2018 WINNER Best of Show – National Association of County Information Officers (NACIO) Annual Awards of Excellence Issue 40, 2019 40, Issue Historical Tourism in Jefferson County The Tepees, a popular restaurant, dance hall and tourist attraction in Evergreen, 1949. Fansher Photo Collection, Jefferson County Archives History Matters! There is something about history: the way it connects As it turns out, history is a perishable resource. It takes our past, present and future generations; the way it shapes nurturing and persistence to understand it, preserve it and our beliefs about our cultures and ourselves; the way it pass it along. You can help. In this magazine, you will learn beckons and obligates us to look more carefully at where about our County’s history and about opportunities to be we come from, who we are, and who we want to be as involved in preserving it. If you own an eligible historic individuals and as a society. property, consider having it listed as a County or State Part of the mission of the Jefferson County Historical landmark and on the National Register of Historic Places. If Commission is to convey our County’s history and help you are involved in land development, consider retaining preserve the special places and stories that allow us and incorporating historic structures and landscapes into to experience and understand ourselves and this place your development. If you are an educator, consider we call home. As our County goes through growth and different ways of incorporating history into your teachings. change due to the influx of people from other places and If you are a resident, consider sharing historic photos and the forward march of generations through time, we can all stories with history-focused organizations and museums help maintain balance between the old and the new by and then supporting them. preserving historic places and stories so that new neighbors We members of the Jefferson County Historical Commission and visitors can connect with our local history, and take are here to help. Together we can preserve and share our part in what makes our communities so very special. history with each other and future generations. Lee Katherine Goldstein—Chair Contents 2 John Brisben Walker: A Father of Foothills Tourism by Andrea Keppers Published by the Jefferson County 6 Early Tourism in Jefferson County Historical Commission (JCHC) by Bonnie E. Scudder Chair: Lee Katherine Goldstein 9 100 Years Ago: Birth of the Golden Chautauqua JCHC Publications Committee by Richard Gardner Editor: PJ Jones 13 Golden’s Holland House a Hotel Famous for Food Photo Editor: Richard Scudder by Mark Dodge Design & Layout: Steve Sparer 16 Mother Cabrini Shrine Draws Pilgrims from Near and Far Issue 40, 2019 • ISSN 1532-6047 By Lee Katherine Goldstein The information in this magazine is solely provided by the authors. JCHC, the 18 Historical Tourism in Jeffco Through the Years Board of County Commissioners and the Publications Committee are not responsible for the opinions of authors or the content of their articles. 20 The Mystery of the Town of Apex by Richard Gardner 24 The Apex Toll Road by Lee Katherine Goldstein 26 Trout Fishing in Morrison by J. Leo 27 The Irvington and Riverside Homes of Pine Grove by Richard Scudder with W. Harold Mooney 29 The New York Building at the Jewish Consumptive Relief Society By John Steinle 31 History of Morrison’s Fire Department and Fire Engines By J. Leo 34 Tourism Focus Draws Crowd to 2019 Symposium In Memoriam by Cynthia Shaw 35 Staunton State Park’s Rich History on Display at New Visitor Center Doyle R. Harrison by Bonnie E. Scudder and Deborah Darnell (1957 – 2019) 38 160 Years Ago: Massive Solar Eruption by Richard Gardner This issue of Historically Jeffco magazine is dedicated to the memory of our dear colleague and friend, Doyle 39 125 Years Ago: Jeffco’s First Woman Elected to Public Office by Richard Gardner Harrison. Doyle served as graphic designer of Historically Jeffco from 2011 to 2018, and his skills, passion and keen 41 50 Years Ago: Golden Post Office Construction Site Collapse eye played a big part in making it the award-winning by Richard Gardner publication it has now become. 42 Golden’s Sacrifice at Normandy A 32-year employee of Jefferson County in the Planning by Richard Gardner and Zoning Division, Doyle found satisfaction in 43 Profiles of Three Pioneer Women of Six Mile Creek continuing his professional development from the days by Marjorie Rodman of literal cut-and-paste to today’s state-of-the-art digital 48 The Dollhouse Library of Morrison design platforms. He enjoyed helping many County by Karen Land Cranford departments and organizations with graphic design and 51 Guest Authors’ Biographies technical support to help them achieve clear, high-quality communication to the public. He also extended a helping 52 Jefferson County Hall of Fame: Saint Frances Xavier “Mother” Cabrini hand to his community, schools and church, always using 53 Jefferson County Hall of Fame: Steve Friesen his talents however needed. 54 Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave Doyle’s work can be admired in a wide range of Jeffco Norm and Ethel Meyer Award for Historic Preservation in Jefferson County Historical Commission projects, including architectural 55 Historically Jeffco Magazine Wins sketches of Historic Landmarks for the Hall of Fame and of Three National Awards the Jeffco Administration and Courts Facility, on display in the court-side Judges’ Wall exhibit. Doyle’s distinctive eye 56 Jefferson County Historical Commission for design is also evident in JCHC’s many informational brochures, programs and other printed materials. Doyle brought a standard of excellence to everything he did for which we will be forever proud. He believed—and his work showed—that “Good Design is Clear Thinking Made Visible” (Edward Tufte). Historically Jeffco 2019 1 HISTORICAL TOURISM John Brisben Walker: A Father of Foothills Tourism By Andrea Keppers, Curator & Education Specialist, Hiwan Homestead Museum he relentlessly curious, peripatetic and The 1880s was a good time to be an entrepre- entrepreneurial John Brisben Walker neur in Denver—the city was booming, and T brought each of these qualities to bear Walker was always looking for new opportuni- in his drive to ties. Thus, he purchased 40 acres of land along create a world- the east bank of the South Platte River between class resort area 15th and 19th Streets, adjacent to Union Sta- in and around tion, and turned it into River Front Park, the Morrison be- first amusement park in Denver. River Front John Brisben Walker, tween 1905 and Park had a grandstand for 5,000 spectators, ro- Proprietor and Editor 1918. While deo grounds, an oval track for horse and bicycle “The Cosmopolitan Magazine”. Walker may not races, a baseball diamond, and a paddlewheel New York Public Library have achieved steamboat that chugged up and down the four- “household block length of the park. Visitors could also en- name” status, joy winter fun with toboggan runs and skating. he certainly deserves it, be- cause he laid the groundwork for present-day tourism in Jefferson County. It was his foresight, boosterism and investments that led--directly and indirectly--to the development of both the Denver Mountain Parks and Jeffer- son County Open Space. Early Years Born in 1847 near Pittsburgh and educated at William Henry Jackson, 16th Street Viaduct, between 1890-1900. Walker’s Castle and River Front Park visible Georgetown University and West Point Military at center left. Academy, Walker spent two years in Asia with History Colorado the U.S. Minister to China as a military adviser. He returned to the U.S. in 1870, married, and In addition to the park’s outdoor amusements, settled in West Virginia. Always driven and in- Walker built a crenellated, pseudo-medieval cas- dustrious, he had several careers before he was tle to celebrate Colorado culture and commerce. 30: iron manufacturer, journalist, political can- Inside were a gallery of local art, a bookstore, na- didate, and land speculator. tive wildlife displays, and expositions of Colora- It was this combination of public service and do products from gold to gourds. It was known ambition that led Walker to Colorado. In 1879, as “Walker’s Castle” well after he sold the prop- he was commissioned by the U.S. Secretary of erty and until it was destroyed by fire in 1951. Agriculture to investigate the viability of grow- It is clear, even at this early stage, that Walker ing alfalfa in the arid West. Walker bought 1,600 desired to provide stimulating recreation for the acres in what is now northwest Denver and body and enrichment of the mind. He knew the called it Berkeley Farm, a name the area retains. public’s desire for spectacle but hoped to uplift Not only did growing irrigated alfalfa prove suc- them as well. He was also keenly aware of the cessful for Walker, it is still a top-five cash crop importance of being near transportation and in Colorado. investing in modern technologies, which would later impact his strategies in boosting Jeffco tourism. 2 Historically Jeffco 2019 HISTORICAL TOURISM Cosmopolitan Years Morrison Development Walker sold most of his Berkeley acreage in Walker, along with his father and his son, John 1888. He took his proceeds and moved the Jr., began buying up thousands of acres in and family to New York City, where he purchased a around Morrison over the next few years. Walker small periodical called The Cosmopolitan and already had a vision of a planned community, set about improving it. Walker also sold River an ideal suburb of Denver, and an internation- Front Park, fortuitously right before the “Panic ally renowned resort destination.