) Volume 16, Issue 34, 2003 ISSN 1532-6047

Cover Photo: C&S Train that ran up the South Platte River to Buffalo and beyond. Photo courtesy of Colorado Railroad Museum

C & S Train leaving Golden, 1941 Design & Layout Photo by Otto Perry, Courtesy of FinePrint, Golden, CO Colorado Railroad Museum RR ICCA L LYY O

-1- Traceries

Photos courtesy of Colorado Railroad Museum Colorado Central #585, 1855

The web of railroads that swept around the Table Mountains, up the watercourses, and to the mineral digs in productive Jefferson County over a century ago

First Place, Writer’s Award Contest them long gone, their scruffy through Arvada, up South Boulder By Jerry Grunska roadbeds today either drowned or Creek, and through the Moffat looking like natural embankments Tunnel all the way to San Francisco n 1888 U.S. Geological in the creases between and along- Bay. (It doesn’t cross the bay but Survey map of western side the hills. terminates in Emeryville just AJefferson County looks They followed the watercourses outside of Oakland.) This line, like a jewelry display case, with for the most part - Leyden Creek, David Moffat’s burning ambition, necklaces festooned around those Ralston Creek, Bear Creek - where started as the Denver Northwestern twin volcanic mesas, with thorny 2 to 4 percent grades could be & Pacific in 1903 with Pacific in its spurs sticking out toward the managed. Only a trio of them name but with hopes only to reach hogback. These are the railroads, stuck their tendrils into the heart Salt Lake City. It made it to Craig, with flashes of long forgotten of the Rockies beyond the county. Colorado, after negotiating perilous names, each of them representing One is still there, the Burlington Rollins Pass on the Continental a dream of prosperity and most of Northern Amtrak line plowing Divide 25 years before the tunnel

-2- was completed to Winter Park. aim up Waterton Canyon on the railroads into the mountains The Denver South Park & South Platte in 1878, and that’s thereafter were narrow gauge. Pacific was the first railroad to where the line went (reaching Incidentally, Governor Evans had try penetrating the interior of the Webster, west of Bailey and Grant an interesting past as a promoter Rockies. In 1874 Territorial Gover- in 1879), eventually going over before he ever came to Colorado. nor John Evans led a consortium three Continental Divide passes to A medical doctor from Indiana, he of investors who were determined Gunnison. The present hiking trail never practiced medicine. Instead, to send rails up Bear Creek. The up Waterton Canyon in Jefferson he gathered a group of investors object was to reach the gold dig- County is the roadbed of this in Chicago and founded North- gings in South Park and beyond. route, the rails and ties of which western University, although none Hope included going over Hoosier were pulled up in the 1930s. of the other original five trustees Pass into Breckenridge. How the The Denver South Park & had a college education. The rails would go over the mountains Pacific utilized an unusual rail town north of Chicago on Lake to South Park was uncertain, spacing, three feet in width, called Michigan where the university is and the line went from Sheridan narrow gauge. The “squeezed” located was named in his honor, Junction only as far as George width (regular gauge is 4 feet, Evanston, just as a Weld County Morrison’s homestead where Bear 8 1/2 inches) permitted sharper town, a Denver street, and a Front Creek slides through the hogback. turns than regular width, and Range mountain bear his name Sheridan Junction was near the the smaller engines and relatively in Colorado. confluence of Bear Creek with the light cars could move up inclines Once Planted, They South Platte River, and the line that were steeper than standard Proliferated Westward west to Morrison followed largely gauge could handle. At the time The “stem” from which almost where Hampden Avenue is today when Evans’s group installed the all Colorado railroads sprang was (as far as Kipling), all remnants rails, this was a novel conception. the Denver Pacific connection to rare and mostly obliterated by Rails themselves could be lighter the Union Pacific cross-country development. too - 30-40 lbs. per foot as railroad at Cheyenne, Wyoming, in The settlement at the terminus opposed to 60-90 lbs. for 1869. A year later the line from was called Jefferson, but a post standard gauge. Virtually all Kansas met this railroad in Denver, office was established in that same year with the name changed to Morrison. It took the first train View of the Colorado Central grade just north of Tucker Lake/Golden, Colorado, April 1977. Some ties are still in place along this stretch of track.View looking southwest. 1 1/2 hours to reach Morrison, with 150 people aboard from Evans’s First Street Methodist Episcopal Church in Denver. In Morrison the outing was festive, with family picnics featuring lemonade and ice cream, some people fishing and others hiking up both Bear Creek and Turkey Creek canyons. When regular service was inaugurated - $1.50 for a round trip from Denver - two trains operated daily and six-horse stagecoaches met the trains in Morrison, for a one-day trip to Fairplay, up Turkey Creek and over Kenosha Pass. Evans’s group then decided to

-3- and then the first rails into the mines in Blackhawk and Central Graymont was removed in 1898 mountains up Clear Creek City, however, and it forked off up after the mines were depleted. Canyon out of Golden were South Clear Creek to the Gregory This 65-mile railroad hauled laid in 1872. U.S. Highway 6 Gulch diggings at Idaho Springs, ore for three decades to the half essentially follows this roadbed at on to Georgetown and Silver dozen or so smelters in Golden, present, up the canyon almost to Plume, and as far as Graymont and with crude wagon roads Idaho Springs. Again, great plans (the right of way can still be seen carrying people over the preceded development. This road, above I-70 toward the Eisenhower Continental Divide from the called Colorado Central, was Tunnel). Its ambition in this end of the line, Jefferson County slated to climb over the pass direction was to inch up over clearly became the Gateway to named for businessman Edward Loveland Pass into Summit the West. Berthoud, ending at Hot Sulfur County, but it stopped beyond In addition to hauling freight, Springs in Middle Park. It never the famous Georgetown Loop, and precious metal ores, and other made it. It did reach the gold track up there past Silver Plume to extraction such as coal, limestone, sandstone, soda ash, sulfur, and brick-making clay, these railroads into the canyons carried people, Colorado Central silver ore train travelling up Clear Creek Canyon. C. 1875. church congregations on picnic and flower-collection outings, and fraternal organizations on campouts. A group of Jesuit priests summered in Morrison for several years before 1900. The line became known as “The Sunday School Line” after 1900. Author Bob Griswold’s book, “The Morrison Branch of the South Park Line,” said that a crowd of 774 individuals from the Brotherhood of Railroad Firemen took two excursion trains to a picnic in Morrison in 1881. The Morrison line always had more revenue from passengers than freight, with John Brisben Walker’s 1909 funicular railway to the top of Mount Morrison (above what is now Red Rocks Amphitheater) being a strong attraction. Comical things happened on the railroads from time to time. Early traveler Isabel Bird called Clear Creek “Toughcuss Creek” because rude railroad workers wouldn’t let her sit down on a trip up the canyon until the conductor finally pried a bewhiskered churl off his seat. The railroad specifically asked

-4- C & S train passing through Golden. passengers not to shoot Rocky east side of North Table Mountain, trains to reach all the way from Mountain bighorn sheep from angling northeast from there to Cheyenne to the Gulf of Mexico the train windows. connect with the Kansas Pacific (theoretically) without ever entering One time on the Morrison line tracks north of Denver. This route Denver. A roadbed was started, but a rider’s hat flew out the window, lay east of the present Quaker only a few rails were ever laid. and he pulled the emergency Street alignment. Shortly afterward Golden gave up its favored role as cord to stop the train. Panicked it was moved to the west side of Territorial Capitol when Colorado passengers thought a bridge had North Table, allowing it to aim became a state in 1876. washed out - spans did from time directly into Golden, away from On the Spur of the Moment to time in spring and summer Denver (1878). Two things must be kept in mind floods - and everyone piled out This route headed for when looking back on conditions of the coaches, only to be told Broomfield but it swung northwest in the pioneering past. One, to search for a fedora. They never past 120th Avenue, and along the nobody could foresee the advent found it. way it went through what is now of the internal combustion engine It Wa s n ’t All Frolic and Fre i g h t Tucker Lake - north of 70th Avenue and motive wheels before the turn Ordinarily, one wouldn’t think and west of Quaker Street. It also of the century. Steam and the iron of railroads as sinister, but in fact ducked through the southeast rails were the enthralling mode of at least one of them was. The corner of current Standley Lake. conveyance. In the first place, names of the usual suspects Then Loveland had another mules, oxen, and donkeys tugging resonate in the annals of early state novel idea. He would bend his wagons were poor comparisons to entrepeneurship: Evans, Loveland, route southeast around South Table ample ore gondolas and boxcars and Berthoud. W.A.H. Loveland Mountain and past Green when it came to hauling bulk was determined to elevate Golden Mountain to connect with the materials dug from the ground. beyond its status as Territorial Denver & South Park at the South Two, uplift of the Rocky Capitol. He received a franchise Platte River near Chatfield. This Mountains, faulting, and from the territorial authorities in would provide a complete half- subsequent erosion also resulted in 1867 to string tracks around the circle around Denver, permitting deposits of gravel and placer gold.

-5- The large fill used by the Colorado Central to climb out of the North side of Ralston Creek valley. View looking south. 70th Avenue & McIntyre streets.Arvada, CO February, 1975

Coal was discovered early, and in kilns (calcined) to form lime, into an elaborate S-curve north of homes, trains, smelters, and other which was principally used as present 100th Avenue, and moved industries devoured it as fuel. Coal mortar for brick and building- on through the later Rocky Flats seams near the hogbacks are nearly stone construction, before the plant up to Eldora Springs in vertical and only about 5 to 10 feet development of commercial Boulder County. DUP rails were in thickness. At depths of nearly Portland Cement. Oddly enough, never laid, but the old roadbed 700 feet these beds and those of the coal mine north of Morrison is easily spotted on present air the hogbacks curve gently eastward. was first called the Satanic. photos. A faint remnant exists in Then too there were limestone A southern spur ran from the a field north of 100th Avenue, and sulfur deposits at the Soda Denver & South Park main line cuts and fills east of Alkire. The Lakes - and a short spur was run out of Kassler, at the mouth fill actually holds an artificial from the Morrison line to gather of Waterton Canyon, down to pond for runoff. those products. Some marble was Roxbury (present Roxborough) An 8 1/2-mile spur line also also carved out of the cliffs nearby. where there was another lime kiln. went up from Golden to the now Another line ran north from Branches north of the Table submerged community of Glencoe, Morrison along what is now the Mountains wound like frayed lassos at the base of the hogback, under east side of C-470 to a coal mine all over the place. First of all, the Ralston Reservoir. It lasted only and sandstone quarries near present original Union Pacific (Evans’s 14 years, from 1884 till 1898. Alameda Parkway. Rock was transcontinental dream) was The Denver Water Department’s extracted for building materials in surveyed up through present reservoir filled about 65 years later. Denver, and it was crushed for Standley Lake, and another, the This line serviced the Murphy road gravel. Limestone was baked Denver Utah and Pacific swung Mine and claystone quarries along -6- the north side of Ralston Creek. artery. A spur line off this curling elevated edge of a lovely pond The Tindale Coal Mine along the railroad also serves the now-named west of Indiana Street near 75th south side of the Ralston Creek Rocky Flats Environmental Avenue. The elevated ridge here valley was served by the Denver Technology site. is a portion of the old Union Lakewood and Golden RR. That’s A r e All Traces Comp l e te ly Era s e d ? Pacific roadbed. as far as the tracks stretched, You’ll have to step into the About a mile north of Golden, but original plans were grandiose meadows around Golden, a few yards east of Highway 93 indeed. They included a route Lakewood, and Arvada where there next to the flank of North Table up Ralston Creek all the way to are horses neighing and donkeys Mountain, is a gentle dip in an California. Railroad chronicler braying, and even then all you’ll empty field: the railroad cut and Robert Ormes said that there see are faint rises and gentle divide between drainages of Clear were over 400 “paper railways” depressions in the undergrowth. Creek and Van Bibber Creek. in Colorado, plans that never And you won’t recognize those Golfing Anyone? saw a spike driven in earnest. either without an expert guide. The cart path in front of the Clay was a vital product for Besides, there is really only one clubhouse on the new Fossil Denver brick companies. One guide. His name is Lynn Yehle, Trace Course between Golden’s purpose was for firebrick - home a retired Surficial Geologist of 24th Street and the Jefferson furnaces and manufacturers’ the U.S. Geological Survey, County Jail is on the roadbed boilers - and common brick was headquartered on the Colorado of the Golden City and South for road surfaces and buildings. School of Mines campus in Platte, Loveland’s route intended Another spur extended up Golden. Lynn is adept at reading to sweep around the Table Leyden Creek to the coal mines aerial maps and analyzing surface Mountains and west of Green along that valley. Along with the features of terrain. He has Mountain to bypass Denver. As Denver City tramways, whose lines identified many of the memorable mentioned before, few rails were pierced Golden between the Table elevations and depressions where laid but much of the roadbed Mountains and around South the railroads once ran, even the was prepared. Table, these spurs that didn’t short lines that were long on North of the jail, north also of penetrate the hogback had long promise and short on funding. 10th Avenue and west of Johnson forgotten names: “Hawthorns - thorny, yellow- Street is a corral with burros. A •Denver Northwestern & Pacific branched, bushy trees - tend to gentle hillock angling past those •Denver Utah & Pacific grow on the ballast of roadbeds. hee-hawing animals is also the •Denver & Middle Park I don’t know why,” Yehle says. So bed of that never-never road. •Denver Lakewood & Golden he goes looking for hawthorns in They all had ambitions to go regular lines. He found one such Jerry Grunska is a retired English teacher and sports referee, author someplace exotic. Instead, they berm - and a narrow-gauge spike of sports officiating books. paused and served useful purposes, too - near the southwest shore of taking the practical minerals from the Arvada Reservoir. He has put Sources: points near present Golden and yellow tape on barbed wire fences Forrest, Kenton, Librarian, Colorado Railroad along present state Highway 93 to remind himself where the Museum, Golden, interview March 18, 2003 toward Boulder. The interurban roadbed crosses Highway 93, Griswold, P.R., “The Morrison Branch of the Denver South Park & Pacific Railroad,” tramways lasted until after WWII, curving northwest to the Ralston Sherm Connors Publishing, Brighton, CO, but the rails only served mines Springs Coal Mine on the Dakota 2003 and quarries until the 1930s. Hogback. Ormes, Robert M., “Colorado’s Ghost Railroads,” Sage Books, Denver, 1978 Today the remaining lines are the Do you cycle? Ormes, Robert M., “Railroads and the C & S serving the Coors Brewery Part of the bike path near 56th Rockies,” Sage Books, Denver, 1963 Complex and minor other Avenue and Quaker is on the old Wilkins, Tivis E., “Colorado’s Railroads: industrial sites, while the UPSP roadbed of the Colorado Central. Chronological Development,” Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder, Colorado, 1974 passing through Arvada and The fill leading north to a ghost Yehle, Lynn, Lakewood, CO, interview and snaking up South Boulder Creek bridge across Van Bibber Creek field trip, March 18-April 12, 2003 is the lone transcontinental rail is nearby. A horse grazes on the -7- Photos courtesy of the Denver Public Library. The Coors Outlet Store Prohibition in Republican County

Writer’s Award Honorable Mention local saloons leaving families without ing in Jefferson, Gilpin, and Boul- by Martha Martin food or reliable income. der counties led to Rollinsville, Jefferson County’s western considered a major distillery he United States government boundary foothills and canyons are and transportation center. It’s first imposed an alcohol and the basis for the motto “The Gate- location on the railroad near Ttobacco tax in the early 1790s. way to the Rockies.” Deer Creek, the Continental Divide crossing Enforcement of tax laws proved diffi- Bear Creek, Mount Vernon, Clear at Rollins Pass made it a practical cult in Southern states under the Creek, Coal Creek, Golden Gate, stop for bootleggers. Reconstruction Government after and Ralston Canyons were com- From the mountain communi- the Civil War. Resistance led to monly identified in news reports ties, Carole Lomond, editor of bootleggers outwitting and killing during the dry years as still loca- “City and Mountain Views,” a number of federal agents and the tions and distribution centers reports the historic church located federal government’s support for hidden under many guises in the behind the Little Bear in Evergreen total prohibition movements target- ravines and along the pioneer to be the “…most lucrative point- ing the bootlegger, consumers and wagon roads leading to neighbor- of-sale for bootleggers during suppliers. In Western states, miners ing counties and western states. Prohibition….” The establishment drank away their paychecks at the Several pioneer toll roads originat- was known as Prince McCracken’s

-8- Drugstore and the Round Up son in drafting strict statewide Dance Hall. A later and more prohibition laws in 1914 enacted familiar name was the Red Ram. at the state level in 1916 as the Lomond cites Chief Hosa ran a state’s “Dry Laws.” gambling hall-bordello during its In 1923 John F. Vivian was heyday before becoming a historic appointed Federal Prohibition landmark and event center. Administrator for the state of Another large operation in the Colorado, and by the late 1920s Evergreen area was a mile east of was regional administrator for town along Bear Creek near the Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. Old Gulch road intersection. The He served in this capacity for a lawbreakers were quite ingenious in decade until Prohibition was covering their tracks through deep repealed by the 21st Amendment snow and it took several weeks of in 1933. Vivian held federal investigation before bringing the appointments under six presidents, scoundrels to justice. To avoid leav- four during the Prohibition Era. ing tracks, the still proprietors The Volstead Act, passed in accessed its hidden location by conjunction with the 18th Amend- pole vaulting over the snow drifts. ment, outlined legal definitions Colorado voluntarily promoted of violations and provided for movements towards the prohibition enforcement under the United of alcohol late in the 19th Centu- States Treasury Department of ry. “Anti-Saloon League” legislation Revenue. This act made allowances passed by Populist Party Governor for alcohol to be used for religious Waite in 1893 coincided with purposes and limited home con- women’s suffrage and their voice sumption. It also targeted the nec- in the Temperance Movement. The essary agricultural products for 18th Amendment to the United alcohol production and many raids States Constitution, ratified Janu- involved destroying the finished ary 19, 1919, prohibited the manu- product along with large quantities facture, sale, or transportation of of sugar and various grains. Seized intoxicating liquor for beverage vehicles and property suffered for- purposes. A leader in upholding feiture and public auction. and enforcing the 18th Amend- Representing law enforcement at ment was Jefferson County’s repub- the federal level, Vivian was person- lican political machine boss, John ally involved in raids outside of Jef- F. Vivian. ferson County including a Grand As Golden Mayor for three County raid at Tabernash in early terms in the early 1900s, Vivian 1923. Newspapers chronicled the enforced existing temperance senti- era; however, few pictures of raids ment by keeping saloons closed on come to light eighty years later. Sundays. His immediate political Vivian’s legal arm was long. He influence included the towns of appointed the state’s special federal Golden and Arvada, the latter agents, most staunch republicans rumored to have kept dry laws on like himself. His office had the News articles on Prohibition shown the books until the 1960s. Vivian’s support of law enforcement in Jef- above and on subsequest pages were zeal for this cause received recogni- ferson County under Sheriffs Kerr carried in the Jefferson County tion with his leading role as secre- and Johnson. The county commis- Republican. 1923. tary to republican Governor Carl- sioner’s sessions frequently covered

-9- prohibition legislation and imple- oftentimes called roadhouses, oper- Jefferson County without license.” mentation of penalties for viola- ated illegally across Jefferson tors. 1920s news reports of his County. The Volstead Act padlock Twilight Gardens, off West Col- office’s successes were front page laws allowed closure and seizure of fax below the Golden Hill Ceme- news. City and county officials establishments in violation of the tery in the Daniel’s Gardens area, called on Vivian as a professional prohibition statutes. Recorded petitioned a number of times for a witness for cases spanning the under courthouse releases, the license to operate a soft drink par- state. His powerful oratory skills petition of Mike Caveleiri prompt- lor. Each petition was denied and made him a Twilight requested Gardens speaker at portrayed as local churches a public nui- and political sance when events. One open. The such address establish- commended ment drew the successes the attention of the Volstead of the local Act in local PTA and communities upscale in Jefferson Wide Acre County. He residents frequently leading to traveled from several raids Golden to and convic- Washington tions for D.C. for train- prohibition ing or official violations business trips and lewd with other “G- exhibition- Men.” ism of scant- His office ily clothed received addi- ladies hang- tional support ing out the One photograph catalogued at the Denver Public Library may be the Tabernash under republi- raid of 1923. It shows wooden cases of moonshine dumped from a horse drawn upper win- can Governor wagon along a roadside. Blue Valley Distillery,Tabernash, Grand County. c. 1920. dows. In Morley who June of created a spe- 1925 the cial police force for prohibition ed the following proclamation Republican reported law enforce- enforcement. Vivian ran in the after a county commissioner’s ment officials had been requested gubernatorial race in 1926, one board meeting: to watch Twilight Gardens with filled with intrigue and controver- authority under the sy. Although he lost in the pri- “The petition of Mike Caveleiri policy of keeping Jefferson County maries due to a Republican Party for license to operate a roadhouse clean. split directly attributed to the at Perrin, near Lakeside, was denied The illegal production and sale statewide stand against the politi- on the recommendation of the dis - of alcohol was lucrative business cal influence of the Ku Klux Klan, trict attorney and sheriff. The sher - for the bootlegger and the county Jefferson County backed their man iff was further instructed to place courts. An average fine assessed by at the polls. under arrest any and all persons the Jefferson County courts Speak easy type establishments, found operating such places in ranged from two to three hundred

-10- dollars and often 1926 of $83,000 carried a mandatory indicated a pro- jail sentence of thir- gressive increase ty to sixty days. over the previous Jefferson County three years. recorded hundreds Prohibition of bootlegging raids enforcement at involving law the local level enforcement wasn’t a high officials and priority in neigh- special agents at boring Gilpin the federal, state County. To the and local levels contrary, the cat- of government. acombs of mine Fines were con- shafts provided sidered ineffective as cool storage for a bootlegger’s prof- the illegal com- its were ten times modity. Accord- the amount of ing to his descen- court costs and dents and Gold- fines. Jail time was en Gate Canyon recommended for State Park plac- first offenses, and ards, William time in the peniten- Kriley ran a dis- tiary for repeat tillery out of one offenders. In 1926 of his two homes the Republican in Golden Gate reported Jefferson Canyon. He County’s 1925 rev- grew his mash enues enforcing the in his potatoe dry laws exceeded patch, and $12,000. About because it could- one-third of the n’t be cleaned revenues paid the up, it was con- salaries of prosecut- verted to one of ing Judge McCall the property’s and his assistants. ponds. Italian Fines increased in fruit and veg- accordance with the etable vendors level of the prose- used Kriley’s cuting governmental ranch as a trans- departments. The fer point. He’d state revenues in transport the agricultural prod- ucts and his Right: Jefferson County homemade Republican newspaper hooch to Black articles on Vivian’s appointment as Federal Hawk and Cen- Prohibition Administrator tral City. These for Colorado. June 1923.

-11- The Coors marquis proudly displays the Coors name with flowers grown on site. The Coors mansion and greenhouses are pictured.

vendors wouldn’t have made the identified in Golden Gate Canyon chemical porcelain division found return trip with empty wagons or State Park straddles the Jefferson markets allowing the business to trucks; jars of intoxicating mash and Gilpin county western bound- sustain itself and resume beer pro- would’ve replaced fruits and veg- ary on former Tolman Ranch duction in 1933, one of the few etables for sale to consumers in property. It is located on Ralston nationwide to survive the dry Jefferson County and Denver. Creek near an abandoned road years. Coors continued to supply A second bootlegger’s cabin running into Boulder County. A malted milk for candy production period truck sits near the cabin until the 1950s. Late in the era, a stirring the imagination to follow call was made to produce a beer its run careening up and down the containing 3.7% alcohol. Coors narrow canyon roads transporting was considered for this trial, but supplies and the fermented fin- wisely declined the offer. ished product. Plans are underway Jefferson County is historically to stabilize the structure and reveal considered a conservative republi- its mysteries to park historians and can county. The Coors family’s the public. Golden Gate Canyon political leanings followed this State Park Historian, Malcolm powerful political alliance. The Stevenson, acknowledges the area’s Federal Prohibition Director, the local residents remain hesitant State Attorney General, and many today to talk about the dry years higher level county officials, all and their forefathers’ involvement Republicans, lived in Golden’s in law breaking activities. “Court House Hill” affluent Golden’s Coors Brewing Com- neighborhood within a mile of the pany survived Colorado’s lengthy Coors facility. prohibition through product diver- The brewery’s founder, Adolph sification. Some alcohol was pro- Coors, kept a low profile during duced for special purposes and this time frame and suffered belit- kept under federal guard for limit- tlement directed by the media. ed distribution to pharmacies and One commentary in the Republi - others with a prescription. Malted can, February 17, 1923, under the milk, produced from many of the “Choice Bits from Other Pens” same raw materials as beer, and the column poked fun at Zangs and

-12- Taxation was more effective and in line with public opinion. Ameri- can history marks the Prohibition Era as a time of corrupt politi- cians influenced by special interest groups such as the Ku Klux Klan movement of the 1920s. Colorado had the nation’s second highest Klan enrollment following Indiana during the mid 1920s. In Col- orado the terms of Governor Clarence Morley (1925-27) and Denver Mayor Ben Stapleton (1923-25) are remembered with shame and disdain for their special interest ties with that organization. Morley’s stand on prohibition and the creation of an aggressive special police force to uphold the 18th Amendment left a sour taste Martha Martin is a previous Writer’s in the public’s mouth. Award winner and published author. Jefferson County represents Sources: itself as a formidable republican Colorado Scenario Magazine. Brief History political entity in state politics. of Rollinsville. www.scenariousa.com/ co/gilpin/rollinsville.html. Scenario Partner The county seat in Golden, a long Publications: 1992-2003. time Denver rival, and the men Colorado State Archives. Jason Brockman, who lived there and commuted to James O. Chipman, and Erin McDanal: State Coors breweries: state and federal offices in Denver Archivists. Colorado State Governor “To faller vat haf lifed around Biographies: Governor George A. Carlson during the Prohibition Era have (1915-17), Governor Clarence J. Morley (1925- Colorado for tirty yar, et sem kind escaped periodic witch hunts, 27), and Governor Davis H. Waite (1893-95). of fonny to read advertisements of which focus on the corruption of www.archives.state.co.us. Spring 2003. Zang’s Ice Cream an Coors Malted elected officials and law enforce- Denver Public Library Western History Milk.” ment. Prominent Jefferson County Collection. Call Number: X-10050, Coors Outlet Store, 1900-1910 (?). Call Number: Rh- -Ole Yohnson in Craig Empire. men, associated law enforcement 1158, Prohibition Bust, Harry Mellon Rhoads, Members of the Coors family left corruption, and Klan ties are photographer, 1920 (?). Call Number: X-10045, Colorado during the 1920s on buried; peacefully forgotten with- Adolph Coors Company, Rocky Mountain Photo Company, 1928. www.photoswest.org. extended vacations and permanent out the degradation inflicted on moves. The Herman Coors family their constituents. For a time in Glassmann, Michelle. Personal Interview: Grandfather William Kriley’s Ranch. Feb. 2003. sold their stately mansion on 19th the early to mid 20th Century, Street in Golden and moved to Cali- Jefferson County Republican [Golden], selected Golden was Colorado’s capital in prohibition articles 1923-32. fornia in the mid 1920s. Adolph a sense, as republican politicians Lomond, Carole. A Brief History: The Heart Coors, Sr. died in Virginia Beach, holding offices at the higher of Evergreen. www.citymntviews.com. Mar. Virginia in 1929, before seeing his levels of state government were 2003. company’s triumphant rise from the descendents and followers of Lomond, Carole. Genesee Park: Genesee. dry years to become one of the Golden’s founders. John F. Vivian www.citymntviews.com/neighborhood.asp Mar. nation’s largest beer producers. and his republican cronies defined 2003. The 18th Amendment’s repeal the Prohibition Era in Jefferson Stevenson, Malcolm. Golden Gate Canyon State by the 21st Amendment proved its Park Historian. Phone interviews: Bootlegger’s County, and the state of cabin GGCSP. Jan. 2003. failure at nationwide prohibition. Colorado.

-13- Photo courtesy of Colorado Railroad Museum The train that Burgdorf shipped his booze on. Green’s store was built from granite after the fire. Moonshiners, Robbers, and Frontier Law By Lee Heideman some barrels in it, while hiking. So apparently they found a place A member of the Reynolds Gang ack Antweiler, whose great to produce their whiskey after all. grandparents and grandparents Some were successful though, Jfirst settled the Blue Creek and others were left to tell about Valley, told of the remnants of it. Like Bud Hill, who was stills his father and grandfather postmaster in Pine for many years. had come across. No one seemed He said, “George (Burgdorf) was inclined to talk about them if they a character. Well-liked, but a knew they were there, but gullies character just the same.” He was and caves with empty barrels and the local provider of whiskey in old vandalized “monkey stoves” the area, and was said to have a were found years later. still in about every gully in the Charles Arnett also told of some Foxton/Pine/Buffalo area. One fellows who wanted to rent some story says that when John G. land from his mother after his Green and his father were stringing father had passed away. She asked the telephone lines, John was them what they wanted it for. Well, hesitant to enter a gulch because Charles said, “She was a Southern one of George’s stills was in Baptist woman, so she just said ‘go operation there and he was afraid away.’” But later, across the road of the dog, but Burgdorf assured and farther north, up on a hill, his him he would be safe. Well they daughter and some friends found a did string that line but when cave with a monkey stove and they went to find the other end -14- going back, they found three conductor wired or four barrels of brew “just the message to heaving away.” Buffalo that they Some of Bud’s favorite stories were on board. about George Burgdorf were when When they arrived, the government agents were after the revenue men him, to crack down on him several got off the train at times, destroying his stills, but he Buffalo where the would just move them or build conductor pointed a new one. One day George out the still on the Burgdorf and his wife went to hill. By that time, Denver with a load of wood on Burgdorf had his Model T truck. The agents had dismantled it and been warned that he had whiskey moved it. While with him, so they stopped him the revenuers were just outside of Morrison. They checking out the said, “Well, George, we got you location, the brew this time. We know you had some was loaded on the Typical keg George Burgdorf whiskey when you left Pine,” and baggage car. John used to ship his whiskey. they told him to take the wood Green had a load off of the truck. He refused, so of bread in there they unloaded it. They searched and when he went told him that he was just getting the truck, but didn’t find to retrieve it, it was soaked. He his money back for the saddle anything, even after they searched complained to the conductor, but George stole. George told him the under the hood of the truck. So Burgdorf stuck his head in and whiskey was worth twice what the they made George get out while said, “I’m on the run. Keep your saddle was, but he let it go at that. they searched inside it. His wife mouth shut!” John said okay, and George went to jail in Golden was with him and she was a the booze traveled on, most likely and they say he even made booze very large woman “who dressed up to the mines. in the kitchen. Then he was severely.” They didn’t even ask George Burgdorf borrowed a transferred to Cañon City for a her to get out of the truck. saddle from Bud and Bud couldn’t short time. When he got out and The revenuers told George that get it back. He sat up on Elephant came back, he strutted around they would get him next time and rock one day, and watched until Buffalo and Pine showing off he could load the wood up. He George came down a gully his new suit “the government refused and told them that he carrying something heavy, which bought me.” wouldn’t budge until they reloaded he ditched in some bushes. Then Now, a little way further up the it. When they arrived in Denver, George’s son came by and picked highway, down Deer Creek Road, he got out of the car and said, him up. Bud knew they would Charlie Royal lived. He was a bit “All right, Ma. I’ll take the come back after dark to retrieve of a moonshiner and the revenuers whiskey.” She had been hiding a the whiskey, so he waited until heard about his still. So they paid five-gallon jug of whiskey between they were gone and put the Charlie a visit. Well, Charlie wasn’t her legs under her long skirt all whiskey in his truck. He and his home, so they followed his dog. of the time. friends had a great old time with Sure enough, there was Charlie at Another story was told that the that and one day George came to his still. One revenuer said, “Well, railroad men “were not adverse a party at Bud’s. He said, “Boy Charlie, that’s two. We only to sampling his wares,” so one this sure is good whiskey. Wish knew about one.” morning revenue men boarded the I knew who made it. ” Then there were the robbers and mountain-bound train, intending Bud finally told George that it gangs. There were always the gangs to catch him. When the train was his whiskey. He accused Bud and marauders who tried to escape pulled into Sheridan, the of stealing his whiskey, but Bud to the mountains. One such was

-15- the one who was wounded and him to come back in two weeks and McClellan Stage and the tried to hole up in Bailey. time to pick him up. He said he amount they got varied from According to May Long, wanted to do some prospecting. $5,000 to $10,000, depending stagecoach robberies were common When Dwight returned for Al, he on who was telling the story. in those days, because gold dust started loading Al’s gear in his car, Under the leadership of Jack was transported to banks, and mail but one sack was too heavy to pick Sparks, a posse caught up with often carried money (gold dust) up. When he left Al gave him an the bandits where they camped in from miners to their families octagon or hexagon gold piece. Handcart Gulch. The gang broke elsewhere. She said that “Dad Later Dwight went by Al’s up and ran in different directions Long” lost his horses to robbers, house on the way to Field’s under the cover of fog. One sorry and were never recovered. Trading Post to get his mail, and bandit, by the name of Owen According to Dwight Nucholls, saw a lot of cars around his house. Singleterry, was caught in the Dan Berrian, his uncle, told him That was very unusual in those crossfire. One member of the that the Reynolds Gang holed up days, so he stopped to see if Al posse, Dr. Cooper, severed in the rocks on the east side of was sick. Al said, “Go away. I’ll Singleterry’s head, presenting North Turkey Creek for a few talk to you later.” this trophy to the town of Alma. weeks, waiting for Jesse James to When Dwight went back, Al said Most of the Gang was cap- meet them. Then they rode off that government had found out tured and put to death. In 1871 in pairs to Georgetown, where about the treasure he had dug up John Reynolds, Jim’s brother, they purchased provisions. The and took 65 percent of it. was caught stealing horses on his Veterinary clinic above the “S” When Al Bobbitt was ninety- return to Colorado to recover curve on Highway 73, going into seven years old, he was interviewed the treasure, and he was hung. Evergreen, belonged to Hezekiah by Mary Helen Crain at the Pine His last words were: James, an uncle of Jesse James. It Haven Nursing home in Morrison. is called James Hill. He was dressed as a cowboy from “You go up there a little ways Dwight also told of knowing head to foot. Christmas day when (along Geneva Creek) and find Al Bobbitt, who said that he was he was 102 years old, he dressed up where one of our horses mired in thrown out of the Reynolds Gang in his cowboy outfit: Stetson hat, the swamp. On up at the head of for being too mean. He said that cowboy boots and all, went out the gulch we turned to the right the Gang holed-up in Hall Valley. on the porch and died. and followed the mountain around One day Al gave Dwight two The Reynolds Gang ran until a little farther and just above the dollars to take him and his gear to they reached Hamilton, Colorado head of Deer Creek we found the head of Geneva Creek in (close to the present Como), in an old prospect hole at about Dwight’s l927 Chevrolet, and told 1864. They held up the Spotswood timberline. There was $40,000 in greenbacks, wrapped in a silk Green’s store, train tracks and station before the oilcloth, and three cans of gold 1897 fire that destroyed that side of Buffalo. dust. We filled the mouth of the Courtesy of Jefferson County Historical Society. hole up with stones and ten steps below we stuck an old butcher knife in a tree, about four feet from the ground, broke the handle off and left it pointing to the mouth of the hole.”

Verne Crow said he found the knife but not the loot. George Harriman built the Kenosha House on Kenosha Pass and spent about three and a half years there with his wife. His

-16- daughter Hattie was born there we had a and a son Charles, who died and character here, was buried in the gulch behind Joe Nichols. the house. Joe was, I While they were there the guess, an Espinosa gang came through, alcoholic and killing six men for no reason. a war veteran The Reynolds Gang stopped in and he was Kenosha House in 1864, robbing shell shocked. them of their money and taking But Joe, he food before leaving for Denver in would get their quest to take the country for soused…” the South. This must have been Bud said, before they reached Handcart “Joe would Gulch, where some were said to never pick a have met their end. fight when he In a manner of speaking, was sober, but the way the Reynolds gang, or one night, at at least one member, was hung the dance, could be called frontier law, the brakey meaning when folks took the (the train law into their own hands. brakeman) Another case was the case of kept cutting the Standrings. In the article The in on Joe and Old Bradford Hill Road, by Noah his girlfriend LeGault, the author said that when and Joe got he was working for Jack Webb and jealous. old man Duncan he heard a cow “He wanted bawling. He rode out to see what to get Warner was wrong, and found a mother and tried to cow bawling as a coyote was trying get him to kill her newborn calf. outside. But Denver South Park & Pacific’s engine No. 9 ran through Buffalo. He carried the calf to the ranch, Joe was a big It is now awaiting renovation to be put back into and both its ears had been torn man and service on the Georgetown Loop Railroad. up. He nursed the calf back to Warner didn’t health. Then, a few years later, want any part of Joe, so he enough and tried to pull him Duncan found the same calf with (Warner) locked himself in the off. But Joe just beat the tar out the torn ears, at Bob Standrings caboose. That made Joe that much of him and threw him off the ranch with Standring’s brand on more determined to clean up on tracks. Finally, someone went it. He said Bob Standring was Warner. So Joe went to the front and found me (Bud) at the “plumb careless with his brand.” of the train and lay down on the dance, and I went down and One day in 1882, Bob and his tracks. He said the train wasn’t talked him into going home.” wife were found mysteriously shot leaving town that night unless it Bud said that half an hour later, to death, and no one ever found was over ‘my dead body. ’ Joe was back at the dance and out who did it. It seems he had “Several men tried to get him everything was fine. been “plumb careless” with his to get up so the train could go There are more of these stories, brand on several of his cows. on, because it was due back in too many to tell here. Most of Of course there were fights, but Denver, but he wouldn’t move. them can be found in my book Joe Nichols took it too far one Joe’s brother, Bill, who was also Homesteaders, Moonshiners and night. As Bud Hill told it, “Well, a big man, decided he’d had Frontier Law.

-17- Protecting Your Family Heirlooms By Angela M. Rayne enjoying family heirlooms and pre- it is terrible for your heirlooms. serving them is always a balancing Light can permanently damage y family is getting on in act. For fragile objects like crystal paintings, photographs, paper, and years. As such, they have or clothing, the tradeoffs are easy especially textiles. Typical symp- Mbegun to pass things along to see – the more you handle toms of light damage include fad- that they deem important to preserv- them the greater the risk. But ing of colors, yellowing of varnish, ing the family history. They also exposing almost any heirloom to bleaching of paper, and fading and have decided that I should be the everyday changes in light, heat weakening of textiles. However, official keeper of family heirlooms. and humidity will eventually cause good lighting is necessary to see Sound familiar? I thought so. Now damage. The advice offered in this your heirlooms, so a balance must just how do you decide on the best article should help you decide be achieved between the need to care for such precious antiques? where to draw the line. see and the need to avoid damage. At the Hiwan Homestead There are five enemies of your Remember, you are the one Museum, as with most museums, heirloom: light, temperature, responsible for preserving the fami- artifacts (heirlooms) are cared for relative humidity, air borne ly history and passing the heir- by a collections manager or a cura- pollutants, and pests. looms along. tor, which happens to be me. But Methods for Controlling Light at home, you are the conservator LIGHT Ultraviolet light (UV) is the and deciding on the best care may Colorado boasts of having over most energetic form of radiation. often be a mystery. I would like to 300 days of sunshine per year. It causes sunburn not only in help. I should begin by saying that While this is great for you and me, humans, but on heirlooms too.

-18- Therefore, it is important to elimi- Methods for Controlling for humidity. The dimensional sta- nate ultraviolet radiation entirely. Temperature bility of objects is just the opposite. This can be accomplished by the Central heat and air condition- While large changes in temperature use of a UV filter placed either on ing with a filtration system are crit- have little direct dimensional effect, the source of light or in front of ical in stabilizing heirlooms. small changes in relative humidity the heirloom. Remember, what you are striving can cause a significant change in Infrared light (IR) causes damage for is stability; changes of less than dimension of an object. So, the by heating up the surface of an 10 degrees. Ideally the temperature control of relative humidity should heirloom. The primary method range should be 66 to 70 degrees. be a primary concern, considering of minimizing heat buildup is to Heirlooms stored in basements humidity’s effect on family heir- avoid direct light. This can be and attics should be monitored looms. accomplished by using a plastic Humidity refers to water vapor in film on windows and by moving the air. Air can hold more moisture lamps away from heirlooms. at a higher temperature than at a Sunlight and fluorescent lamps low one. Absolute humidity refers also cause damage similar to UV. to the actual amount of water in The key to minimizing damage air independent of temperature. from visible light is to use Relative humidity is based on warm fluorescent lamps and the percentage of water vapor to use light in an efficient in air, compared to what air manner. Turn the lights off can hold at 100 percent at a when not viewing the heir- given temperature. Thus, loom, reduce the amount materials will expand as their of daylight in the room, moisture content increases in and rotate light sensitive direct response to an increase items. in relative humidity. Controlling Humidity TEMPERATURE Here in the West, high Changes in temperature as humidity is usually not a prob- little as 10 to 20 degrees can lem. Ideally you should try to affect the stability of an heir- keep RH within a range of 30 to loom. Temperature causes 70 percent. However, it is impor- objects to expand and contract. tant to choose a range based on Think about a thermometer. what is practical to maintain given The mercury expands as the the conditions within our geo- temperature rises and contracts graphical region and the limitations as the temperature lowers. This with thermometers independent of of humidification control within same process acts on your fami- the system’s thermostats, to assure your dwelling. The important thing ly heirlooms. Some art materials that the system is capable of reach- to remember is to minimize fluctu- can soften and actually flow at ing these locations too. ations by choosing a realistic RH a temperature of 100 degrees range. Fahrenheit. Objects that have THE RELATIVE-HUMIDITY The simplest solution is to add a multiple layers of different mate- PROBLEM humidifier to the central ductwork rial, such as pottery. are subject People notice “relatively” small of a forced-air-heating unit or use a to cracking. The different materi- changes in temperature, but rarely freestanding humidifier. An alterna- als move at different rates with notice even large changes in humid- tive approach is to create a micro- changes in temperature, which ity (commonly noted as RH). climate that is capable of providing causes cracks. Temperature is Therefore, residential and office an environment different from that also important in the way that spaces are controlled to maintain a of the surrounding space. This it affects relative humidity. comfort range without consideration approach, however, requires specific

-19- knowledge and skill, and a conser- Gaseous Pollutants PESTS vator should be consulted before Gaseous pollutants are The average household is beset by a construction. generated from indoor sources wide variety of pests, ranging from such as fresh carpeting and new small insects to rodents. And, of PARTICULATE POLLUTION paint. Often materials used in course, you can’t avoid foodstuff in Within a normal residential envi- furniture making may give off the house like we can at the Muse- ronment, it is very difficult (and acidic gases that can cause um. Protection against pest prob- expensive) to control airborne lems requires constant vigi- pollutants. Accumulation of lance, careful monitoring and oily soot on surfaces and good housekeeping. Unfortu- formation of tarnish on sil- nately, many objects are con- ver are two examples, all structed of organic materials too familiar to everyone. that serve as food source However, particulate pollu- for a wide variety of pests. tion comes in a variety of Excellent housekeeping is sizes and forms. It can the best defense here, be generated within the along with keeping pet household or brought in food on the balcony or from the outdoors. Regu- in the garage and check- lar vacuuming best con- ing newly purchased trols pollutants from treasures before bringing fibers such as carpet, them into your home. clothing, etc. Other forms Elimination from smoke and kitchen The only way to truly cooking are especially danger- protect heirlooms is to elimi- ous because they tend to be nate current pest populations greasy and difficult to remove. and to prevent re-infestation. Try to minimize smoke and Elimination can be a difficult cooking by venting the areas problem because the method or limiting the number of heir- of extermination itself may looms in areas prone to this cause damage. For example, type of exposure. many sprays contain solvents Dust that can blister paint if direct- Dust from the outdoors can ed on the object. Fumigation be minimized by filtering also is a choice but should be outdoor air. Unfortunately, done by qualified personnel. most filters used on residential air corrosion and deterioration. One And, if the extermination proce- conditioners and heating systems notorious example is oak. Various dure requires direct handling of the only remove large particles. Because types of metal, especially those object, a conservator should be high-efficiency filters impede the containing lead, have seriously consulted for advice on the safest passage of air, the fans in these corroded as a result of exposure approach. units may be too weak to push air to the acid fumes given off by Prevention through a fine-grade filter. A local oak. Outdoor gaseous pollutants The best method, of course, is to contractor should provide are difficult to filter using prevent infiltration in the first information about the possibilities residential systems. Most air filters place. This approach emphasizes for increasing filtration efficiency. are made to filter particulate two activities; monitoring for the For residential purposes, a grade of pollutants, not gaseous pollutants. presence of pests, and closing filtration around 65 to 85 percent Therefore, the best strategy is off points of access. Monitoring Dust Spot Efficiency provides a again to reduce the amount of requires careful and regular reasonable level of protection. outside air. inspection of the heirloom. Make -20- note of any evidence of activity SAFE MATERIALS FOR THE polycarbonate and acrylic products using sticky traps that provides DISPLAY AND STORAGE OF are all stable materials that can visible evidence of insect activity. HEIRLOOMS help protect your heirlooms. Closing off points of access The types of materials that requires careful detective work. It come into contact with your heir- PRESERVING YOUR PAST is necessary to determine where looms is the next area of discus- The last thing to consider is the pests are hiding within the sion. Only “stable” or “safe” mate- documenting your heirloom. house in order to assure total rials should touch heirlooms. The This written information is the elimination. It is also important memory of the heirloom. Long to know how the pests entered after you and yours have come the house in order to figure out and gone, the records of the how to deny them future access. heirloom will speak for you. Make sure to identify, photo- SIX SIMPLE STEPS graph and maintain records of TO REMEMBER your heirlooms. Describe the his- 1. Display or store your heir- tory and condition of each looms in a stable, clean envi- object; note who made, pur- ronment. Temperature of 72 chased or used it; and tell what or lower, humidity between 45 it means to your family. Always and 55 percent and try to try to identify individuals in a avoid dramatic changes. family photograph and the time 2. Location, location, location. and place it was taken. You will Display and store your heir- find that getting the details looms away from heat sources, down on paper is rewarding in outside walls, basements and itself. It also may suggest how attics. your family history fits into the 3. Shun the sun. Light fades and larger story of the community discolors most treasures and is and nation. especially dangerous to fabrics and paper. The best advice I can give is, 4. Check for signs of pests. terms stable and safe usually refer “When in doubt, consult a con- Holes in furniture or textiles, to the acid content in materials. servator.” Sometimes there is no wood shavings and any drop- Acid is found naturally in many substitute for expert help. Profes- pings. kinds of paper and wood. It is sional conservators understand 5. Heirlooms can be harmed acid that makes newspapers yellow what causes the deterioration of by: abrasive cleaners; dry-clean- and brittle so quickly. Only acid- many different materials, and er’s bags; glues, adhesive taps free products and certain plastics how to slow or prevent it. They and labels; pins and paper are recommended for display and master their subject through clips; acidic wood, cardboard storage because they will not harm years of apprenticeship, universi- or paper; and pens and mark- your family heirlooms. Acid-free ty programs, or both, and usual- ers. materials may be buffered to help ly have a specialty, such as paint- 6. Even if it is broken, counteract the effects of acids. ings or textiles. don’t fix it! Buffered materials are safe for Know that by taking care of A smudged painting, torn pho- most heirlooms, but unbuffered your family’s precious heirlooms, tograph or broken vase may materials may be used for blue- you give three gifts to your seem easy to fix. They aren’t. prints, photographs, fabrics, or descendents: the treasures them- Well-intended but amateur any organic materials. Several selves, your dedication in pre- repairs usually do more harm kinds of plastics are useful in pre- serving them and a richer under- than good. See a conservator. serving your heirlooms. Polyethyl- standing of your family’s history ene, polypropylene, polyester, for decades to come. -21- JEFFERSON COUNTY Lois Cunniff Lindstrom Kennedy Teacher & Historian

After attending Trinidad Junior find in Colorado. College in 1940-42 Lois began a In 1972 she was the founder teaching career in rural Trinidad, and first president of the Arvada Colorado. Later she taught in Historical Society. She and her Lamar, Colorado Springs, husband developed the Pueblo and first grade at application to place the Secrest Elementary in Arvada Flour Mill on the Jefferson County until her National Register in 1975. retirement in 1985. In They also organized efforts 1984 she received the to restore the Mill, which Distinguished Teacher opened as a Museum in Award. 1980. In 1973 she chaired Lois is the Historian of the Arvada Cultural Arvada. She is respected Committee that secured for her insistence on the passage of a $3.6 accuracy in documenting million bond issue to history topics. While establish the Arvada Center. enrolled in a Masters level She also chaired the Society history course in 1972 she committee for the Museum at began research on the Arvada the Center and devoted many area. This sparked an interest in hours to establish the History the Louis Ralston discovery of Museum. gold in 1850. After extensive Lois provides positive research and two applications for leadership to accomplish the historic designation, the designating the Louis Ralston projects she undertakes. She was Colorado Historical Commission Gold Site of June 22, 1850 elected to the Jefferson County gave approval on Dec. 1, 1995 as the first documented gold Hall of Fame in 2003.

-22- HALL OF FAME George Morrison, Sr. Businessman & Politician

George Morrison, a stone- as the Morrison family home in mason, immigrated to the 1873, provides guest lodging. Mount Vernon area in 1859 Stone for these structures was and became a United States quarried in his “red sandstone Citizen on May 22, 1862. He quarry” at the end of the Dakota helped found the Town of Hogback near Morrison. Mt. Vernon and built the Mt. Building stone was also shipped Vernon House, seat of the to Denver where it comprises territorial government under parts of the Brown Palace Hotel, Robert Steele. He later moved Union Station, and many of south to Bear Creek, where he Denver’s early day mansions. founded the Morrison Lime Mt. Morrison behind Red and Town Co. In 1874 he Rocks Park is also named after platted the town that became George Morrison. In the late known as Morrison, and with 1800s an important regional Governor John Evans was geologic layer of Late Jurassic instrumental in bringing the age, the Morrison Formation, Denver, South Park and Pacific was also named after the small Railroad to Morrison. town of Morrison, and is today As a quarryman, Morrison famous as the first discovery developed the building stone site of three 150-million-year-old and other industrial stone dinosaurs, Apatosaurus, Diplod- (lime, gypsum) of the ocus, and the Colorado state Morrison, Mt. Vernon area, Hotel served as the first home of fossil, Stegosaurus. This discovery bringing fame to the region for Sacred Heart College (now Regis brought world recognition to the its high-quality dimension stone. University), and later as the Mt. Morrison area, and is still celebrat- Two of the three stone buildings Morrison Casino. The Morrison ed today at the nearby Dinosaur he built in Morrison, as well as Schoolhouse he built serviced the Ridge and the Morrison Natural the Mt. Vernon House are still town’s educational needs from its History Museum. standing and are listed on the construction in 1875 until 1955, George Morrison was elected National Register of Historic and now serves as a private to the Jefferson County Hall of Places. The original Evergreen residence. The Cliff House, built Fame in 2003. An Historic Setting on a Stop of the Leyden Rail Route

The old DAV building near I-70 and Harlan in Wheat Ridge, once a popular stop along the Leyden Rail Route, is now the Copper Fields Events Chateau.The Gemini-era space capsule that was once part of the old DAV grounds can now be seen at the Wings Over the Rockies Museum at Lowry Field. Lower right is a memorial to George G. Klumker for whom the chapter was named. Photo courtesy Dick Samuelson, past post commander By Judith Allison patrons leaving late on Saturday passenger travel on the line since nights. Besides imbibing, dancing Sunday excursions were a favorite he rails on the old 83 line had been the other main activity way to while away an afternoon. of the Denver Interurban at that site for nearly 75 years. The literature extolled the TLoop have long since been And how did folks originally get “beautiful countryside, the sold for scrap, but there is a place to that remote yet popular spot? interesting mining operation where the tramway once stopped Thanks to the coalmines at at Leyden, of course, Lookout that still echoes melodies from Leyden and the need for railroads Mountain, reached by a funicular the past. Over the decades, it has to carry the coal back to Denver, railway from Golden- all via the been named many things. With the Denver and Northwestern “Wishbone Route.” (1) a recent renovation, it is now Railway (D&NW) built a tramway Once a route into the country Copper Fields Events Chateau, service along Clear Creek between opened, civilization followed. By near Highway I-70 and Harlan the two points. In l904, a rail line 1920, the D&NW line had built a in Wheat Ridge. linking Arvada to Golden was stop east of Clear Creek junction Many people remember the big built. The junction, at Clear Creek at a pretty little patch near the white building as “the old DAV” east of Wadsworth, was called “the river called Jefferson Park, which where, for safety’s sake, the county wishbone” for the way the tracks was named after the Jefferson constabulary would wait by the configured. The D&NW issued Gold Mining Company. It was a exit road to sniff the breath of publicity folders to increase lively landing zone for weekend

-24- recreation. Picnics and dances frequent visitor to the park. He local veterans, including Mike sponsored by groups such as the once planted a commemorative Caupe and Ernie Shepherd, filed Arvada American Legion were tree on the grounds, but the tree papers in partnership to purchase often held in the grassy expanses and plaque have disappeared. (3) Vasa Park for $60,000 in 1946. along the creek. A trailer park by While throwing its own parties Another veteran, Bogos Sgatalian, the same name was also located such as the annual Midsummer mortgaged his nearby farm near the Jefferson Park stop. Celebration and the annual for $4,000 to help cover the By 1930, a group of Swedish- Swedish Picnic, the Vasa Lodge transaction, which resulted in Americans acquired the Jefferson also made Vasa Park available the transition from the Vasa Park Park property from A. C. Reordon to others wishing to mark their dance pavilion to the Disabled and John Moore. The Vasa Lodge special occasions. of Denver (local chapter of the During the early international Association) quickly 1940s, picnics and set to work making improvements dances were held by to the area. They constructed a groups such as the dance pavilion whose size reflected Arvada American the wide-open spaces around it. Legion, the Arvada The roof was held aloft by heavy Junior chamber of hardwood trusses and beams, while Commerce, the the paneled walls were built to Greek Orthodox slide open in the summer and Community Church closed in winter. The new dance of Denver, and the pavilion was, according to the Arvada Harvest Arvada Enterprise, “…said to be Festival planning one of the best in this part of the committee. country and has many other beau- Throughout tiful features.” Numerous other World War II, Vasa improvements have been made in Park proved to be a the park grounds by the lodge. good spot to sell The entrance to the park is on the war bonds. Hugo Arvada-Denver paved road, just Swanson (also of south of Clear Creek Bridge. (2) Swedish decent) Known from that point as Vasa managed to sell Park it gained wide notoriety for nearly $12,000 in its summertime season. Sporting bonds and stamps events, organized by the Vasa during the summer Lodge tested athletic skills with of 1942. Olympic-style games. Dances at Fundraising dances the impressive new pavilion were were also held said to have drawn crowds at Vasa Park to numbering into the thousands. benefit groups such And why not? The denials imposed as softball leagues, on everyday life by prohibition and the Arvada and the Great Depression could Jaycees. (4) be swept away for a bit with some With so much lively music and friendly company- change resulting along with any bathtub products from WWII, even that may also have circulated. the bit of the world Governor (Big) Ed Johnson (of called Vasa Park was Swedish decent) was reputedly a affected. A group of

-25- American Veterans (DAV) George 1,000 by the 1980s. In 1949, the mother, Ida. His sisters were G. Klumker Chapter #22. There Women’s Auxiliary was founded also members. were thirty-seven charter members, with thirty-six charter members, The George G. Klumker chapter and membership increased to over among them George Klumker’s was named for the 19-year-old

-26- navy pharmacist’s mate, one of Corregidor, and was aboard a Klumker’s honor remains at the first known war casualties Japanese prison ship. The ship was the entrance to Copper Fields. from Arvada. Klumker was sunk by allied forces. The bronze To help pay off the facility, captured during the battle of plaque dedicating the building in the DAV finance officer, Charley

-27- -28- Taylor, installed slot machines in a organization has raised funds to graceful testimony to the back room. Auxiliary members assist those veterans disabled by craftsmanship of days gone by. Bonnie Newell and Pauline Wright their service in the military. Owners Cheryl and John Wise, recall that the slots would Wright, who has volunteered over of Lakewood, have also restored disappear for a time after tips 11,000 hours in 53 years, says the wrap-around bar originally came from someone who knew many of the funds raised by the installed by The DAV, while when the sheriff was planning to DAV go to programs in veterans updating and upgrading other stop by. The slots were played so hospitals, as well as to programs features. Numerous antiques and often that the DAV’s debt was that promote “Americanism,” gilding give the building a feel of briskly reduced and a mortgage- and youth programs. historic elegance along with the burning party was held in July Over the years, the DAV wide-open freedom that really 1950. (5) In June of that year, building was also used as a good dances require. the tramlines ceased operations. meeting site for groups such as Besides a ballroom dance one Interstate 70 follows the same the Sons of Italy, Knights of Sunday a month, open to the sweeping curve as the tracks Columbus, Cub Scout troops, public, Copper Fields is available once did. motorcycle clubs, bagpipe bands for receptions, reunions, holiday Newell, who had visited Vasa and others. The tradition of parties, graduation parties, and Park with her father as he attended community gathering continues as community functions. “We’re just company picnics for Leyden coal Copper Fields hosts several civic incredibly lucky to be able to keep miners, remembers rowdy times at groups such as the Kiwanis and the social traditions of this the DAV. “Saturday nights, we local business associations. building alive,” Cheryl Wise says. really packed ‘em in. Our dance Alas, all parties conk out at “We appreciate all those lives that hall was better than the Rainbow some point. The DAV, which was have come through here. It’s like Ballroom. The band was called The renowned for decades as a place we’re recapturing some of that Naturals. For a time, there was a where dancing, laughter and history. Plus, traditions are all hole in the middle of the dance camaraderie were always on tap, about the future. We believe in floor and there was a light that was merged with another chapter, passing those traditions along to was pointed to shine up the ladies’ and the building was sold in 2000. new generations.” skirts. Early on, they got a lot of More than one generation amid The old Vasa Park Station may men to come around because of thousands of people enjoy their be gone, but at Copper Fields, the strip tease act they had on own special memories of the place. the old melodies linger. Friday nights.” Those concerned about the fate of Pauline Wright, who has the Gemini-era space capsule that SOURCES performed legendary service in the was once part of the old DAV (1) “Mile-High Trolleys,” William C. Jones, Auxiliary, including as a National grounds can see it at the Wings F. Hol Wagner, Jr., Gene C. McKeever; Intermountain Chapter National Railway Commander, remembers the DAV Over the Rockies Museum at Historical Society, Inc.; 1965. grounds as a notable spot for Lowry Field. (2) Arvada Enterprise, courtesy Colorado picnics during the ‘50s, 60s and In 2001, the latest incarnation Historical Society 70s. “We had a little train running of the dance hall opened as (3) Oral notes, Roland Nilsson, Vasa on tracks around the property, and Copper Fields Events Chateau. Society of Denver, 2003 some carnival rides. Lots of groups Once remodeling was begun, an (4) Arvada Enterprise, courtesy Arvada held their summer picnics here; old treasure was discovered. The Historical Society Public Service, Gates Rubber magnificent truss and beam system (5) Written notes, Bob Wilson, Chapter 22 Commander, 1980; oral notes Paulin Wright Company, a lot of clubs.” first built by the Vasa Swedes, and Bonnie Newell, Women’s Auxiliary, 2003 Even with all the revelry, the hidden behind a false ceiling for DAV tended to serious business. years, was exposed. Now restored, Dating from its inception, the the trusses and original dance Disabled American Veterans floor are dominant features, giving

-29- The Leyden Mine

Photo courtesy of Denver Public Library The Leyden Mine site.

By Lawrence Lotito working order; the brothers had In 1902, the Leyden Coal completed a road to the mine, and Company was incorporated by oal was discovered in were selling coal at $3. per ton. Charles Hughes, Jr., Albert Smith, Colorado by accident as This same year, Michael was and Clyde Turnbull. The same Cpioneers searched for gold. murdered near the mine site. year, the Denver and Northwestern Prospectors scrambled north and Tragedy struck again the Railroad began building track south of Clear Creek seeking the following year. Martin and two through Arvada in order to bring yellow color that meant gold. But other men were found dead in the coal from Leyden to Denver. they were to find, not the precious mine, overcome by “fire damp” The mine and railroad were both metal which brought them west, (methane gas). The mine closed. owned by the same people who but an unromantic dirty black In early 1871, the mine caught controlled the Denver Tramway substance-coal-which was to yield fire; probably from spontaneous Company. far more wealth than the gold they combustion. The coal company used the sought. In January 1876, the mine was electric lines of the tramway and More Than Gold, a 1870-1904 again in operation. About 1885, established a large coal yard at Arvada History published by the the mine was sunk to the Leyden 38th Avenue and Tennyson, across Arvada Historical Society in 1976 vein and this mine operated from Elitch Gardens. The first load details the discovery of a coal seam until 1911 when a second mine of coal hauled by trolley from at Leyden in 1865 by three gold was opened. It had a shaft 825 Leyden was delivered on January 6, prospector brothers from Ireland, feet deep, which in l941 was still 1903. Thirty 15-ton dump cars Michael, Martin and Patrick Leyden. the deepest lignite shaft in the were fitted with electric motors By 1869, the mine was in United States. and trolleys were used to haul

-30- the coal from Leyden to the West were suffocated by the smoke and inch. To give an idea of the End Yards. fumes, and the disaster was horrify- volume, 1.9 billion cubic feet of A minimum of 300 tons per ing to the citizens of Colorado. A gas will supply 12,000 homes for day was needed to run the Denver full report of the disaster was print- a year. The volume of the mine Tramway system. By working the ed in the 1994 edition of Historical - caverns can also be expressed as mine 24 hours about 1,000 tons ly Jeffco. The mine was closed for a 3,300 acre feet of water. of coal could be mined per day year after the disaster, but the dam- The gas storage was used to and in order to produce the age was repaired and the mining shore up gas supplies for Denver amount of coal, about 200 miners operations continued. during unexpected peak periods were employed. Most commuted In the Arvada Historical Society of consumption. from Arvada by streetcar, some publication Arvada – Just Between In November 1999. natural gas from Denver. You and Me, 1985, it is noted was found about 800 feet below The company built small homes that in 1932, despite the the surface and 175 feet outside for some of the workers, and in depression, the Leyden Mine of the edge of the coal mine area. 1903, Robert Perry, who was the greatly increased its business. The The city of Arvada expressed manager of the mines, named the mine had 85 employees with the concern about public safety, given town “Leyden” after the three average annual wage of $2,085. the migration of the gas outside of brothers who had first discovered The mine closed in 1950. the mine. Public Service Company and worked the mine. This is the Nothing much happened until then agreed to decommission the basis of the “Centennial Year” September 1959, when the mine storage facility. for Leyden. became an underground storage Currently, plans are proceeding On the night of December 14 for natural gas – one of three such for converting the mine into a 1910, a fire that had been burning facilities in the nation. The caverns water storage facility for a growing for several years, and had been left after digging out the coal were Arvada requirement. sealed off, managed to work air tight, and huge. They held What would the Leyden through the cavern walls and flared three billion cubic feet of gas at brothers have thought of these up in the working area. Ten miners the pressure of 300 pounds to the changes?

The Leyden Coalmine Tram. Courtesy of Denver Public Library

-31- Photo courtesy of Golden Pioneer Museum Climbing Lookout Mountain before the Lariat Trail was built Lingering Along Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway by Carole Lomond of the Lariat Loop Mountain governed by Jefferson County, Gateway Heritage Area in 2000. Colorado special districts and n impressive variety of Citizen-initiated land preservation dedicated community volunteers. world-class scenic vistas, from 1912 to the 1990s prevented Railroads supported industrial Acultural and ecological development of nearly one-third booms in Golden and Morrison characteristics, education and of the land within the 150-square- in the 1870s. Both municipalities research institutions and historical mile Colorado Heritage Area have maintained authentic histori- sites are easily accessed along the from Clear Creek Canyon to Bear cal identities. 40-mile Lariat Loop Scenic Circle Creek Canyon, Golden and Pioneer settlements in the Drive that was popular during Morrison to Evergreen. foothills began to benefit from the 1920s. It was designated as Trails and roadways in the visitors who came to fish, hike, a Colorado Scenic & Historic “Gateway to the Rockies” have and camp by the 1880s. Investors Byway in 2002. connected people with natural attempted to sell summer cabin Of twenty-four designated splendors, historic treasures, recre- lots in 1890 at the City on the Colorado Scenic and Historic ation pleasures and geologic won- Hill on Lookout Mountain Byways, the Lariat Loop is the ders since the 1800s. Only 16,000 (designed by Frederick Law Olm- only drive within minutes of the of the 50,000 Heritage Area sted), Troutdale in Evergreen (J.D. Denver Metropolitan area. Com- population live in two municipali- Babcock) and Eden Park in Indi- munity volunteers worked for ties. Today, most of the area an Hills. Lack of city water sys- three years to gain designation (93%) remains unincorporated, tems and unreliable wagon roads

-32- caused most resort ventures to fail. Depression and World War II. A Space revenues from being raided During the American Progres- second surge of foothills “settlers” by county commissioners. sive Era (1896-1916), Denver busi- began arriving in the 1950s. Water By 2003, Jeffco had preserved nessmen scouted the pristine and fire districts were established more than 52,000 acres (20,000 foothills for scenic treasures for and second-stage schoolhouses acres within the Lariat Loop Her- recreation and conservation to were joined into a consolidated itage Area) through acquisition, attract tourists. Members of Den- county school district. By 1970, joint-ventures with cities and leases ver’s Real Estate Exchange, Motor many Jefferson County citizens of federal land. Jefferson County Club and Chamber of Commerce were alarmed by the chaos of Open Space (JCOS) is the most convinced Mayor Photo courtesy of Golden Pioneer Museum successful pro- Speer to promote gram of its kind their unique plan in the United for a Mountain States. Like Den- Park System. It ver’s mission in was “Denver’s 1912, JCOS aims chance to open “to provide a liv- a gateway into the ing resource of mountains and… open space lands make Colorado and waters… for more attractive to the physical, psy- tourists than chological, recre- Switzerland.” ational, and social After Denver vot- enjoyment of pre- ers approved sent and future funding in 1912, generations.” Den- the city built ver and Jefferson roads for motor County are now vehicles to access coordinating a the Mountain future plan of Parks from 1914- trail connections. 1930. The most trea- The historic sured legacy of Scenic Circle the Lariat Loop began at Golden Heritage Area is (Lariat Trail) or 45,000 acres of Morrison (Bear native land and Creek Canyon) to wildlife habitat Photo courtesy of Denver Parks and Recreation access Lookout Top: Climbing Lookout Mountain after the Lariat Trail was built preserved by gov- Mountain, Ever- Bottom: Picnic in Mt.Vernon Canyon, 1915 ernment agencies, green, and Mount developers and Evans. “unmanaged growth.” land conservancies. A variety of The Mountain Park System was Citizens formed “PLAN Jeffco” recreation opportunities are avail- admired worldwide, but the Den- in 1972 to support a one-half able, including 80 miles of trails ver Parks Commission fought and cent sales tax to fund an Open for hikers, bicycles, and equestri- won many political and legal bat- Space Program that gained voter ans. Further recreation activities tles to protect 14,000 acres (9,000 approval. Like Denver’s Mountain are available, such as fishing, boat- within Lariat Loop Heritage area) Parks Committee, 60 years earlier, ing, kayaking, rollerbladeing, from 1914 to 1928. PLAN Jeffco leaders fought many paragliding, ice skating, and cross JeffCo’s mountain villages bene- political and legal battles from country skiing. fited from tourism until the Great 1978 to 1990 to protect Open The mystical nature of Colorado

-33- Photo courtesy of Boettcher Mansion Along the Lariat Loop...

Lookout Mountain Charles Boettcher built a beautifully crafted summer home at an elevation of 7500 feet on Lookout Mountain in 1917. The exquisite “Lorraine Lodge,” carriage house, well house, gazebo, and entrance gate are of American Arts and Crafts architecture designed by Fisher & Fisher.

Genesee The “Sculptured House” designed by Architect Charles Deaton was initially built in 1963-66 east of Genesee Park at 7800 feet elevation. Clearly visible from I-70, it became known as the “Sleeper House” from Woody Allen’s 1973 movie. It was nominated for the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

El Rancho El Rancho restaurant has provided extraordinary views of the Continental Divide for millions of visitors at the top of Mount Vernon Canyon at I-70 and Evergreen Parkway since 1947.

-34- Photo courtesy Denver Public Library,Western History is evident within the Lariat Loop. Most residents and visitors are 30 minutes from Denver (elevation 5,283) or Mount Evans (elevation 14,265), 7 minutes from a pristine nature trail, 5 minutes from a nineteenth century historical site and 3 minutes from an inspira- tional city or mountain view. They can view dinosaurs tracks and the geologic formations of the Rockies. They can also Photo courtesy Denver Public Library,Western History explore, archaeology and pioneer culture, railroad history or the lat- est renewable energy research and a wide variety of museums and sites along the Historic & Scenic Lariat Loop. Of 16,000 mountain backdrop preserved acres, 10,000 may be viewed from the I-70 “Gateway to the Rockies.” There are 25 trail miles within the historic backdrop for hikers, bikers, equestrians, wildlife watchers, naturalists, dog walkers, and geology-archaeology- history buffs. Denver metro resi- dents benefit from scenic preser- vation of Windy Saddle, Apex, Matthews-Winters, Red Rocks, and Mount Falcon parks. For a list of historic sites, with histories and explanations of each site, along this area see the book “Lariat Loop, Scenic & Historic Byway,” by Carol Lomond, editor of City and Mountain Views. Photo by M. Goldman, courtesy Denver Theatres & Arenas

Top Photo: Echo Lake, 1926 2nd Photo: Evergreen Lake, 1930 3rd Photo: Hiwan Homestead Museum 4th Photo: Concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre

-35- Photo by Milly Roeder South Table Mountain is the farthest eastern extent of the Rockies in the Denver area and provides an historical backdrop for Golden’s skyline. It is rich in archaeology and human history. Golden’s Endangered Sites List By Milly Ro e d e r h i sto r ic designation, and to ru g g ed Ro cky Mountains. Golden e n c o u ra ge a gre a ter pre s e r va t i o n was the closest place where people n 2002, at the sugge stion of e f f o r t, GHPB will annually identify could ex p e r ience these inspiri n g some Golden residents and the city’s most endange re d landscapes in a short exc u rs i o n Ie l e c t ed officials, the Golden l a n d m a r k s and landscapes with th e f rom Denve r. H i sto r ic Pre s e r vation Board a s s i stance of all inte r e s ted part i e s (GHPB) initiated a pro a c t i ve eff o r t in the community. 1. S o u t h Table Mountain is th e to aid in the pre s e r vation of T h ree sites, according to a num- fa r th e st easte r n ex tent of th e h i sto r ic st r u c t u re and vistas of th e ber of fa c to rs the Golden Histo r i c Ro ckies in the Denver area and c i t y. Pa t te r ned after the sta te - w i d e P re s e r vation Board set up, we re p rovides an histo r ical back d ro p “ M o st Endange red Places List” s e l e c t ed for designation as Endan- for Golden’s skyline. It is ri ch in of Colorado Pre s e r vation, Inc., ge red Sites for 2003. All th r ee site s a rchaeology and human histo r y. G H P B ’s Endange red Sites List re f lect the exc e ptional role th e 2 . We l ch Ditch was one of the fi r st is designed to identify and e nv i ronment played in the histo r y man-made controls to wa ter and help save Golden’s th re a te n e d of Golden. People came here, set- became the home of many large , h i sto r ic places. tled here and stayed here because l o n g - standing trees that helped Some of Golden’s histo ric places of the proximity to Ameri c a ’s most d i sti nguish Golden as a “Tre e a re incre a s i n g ly th r e a ten ed by m aj e stic mountains. Golden City USA.” p r e s s u res from development and e n j oye d ex p a n s i ve vistas of th e 3 . Golden To u r i st Park was one d ete r i o r ation. To bring attention to f o othills and was the stepping of the fi rst places in Ameri c a those places not prote c ted by o f f place for adve n t u res into th e w h e re 20th century city dwe l l e rs

-36- could camp and enjoy th e Two neighboring st r u c t u res on corbelled cornice and a ga b l e d m o u n tain vistas up close and Wa s h i n g ton Avenue, Nu m b e r s 1211 pediment. A re sta u rant was on th e under the shelte r ing canopy and 1213, not only shared fi rst floor and the hotel on th e of maj e st i c a l ly spre a d i n g a wall, but also shared ow n e rs for second fl o o r . Rich a rd J. Gard n e r c o t t o nwood tre e s . some time. Charles Garbareno and d e s c r ibed the establish-ment as his brother Louis we r e immigra n t s s e r ving Italian cuisine and ice These th r ee places stand out as f r om Monte Bruno, Ita ly and had c ream, and having the fi rst soda places that helped us to define and l i v ed in Pe o r ia, Illinois and St . f o u n tai n in Golden. Archie M. continue to remind us to d ay of Louis before coming to Golden in D e F rance and Charles Garbare n o our env i ro n m e n tal heri t a ge. All 1866. The broth e r s acqu i re d o p e ra ted the hotel and re s ta u ra n t th r ee are endange r ed. All th r e e p r o p e r ty to g ether and over time, f r om 1878 to 18 84, the year of d e s e r ve continued vigilance lest became we l l - k n own in Golden’s C h a r l e s’ death, when Italian fri e n d th ey be lost to the rava g es of I talian population. John Chiovenda took ove r. The d e velopment and decay. Wi t h The two - sto r y Avenue Hotel at building had ch a n ged hands and c a r e and attention th e y can all 1211 Wa s h i n g ton Avenue began as names seve ral times until 1906, and be pre s e r ve d . the City Re sta u rant. It was built by William H. and son Clyde L. Ad a pted with permission fro m C h a r les Garbareno in early 1870 of A s h w o r th bought the pro p e r t y. G o l d e n ’s Endange r ed Sites List. ye l l ow bri ck with darker decora t i ve Then by 1910 the dete r i o ra te d b ri c k w ork to which an elabora te b a l c o n y and porch we re re m ove d GOLDEN HISTORIC b a l u st rade adorning the balcony a f ter Golden citizen Wa l te r SITE DESIGNAT I O N S and bra c keted porch we re added in S we etser had fallen th r ough th e T h r ee histo r ic st r u c t u res in 1871. The façade was modern i z e d fl o o r. Prohibition closed th e Golden have re c e i ved histo r ic twice, once in 19 31 and then in saloon in 1914 and H. Hough s i t e designation in recent ye a rs . 1962. To d ay, the roof is flat with a bought and managed the hotel and

The two-story Avenue Hotel at 1211 Washington Avenue began as the City Restaurant. It was built by Charles Garbareno in early 1870.Although the original, elaborate façade of the Avenue Hotel was demolished, it was replaced by remarkable Depression-era design and remains one of the few intact storefronts of that kind on Washington Street. The Avenue Hotel was designated a historic structure by the City of Golden on September 10, 2001. Photos courtesy of Golden Historic Preservation Board

-37- Welch Ditch was one of the first man-made controls to Golden Tourist Park was one of the first places in America water and became the home of many large, long-standing where 20th century city dwellers could camp and enjoy trees that helped distinguish Golden as a “Tree City the mountain vistas up close and under the sheltering USA.” canopy of majestically spreading cottonwood trees.

The Arthur D. Quaintance home at 1800 Washington Avenue was built in 1924. It is a good example of Craftsman style with a red-tile roof, clipped gable ends with stucco, half timbering, shaped false beams, and decorative brickwork. It was designated as a historic structure by the City of Golden on February 4, 2003.

-38- re sta u rant in 1916. J. Rose bought second floor from the Ave n u e the pro p e r ty soon after that and H otel next door. The two pairs of remodeled the sto r e f ront with double-hung windows have b r i ck and turned the inte r ior to d e c o ra t i ve bri ck surrounds. Since KEN-CARYL “ Ro s e ’s Paint Sto r e” in 19 31. Fi ve 19 31, a paneled doorway to the left ye a rs late r , the building’s nex t p r ovides access to the upper fl o o rs ARCHAEOLOGICAL ow n e r, J. E. Clute, turned it into of both buildings. The pre s e n t DISTRICT “ G a m b l e ’s Department Sto r e . ” A a n g led sto r e f ront was const r u c te d ch a n ge occurred on the fi r st fl o o r in 1962. A corbelled bri ck corn i c e In this archaeological in 1962, when a canopy, plate gl a s s c row ns the st r u c t u re. Re i m e r district, multiple sites, d i s p l ay windows and a centra l ret i red in 1955 and the new ow n e r recessed entrance with a tra n s o m ch a n ged the gro c e r y sto re into a including camps and a b o ve the door tota l l y tra n s f o r m e d book sto r e, which continued until specialized activity sites, the previous front. Although th e the early 1970s. The space has indicate an occupation o r iginal, elabora te façade of th e since been used by Image Hair period of about 4000 Avenue Hotel was demolished, it D e s i g n e r s. The Ashwo r th Building years from about 3000 was replaced by re m a r k a b l e Saloon was designated as a histo r i c B.C. through 1000 A.D. D e p re s s i o n - e ra design and re m a i n s st r u c t u re of the City of Golden on People may have lived one of the few intact sto r e f ronts of O c t ober 10, 2001 and now awa i t s here year-round, but that kind on Wa s h i n g ton St re et . re sto r ation. winter and spring were The Avenue Hotel was designated a A r thur D. Quaintance built his h i sto r ic st r u c t u re by the City of house at 1800 Wa s h i n g ton Ave n u e probably the most favored Golden on September 10, 2001. in 19 24. It is a good exa m ple of seasons.The district has In 1870, Charles Garbareno built C r a f tsman st y le with a red-tile ro o f , yielded and can continue the servants house next to the City clipped gable ends with st u c c o , to yield important Re sta u rant hotel. Two ye a rs late r, a half timbering, shaped false beams, information about second st r u c t u re was added to th e and decora t i ve bri c k w o r k. The settlement strategies and f r ont of the tract with two large m a t e r ials are similar to those used subsistence patterns of f o u r-pane windows and a centra l to const ruct some of the buildings prehistoric groups who door for a saloon. of the Colorado School of Mines. inhabited the hogbacks When Clyde L. Ashwo r th and In 1993, the house was awa rded a his son bought the Avenue Hote l c e r t i f i c a te of merit by the GHPD. and foothills of eastern at 1211 Wa s h i n g ton Avenue in As a grandson of “Jesse” Colorado.The district can 1906, th e y also acqu i red th e Q u a i n tance, who had built th e also address questions adjacent saloon at 1213 fi rst flour mill in Golden in 187 0 , regarding chronology and Wa s h i n g ton Avenue, to r e down th e A r thur D. was a member of one of palaeo-environmental o n e - sto r y building of 1873 and the founding families of Golden. conditions. Much of the c o n st r u c ted a two - sto r y fra m e A r th u r ’s daughte r , Pat, grew up information gathered is st r u c t u re instead, the pre s e n t and was married to Leo Bra d l e y in the result of 30 years of A s h w o r th Building Saloon. Un t i l this house. Seve ral other Golden surveying, testing, and 1914, when Prohibition shut dow n couples also we re married here . the saloon, it had seen th r e e Thus the site port r ays th e excavation by the Denver d i f fe rent ow n e rs. H. Hough e nv i ronment of a group of people Chapter of the Colorado bought and owned it since 1916 , of the post Wo r ld War I era Archaeological Society. when Fred Reimer acqu i r ed th e b et ween 1920 and 1940. The The district was listed in building in 1930. He cove red th e A r thur D. Quaintance House wa s the National Register in f r ont with gray bri ck. insta l l e d d e s i g n a ted as a histo r ic st r u c t u re April 2003. d i s p l ay windows and turned th e by the City of Golden on Fe b r u a r y saloon into a gro c e r y sto re th e 4, 2003. n ext ye a r. He also separa ted th e

-39- Lost Places in Jefferson County

This century-old house and outbuildings on Falcon Wing Road near Mt. Falcon Photos by Milly Roeder Open Space are slated for demolition to make way for new homes.

By Milly Roeder the house, built in 1901, and the disproportionate large dormer outbuildings are slated for window have lit up a room in the istoric places in Jefferson demolition. They will be replaced attic for an older child? What can County tell of the people with magnificent new homes. be seen as added to the west may Hwho have lived there. The idyllic, rolling land is now have been a bigger kitchen. From They may have been businessmen, covered with meadow grasses and there a modern wooden deck engineers, farmers, hotel keepers or ponderosa pines and is cut by an invited family and friends to have pursued any other occupa- intermittent stream that still enjoy the sunset on late summer tion. Not all buildings erected dur- provides shrubs on its edges with evenings. The stone fireplace in ing the early times of the county essential moisture for growth. The the corner was broken long ago were architectural marvels or har- gradual enlargement of the tiny and left unfit for safe use. A bored a significant person. Some L-shaped house with a com- cinderblock pumphouse near sheltered families out of which bination of a pyramidal and the stream had a pyramidal roof. grew remarkable people. All con- hipped roof tells the story of an Water needs for house and tributed their part to the social emerging family. The corner space outbuildings may have been taken fabric and deserve to be preserved was filled out by a room with a care of here. Space for modern as a tribute to our heritage. Here very shallow sloped roof. Was style physical workout was offered are a few of those buildings and the small window added for a in a one-room house in the their stories that may stimulate the bathroom? The big windows of southwest corner of the property. minds of readers. the closed porch in back to the A massive garage with four large We don’t know much about the south provided warm space in doors higher up on the hill and property on Falcon Wing Road on cold winters. Plantings in front close to the road could have the way to Mt. Falcon Open Space indicate a change of entrance from housed all kinds of farming Park in Indian Hills, except that the north to the south side. Could machinery. Ten new large homes -40- are planned here to cover the land be read from the birdcage that the of many years ago lay flung open on which horses may have grazed owners had built there. What kind on the perfect hard-wood floor of or galloped, strong-armed men of birds may have so intrigued the the barn. Did the ladder with a may have baled hay and kids owners? Did an exotic cockatoo stoop on top on the outside of may have caught crawdads in greet family members or visitors one the houses lead up to the the stream. with a shrieking “How are you?” small attic refuge of a young The Dickerson Farm at the Or when you asked it, “Do you person? The historian’s dream is southeast corner of South Kipling talk?” did it sternly answer, “No!” gone and nothing was left but a Boulevard and Quincy Avenue Did a handful of chirping birds huge, bulldozed raw field, a vast was not allowed to pass on its sing about the county’s plains? desert of brown earth, ready for rich history. Its destruction in Imagine sitting there on a mild conspicuous housing. December 2000, before it could summer evening in light breeze, The bridge at Idledale that have been professionally listening to the birds or yourself crossed Sawmill Gulch on Highway documented, caught this singing with your friends. In the 74 was built during the Great preservationist by surprise. living room near the bird cage, Depression in 1935 by members The growth of this property once flourished a now shriveled of the Civilian Conservation Corps and its occupiers and their habits shrub in a corner filled with dry (CCC). It was deemed eligible to over time could be read by the soil. Numerous flower pot rings the State Register of Historic Prop- construction dates of two homes on deep sills in the bay window erties. Sixty-five years of use and built across from each other in revealed a creative, plant loving neglect required improvement – as 1910 and 1930. One side of a person. Crushed musical records did other bridges along Bear Creek. small historic barn with a cupola were strewn around in the deserted By the end of the year 2000, the on the roof closed the east side of house and a book on ancient bridge was buried under infill. The the space between them to form a Mexico lay rain-soaked in the yard. gulch was “gullied,” the widened courtyard. Some of its story could A box full of Christmas greetings road was stripped of its sidewalks,

The Dickerson Farm at the southeast corner of South Kipling Boulevard and Quincy Avenue was not allowed to pass on its rich history. It was demolished in December 2000, before it could be documented.

-41- The bridge at Idledale that crossed Sawmill Gulch on Highway 74 was built during the Great Depression in 1935 by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It was deemed eligible to the State Register of Historic Properties.

the concrete guard rails were irretrievable structures and us document and record the arti- replaced with those according to landscapes. Destroyed and facts and structures. Let us code, and the 1935 construction permanently gone. Lost are not describe the landscapes and let us marker was gone. Also eliminated only the physical remains, lost is tell the stories. Leave something for drivers coming through the also the history and the stories for your kids and the kids of our hamlet was the sense of landscape, that give this county its life. And newcomers so they will know the joy to curve across the valley what about the artifacts, such as a where they are growing up. of a small stream. wickiup, a grinding stone or Jefferson County’s new Land- Some historic sites were saved carved trees left by thousands of mark Program allows us to pre- from total eradication, some were years of Ute, Cheyenne and serve our heritage in its historic about to be saved, others were lost Arapahoe life? sites and commemorate its prehis- or about to be lost, all If destruction is unavoidable, let toric life. Let’s do it.

-42- New Landmark Program Historic Sites Designated in Jefferson County

On October 18, 2003, Jefferson County Historical Commission (JCHC) will present the first Jefferson County Landmark Certificates of Designation to eleven properties. This will culminate the many hours of hard work and dedication by the volunteers on the Preservation Committee and the Landmark Committee in co-operation with the Planning and Zoning Department. See JCHC Highlights page 44 for details of the program.

Romano Family Residence Big Chief Cabin

John Antweiler Residence Bear’s Inn Bed and Breakfast

Governor Vivian Mansion Sampson School

(Continued on back cover) -43- JEFFCO HISTORICAL COMMISSION MEMBERS (Year Appointed, 2003 Committees and Bio)

Deborah Andrews, Lucy Bambrey, 2002 Viona “Vi” Hader, Max Haug, 1997 – Lee Heideman, 2002 – Erlene Hulsey-Lutz, Carole Lomond, 2000 – Chair Historic – Historic 1985 – Hall or 2003 Chair., serves Corresponding 1986 – Chair 1997 – Hall of Preservation, Preservation. Fame, Publication as ex-officio on all Secretary, Publication, Publication, Historic Fame, History, Landmark Teaches Distribution, Liaison committees. Writers’ Award, Preservation, liaison Lariat Loop. Designation, Grants. Anthropology, to Festival of the Liaison to Rocky Lankmarks Designation Landmark Designation. Publisher/Editor Founder Andrews & Archaeology, Earth West. Past Manager Flats Hist. Group, Former writer/editor Member Wheat Ridge “City & Mountain Anderson Sciences, Golden Chamber of Past President at NPS, taught history Historical Society. Views” news- Architecture. Historic Environmental Law, Commerce, Curator Olde Town Arvada in JR/SR high, writes 4th generation magazine and restoration specialist and Property Law; Astor House & Assoc.& Arvada history column Coloradoan. Real guidebook “Lariat since 1983; lives on lives in Conifer. Foothills Art Center; Historical Society;. in “Mountain Estate Broker. Active Loop Historic Lookout Mountain. lives in Golden. lives in Arvada. Connection.” Author; in numerous civic Scenic Circle”; lives in Conifer. organizations; lives in lives in Mt.Vernon Wheat Ridge. Canyon.

JCHC HIGHLIGHTS

CULTURAL RESOURCE SURVEY Phase II has been completed and Phase III will begin in the fall of 2003 with a grant from the State Historical Fund and Jefferson County. This phase will concentrate on the North Fork Historic District. HISTORIC LANDMARK PROGRAM We are excited that we now have a way for property owners to identify and designate their historic home, barn, landscape, or any other property, as significant to Jefferson County’s heritage. Until now, the only means of recognition were the National Register of Historic Places and the State Historic Register. Many historic places in the county have been listed in one of these two registers. While these structures have a widespread significance, it is often hard to meet their criteria. However, local designation allows for a variety of criteria that are more specific to places in the county. Take examples such as the Coney Island hot dog restaurant in Aspen Park on Highway 285, the “Sculptured House” on Jefferson County I-70 near Genesee, the site of Arapahoe City near Golden, or an historic quartz quarry. Let’s not forget the old mill sites or the many old building in the mountains; all properties unique to our local area and Historical Commission to our heritage. These alone are great reasons to pursue listing of your property, but what other benefits are there? And how does this affect your privacy and property rights? Not to worry, the Landmark Program is a fully voluntary program with no interference with property rights. A property can only be nominated and designated with an owner’s written permission. There are no mandatory restrictions on the use or disposal of one’s property. However, once designated, and to retain its status as a historic property, alterations can only be made if they are compatible with and sympathetic to their past. The Landmark Committee will help owners review their plans and advise them on intended changes to their property.

JCHC MEMBERS (continued) COMMISSION STAFF NOT PICTURED: New Members 2003: George Hurst and Burdette Weare On leave of absence: Donald E. Ebner and Lorre Gibson.

Angela M. Rayne, Richard Simmons, Joyce Weedon, 2001 – Duncan Susan Casteleneto, Signy Mikita, liaison 2003 – Historic 1997 – Vice Chair, Recording Secretary, Hall McCollum, Archives & from Planning and Preservation, Land- Chair Procedure and of Fame, Historic Jefferson County Records Zoning mark Designation. Bylaws, Budget & Preservation, Landmark Archives & Management Department Archaeologist, Finance,Writers’ Designation. Former Records secretary since Preservationist, Award. Pilot, flight member Historical & Management 1995. Curator. Currently instructor, Manager Architectural Sites Director since Curator for Hiwan & Principal Commission and other 1993. Homestead Museum, Sunamerica community organizations Jefferson County Open Securities; lives in in Decatur, Ill.; lives in Space, lives in Golden. Arvada. South Jeffco.

-44- Larry Lotito, 1999 – Norman Meyer, 1986 Mark McGoff, 2003 – Tim Montgomery, 2001 Rita Peterson, 1981 – Jack Raven, 1997 – Milly Roeder, 1995 – Publication, – Publication and Grants, Publication. – Treasurer, Chair Chair Hall of Fame, Chair Education, Chair Writers’ Education, Hall Distribution,Writers’ Retired, Colorado Budget and Finance, Education,Writers’ Publication Award, Historic of Fame. 3rd Award, Place Names Department of Procedure and Bylaws.. Award, Landmark Distribution, Past Preservation, generation Directory. Pilot, Corrections; Past Active in many Arvada Designation. President Arvada Publication, Landmark Coloradoan (1887), rancher, journalist, Chair, Colorado charitable & public Secretary American Historical Society, Designation. English- retired Air Force developer. Much of Endowment for the organizations, including Cancer Society Rocky Arvada Lions Club, German translator, officer, meteorology Meyer family ranch Humanities; Past Arvada City Planning & Mountain Division Arvada Cemetery Consultant for Urban career, knighted by now “Jeffco Open President,Arvada Zoning Commission. Board and Chair Association. Retired Design; historical Italian Government, Space Park. Historical Society. Public Accountant & Senior Resource Safeway Manager; researcher; grants lives in Arvada. Colorado native; lives Lives in Arvada. Management Center Board; lives in lives in Arvada. writer; lives in near Conifer Consultant; lives in Lakewood. Lakewood. Arvada.

Owners of historic property are encouraged to think about nominating it for DISCLAIMER designation. We believe that researching the history of your building or land will The information in this magazine is solely raise your pride in your property. It will become infectious and you will want to provided by the authors. JCHC, the Board of know more as you continue to investigate. Just imagine how family, visitors, County Commissioners and the Historically Jeffco customers or clients would love to see and hear about the history of your committee are not responsible for the opinions of building or landscape. authors and the content of their articles. An added benefit to property owners, planning a commercial or non-profit business on their historic property, is that designation may make them eligible to OBTAINING COPIES receive grants from the State Historical Fund. In some cases state or federal tax Copies can be purchased for $5 at the Depart- credit may apply. Another benefit of owning an historic property may be increased ment of Archives and Records Management.The property value, because of its historic significance. magazine is available free of charge to members The Jefferson County Historical Commission will now award owners of locally of Jefferson County Historical Societies. designated historic sites with a Certificate of Designation at its annual Hall of Fame ceremony. The process to designate your historic property is simple and FOR MORE INFORMATION straightforward. Just do some research into the history of your home or land. Many The Archives and Records Management applications have already been received as a result of information gathered during Department has further information for the JCHC’s Cultural Resource Survey, conducted between 1999 and 2003, which has those interested in history and historic helped property owners in their research.The Landmark Committee eagerly awaits preservation in Jefferson County, plus your applications and the opportunity to guide you to the appropriate resources. applications for Commission membership. To receive an information packet on Jefferson County’s Landmark Program, call Call Duncan McCollum at 303-271-8446. Signy Mikita, at (303) 271-8734.

COUNTY COMMISSIONERS JEFFCO WRITERS AWARD CONTEST Jefferson County Historical Commission invites writers of all ages to participate in its Writers’ Award Contest. All topics must relate directly to the factual history The Jefferson County Historical Commission members of Jefferson County. For new contest are appointed by the Board of County Commissioners. rules and application forms, please The current County Commissioners are (from left): contact Duncan McCollum at Archives Richard Sheehan, Michelle Lawrence and Pat Holloway. and Records Management Department at 303-271-8446.

-45- Historic Sites in Jefferson County’s Landmark Program

Duplex Cabin

Alex Anderson Residence

See Landmark Program stories pages 43 and 44.

Patricia Hunt Residence

The Yellow Barn

The Little Chapel in the Hills Jefferson County Historical Commission Archives & Records Management, Rm 1500 Prsrt Std 100 Jefferson County Parkway U.S. Postage PAID Golden, CO 80419 Permit #148 Golden, CO

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