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Our History
"The Arkansas River valley, and much of southeastern Colorado, is an historical frontier in both the American and European sense. In the American lexicon a frontier represents an unsettled or sparsely settled zone, or the edge of "civilization." On the other hand, Europeans view frontiers as boundaries or borders between nations, provinces or ethnic groups. Historically, in southeastern Colorado the way people viewed their frontiers varied according to their cultural perspective. Hispanic settlers moved into the area from New Mexico as part of their slow, measured northern expansion of settlement. Anglo Americans, pursuing different goals, crossed the area, built outposts and then, by the late nineteenth century, came to the area in large numbers. When the two civilizations met, both conflict and cooperation resulted. Hispanics, Anglo Americans and Native Americans coexisted with each other and the local natural environment. The region became something of a microcosm of the American experience."
Richard F. Carrillo, Historical Archaeologist and Principal, had been conducting historic preservation consulting as an independent contractor since 1987 in Colorado. The above is an excerpt from his piece, An In-Depth Review of Southeastern Colorado History (2008). To read the full article, please flick below.
An In-Depth Review of Southeastern Colorado History
The Santa Fe Trail, The History:
Independence, Missouri, was the westernmost American river-port town in the 1820s. The nearest large settlement in Mexican territory was Santa Fe. In between lay 800 miles of prairie and desert country. Following Mexico’s independence from Spain, the Santa Fe trail blossomed as commerce route that supported a multimillion dollar trade business within a decade. Bent’s Fort provided the only significant stopping point between Independence and Santa Fe and dominated the growing trade empire. Its success rested largely on the strong relations that the Fort’s founders fostered with the Native American and Hispano cultures in the area. The Fort was the launching point for the U.S. invasion of Mexico in 1846, which extended U.S. territory to the California coast. The emerging settlement of Boggsville became the next important stopping point along the trail as use of the trail began to evolve. Boggsville was a tight-knit community with twenty structures and a mix of Anglo, Hispano, and Native American residents. An Ellis Island of the West, it was a place people came to and dispersed from, a refuge of cultural tolerance during times of increasingly tensions between Native Americans and new arrivals. Boggsville’s importance waned when the railroad bypassed it in 1873. With the railroad’s arrival in Santa in 1880, travel along the Santa Fe Trail all but ended.
Koshare Indian Museum, The History:
Inspiration for the Koshare Indian Museum came from a local Boy Scout following a visit to the Great Kiva at Aztec, New Mexico. The museum was named after the troop—the Koshares—and quickly evolved into one of Colorado’s great repositories of southwest art and Native American artifacts. The antiquities collection contains various wares from local tribes; pottery collections from the great prehistoric cultures of the desert Southwest—the Ancient Pueblo, Hohokam, and Mogollon; and textiles that include rare coastal Alute basketry, Navajo rugs from the Roe Emery and Jean Lindsley collections, and beadwork from various plains tribes. Also on display are the works of famous Pueblo potters Margaret Tafoya of Santa Clara Pueblo, Maria Martinez of San Ildefonso Pueblo, and Hopi potter, Nampeyo. The works of Tesuque wood carver, Andy Anderson, and renowned Taos painter, Joseph Imhof, can be seen here, as can works by western legends Frederick Remington and Thomas Mails. One of the most prominent collections is that of sculptor and painter, Ernesto Zepeda; the museum houses the largest collection of Zepeda works to be found anywhere in the world.
Click on the image above to be taken to the Preserve America website with a description of our six Preserve America designated communities, or read through the following county histories which were delivered at the Preserve America Community designation ceremony on April 28, 2007 in Eads.
