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OPINION
In early 1871 General Palmer and his men were surveying the details of the route south from Denver. In laying out the preliminary route to Colorado Springs the location of sidings, water and fuel stops required new towns. Between Denver and Albuquerque there were only a few towns. Railroads need towns about every five to ten miles for fuel and water. Not only that the new towns provided income. There was land to sell. Once the town got started there was a need to bring people to live, farm, even tourists. Palmer needed to start towns, even if there was already one near his tracks. Colorado City sat in a rather hard spot to get to, so a new town was started. Palmer wished to be instrumental in naming these towns. Many of the names on his list would be eventually used but only a few remain. Palmer had visited England and took some of his inspiration from towns there. There is a little notebook down at the Pioneers’ Museum with his list. Some of the names Palmer proposed were: Aceqeua, Aloe, Pickwick, Foothill, Cedarcamp, Parkwater, Cragmoor, Cliffbound, Solitude, Waterbreeze, Watercamp, Streamside, Moccasin, Gypsy, Nutshell, Glenlake, Wonderland, Wigwam, and many other similar euphonious names. His proposed names for familiar places (and their modem equivalent) included Edge Platte (Littleton), Hiliskirt (Sedalia), Citadel (Castle Rock), Park Gate (Glade), Pine Land (Greenland), Crestlake (Palmer Lake), and Coal Town (Florence). Colorado Springs was not even the first choice for that name, Fountain and Park Gate were also considered. The locations and names were still being sorted out when construction began on the railroad in Denver in March, 1871. I know the name Fountain was being considered seriously, even though the present town of Fountain was already started. Palmer’s town company was called Fountain Colony even after Colorado Springs was decided upon. It certainly adds to the confusion, they used the name Fountain before it was Pueblo! Did you know that there really were springs in Colorado Springs? Several were in what is now Monument Valley Park. Palmer was not always successful. His rivals to Pueblo, Walsenburg and Trinidad failed. Durango, however, was a success story. |
