Cobweb Express

An Anniversary
by Mel McFarland

I mentioned something last week that came up interesting. Now I know that many of our Teachers live near Penrose. That little town is a relatively quick drive, sometimes, for anyone who has a connection with Fort Carson. Well, their hundredth birthday is coming up.

The weather a hundred years ago had been similar to what it was here a few winters ago. The winters were mild, and the summers warm, and wet. The area north east of Florence had been ranched for years. The spot, however, lacked water, but the weather patterns made it all seem good. Spencer Penrose and his close associates had plenty of money that was coming from their investments in places like Cripple Creek. Over ten years the men had become the main money makers in that area, and had made investments far and wide. Someone got the idea of developing what had been a couple cattle ranches near Florence.

The area was promoted as prime fruit land. The valley bottom along the Arkansas near Canon City had already grown into a major producer. The land at Penrose was not as fertile, but several years of good weather had proven test crops. A town, Penrose, as well as two others were laid out. Wells were dug and they proved acceptable. A valley to the northwest would be good, once a dam was built for additional water. The next thing was to connect the town to the Denver and Rio Grande, down on the Arkansas River. A convenient canyon provided an acceptable route, barely 10 miles from Penrose to Beaver. The Beaver, Penrose and Northern railroad opened in 1909. A daily passenger train brought passenger cars filled with prospective land buyers to Penrose during the summer. A huge water tank and storage warehouses were built at the north end of the line, and projections of the railroad even suggested going up to Cripple Creek, meeting with the Florence and Cripple Creek at the mouth of Phantom Canyon.

Fields of fruit trees were planted all over the area, The town grew rapidly for a while, but the weather pattern faded. Hard winters froze out some of the varieties and dry summers found dry wells unable to go deep enough to secure good water. There was a disaster yet to come, but it was well after the failure of the town and the railroad. More on that next week.

CONTACT THE WRITER • MCMIDLAND@YAHOO.COM

MEL'S ARCHIVES
4-11-07 | 4-18-07 | 4-25-07 | 5-2-07 | 5-9-07 | 5-16-07 | 5-23-07 |
5-30-07 | 6-6-07 | 6-13-07 | 6-20-07 | 6-27-07 | 7-4-07 | 7-11-07 | 7-18-07
7-25-07 | 8-1-07 | 8-8-07 | 10-24-07 | 11-1-07 | 11-5-07 | 11-12-07 | 11-26-07 | 12-5-07
12-12-07 | 12-26-07 | 1-2-08 | 1-9-08 | 1-16-08 | 1-23-08 | 1-30-08