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PART II.
SKETCH OF ARAPAHOE COUNTY AND LITTLETON. There was a time, in the not very far distant past, when the county of Arapahoe, then in the State of Kansas, was one of the richest counties in the United States. It embraced nearly all the territory since included in the State of Colorado. The wealth of Leadville lay locked up within its limits, to say nothing of Gilpin, Clear Creek and other mining district, since developed so wonderfully. Its shining sands carried a wealth of golden grains, which, in later years, made fortunes for thousands. Nevertheless, in its infancy, it was distinguished for nothing but magnificent scenery and some uncertain reports of hidden riches, which might, or might not, be verified. The first political division of that portion of the State of Kansas, which embraced the Pike's Peak golden region, was organized by the people of Auraria, in the fall of 1858. Its boundaries seem to have been rather loosely defined, but the intention was to embrace all the country which had been explored as well as all which had been settled up to that time. The great chain of parks was included together together with most of the mountain ranges and river valleys encircling them. Auraria was the county seat, and the only settlement. It wasn't much of a settlement, to be sure, but the bsorbing interest in politics whih has since characterized Colorado, was developed in the early says of the settlement, and Auraria, insted of growing up on a milk-and-water diet of politics, seemed to spring at once, full-panoplied, into existence as a political center. A mere handful of men organized the county and sent its first representative to the Kansas Legislature. History is silent as to the effect his appearance produced in that body, but, as he drew his pay along with the other Solons, it is to be presumed that he did his share of the talking and voting, and perhaps attracted no more attention at the capital than the average member from the counties on the western limit of settlement, save in the amount of mileage to which he found himself entitled. The present boundaries of Arapahoe County were defined by Government Surveyors in 1861. The Territory of Colorado had been established by an act of Congress, and William Gilpin had been commissioned Governor. It was under his direction that the Territory was subdivided into thirteen counties, of which Arapahoe was still the chief in importance though not in size. Weld, on the north, was more than twice as large, and on the south, Douglas, since divided into Douglas and Elbert, was considerably larger. Arapahoe County was then, and is now, a parallelogram, thirty miles wide, and 162 miles long from east to west, extending from the line of Kansas on the east to within a few miles of the mountains. As originally constituted, there did not seem to be much "outcome" in Arapahoe County. Of gold it had no abundance. The Cherry Creek and Platte sand showed "color," but it was little worked in Arapahoe County, except a few bars on Dry Creek, a few miles above Auraria, on the Platte. At that time, agriculture and stock-growing were undeveloped industries, and, without gold, little could be expected, even of such an ambitious "settlement" as Denver. To the east the Great Plains stretched out almost into infinity, abandoned to the buffalo and Indians. The Platte crossed the western end of the county, but its Nile-like valley gave forth no promise of future prosperity. Gov. Gilpin's strong faith in the future of Denver as a commercial metropolis was not generally shared by the people of the town and county, and, if the latter had been put up at auction, in 1861, it would have gone cheap, if it had sold at all. The county, however, was well watered, considering the fact that it lay entirely on the plains, and possessed all the peculiarities of the arid belt. Besides the Platte, it could boast of such waterways as Cherry Creek, a portion of Clear Creek, the Kiowa, Bijou and Beaver, and the middle fork of the Republican, known a the Arickaree, from the Indian tribe of that name. All the last-named streams are now lined with cattle instead of buffalo, and the eastern part of the county is increaing fast both in wealth and population. Before Gov. Gilpin "reconstructed" Arapahoe County, however, and while it was still a dependence of Kansas, Capt. Richard Sopris, now Mayor of Denver, represented the county in the Kansas Legislature. The Cptain was also largely instrumental in keeping up "friendly relations" between the State and county, when the latter, beginning to "feel its oats," began to throw off its county allegiance and to set up a home-rule government of its own. For a time, it was hard to tell where the people belonged, some of them adhering to the Kansas regime, some to the provisional Territorial government, and others recognizing only "miners' law," which, by the way, was about the best of the lot. Although, as has been said, the first discoveries of gold, in paying quantities, were made in Arapahoe County, the amount was inconsiderable, and the diggings were soon exhausted or abandoned for the more promising fields of the mountain gulches. No subsequent discoveries were made; for, though the Boulder coal measures have been developed to the very line of Arapahoe County, coal has not been mined inside of its limits. The fossil remains of the county are no doubt interesing to geologists, but even these have attracted as yet but little attention. Arapahoe County is also almost destitute of timber, with the exception of a few cottonwoods along the Platte and its tributaries. The magnificent forest which enfolds Denver, is of artificial growth, and so are most of the trees surrounding the adjoining farms and farmhouses. For a long time, Denver nd its immediate suburbs (now consolidted), were the only "towns" in the county; but with the era of railways, came several more or less pretentious way sttaions, which will eventually, no doubt, grow into substantial and enduring prosperity. Of these, Littleton, on the Denver and Rio Grande railway (ten miles south of Denver, and in the extreme southwestern corner of the county), is the most important. It is located on the Platte River, and is surrounded by a fine faring country, well watered and well tilled. Its proximity to Denver reduces its trade to small proportions; but, otherwise, Littleton is a flourishing suburb, and is steadily growing in size and natural beauty. In the summer months, it is almostembowered in a mass of foliage, through which its white cottages gleam and shine like a New England village in its bower of elms. In time, no doubt, Littleton will become, in fact, a rail suburb of Denver, and night and morning trains will carry back and forth denizens of the latter city to their delightful cottages in the former. Littleton has long boasted of the leading flouring-mill in the country, and its famous "Rough and Ready" brand of fancy flour is known almost as well in Boston and New York as in Denver. It was the product of this mill which first attracted the attention of the East to the superior qualities of Colorado flour, which is now admitted to be the best the country affords. On the Kansas Pacific road, there are several small stations in Arapahoe County, all of which as yet are merely headquarters for stock men. Of these, Deer Trail is the most important, being a considerable shipping-point for cattle, and provided with extensive stock yards built by the Company. Deer Trail is fifty-seven miles east of Denver, and is in the center of an extensive and well-watered stock range. Mr. John Hittson, a wee-known stock man, makes his headquarters here. Mr. Hittson was formerly a heavy operator, but, of late years, his rivals have outstripped him in the race for supremacy, and the former cattle king is now in effect a dethroned monarch. The Denver Pacific as yet has furnished forth no suburb worthy of note in Arapahoe County, although the Platte Valley along which the railroad runs, is well settled and highly cultivated. Island Station, about twelves miles out of Denver, is only a flag station. Hughes, seven miles further on, is the junction of the Boulder Valley Branch with the main line but has no population. Arapahoe County has seventeen voting precincts, of which six are in Denver, and the remainder outside. It has a population of about fifty thousand souls, three-fourths of whom are in its principal city. Its taxable wealth is $20,000,000, according to the Assessors' returns -- about one-half its actual value by any other computation. The county government has been well administered, and its finances are in good shape, although there is an indebtedness for railway bonds which requires a considerable annual tax levy. Bonds were first voted to the amount of half a million dollars in aid of the Denver Pacific road, and afterward $300,000 more were voted ot the Denver & South Park. The latter has proved a good investment in every sense, but the former has only indirectly benefited the county, and the stock issued for the county bonds is now absolutely worthless, the road having been sold out to the bond-holders. Nevertheless, it was the issue of these bonds and the consequent building of this road, which brought the Kansas Pacific into Denvr and gave a direct connection between Denver and the East, at a time when such connection was most desirable. The public buildings of Arapahoe County are neither numerous nor imposing. Though her warrants are at par, and her wealth constantly increasing, she has never erected a building for her courts and officers, although a block of ground has been bought for that purpose. An elegant Court House is likely to be erected at an early day, however, and, when built, it will be paid for without plunging the county in debt. A well-built jail and a comfortable hospital have been constructed. The history of Arapahoe County is so interwoven with the history of Denver that a separate chapter in regard to the former seems out of the question, and for further information of the county and the men who have made it, reference should be had to the succeeding chapters and accompanying biographies. It is well to note, however, that the future of Arapahoe County may be largely influenced by the building of a railway already projected up the Arickarce into Denver, which will open up the eastern end of the county very rapidly, and may result in the building-up of a new metropolis 100 miles east of the present county capital.
DENVER'S FINEST SUBURB.
The elegant little
village of Littleton has already been mentioned in
general terms at some length, but a short sketch of
its history should not be omitted from a work of
this character. Mr. R. S. Little, from whom it
takes its name, is literally the father of the
settlement, having located there in 1860, when there
were no settlers between him and the mountains, in
the valley of the Platte. As time went on, the rich
agricultural lands of the neighborhood attracted
other settlers, and, in the winter of 1863-64, a
school was established, the district including the
entire corner of the county down to within three
miles of Denver, a scope of country now divided into
five flourishing school districts. The first school
was opened in a small log cabin at Brown's bridge,
about two miles north of the present site of
Littleton.
In 1873, a model brick schoolhouse was built at Littleton, and furnished with all the modern improvements, so that the town has a first-class school in every respect, with a good corps of teachers and about one hundred pupils in attendance. The first step in the transition toward a village was taken in 1867, when Mr. Little, L. A. Cole, John G. Lilley and Jesse Eastabrook built the Rough and Ready Mills, which have since become so famous as manufactuing the best flour in the world. Some land adjoining the mill property was laid off into town lots for the use of the employes, a store was soon started, and sooner than its founders expected, Littleton became a "center." The mill did a good businessfrom the first, being well supplied with excellent grain from its own immediate neighborhood, which is one of the wheat gardens of Colorado. A quarter of a million of bushels of wheat are said to have been harvested this year within a radius of ten miles from Littleton, and the estimate does not seem to be exaggerated. But although prosperous in so many respects, the Rough and Redy Mills hve been singularly unfortunate s to fire, having been twice totally consumed, with large stocks of grain in store. The first fire occurred in January, 1872, inflicting a loss of about $40,000; the second ,two years later, with a heavier loss. After the last fire, however, the mill was rebuilt of stone and fire-proof throughout. The machinery is new and first-class and capable of grinding five hundred bushesl of wheat per day. Although the village grew rapidly from the start, previous to 1871, the religious privileges of the people were limited to an occasional sermon by a Denver clergyman, either in the neighboring schoolhouses or in private residences. Early in 1871, however, Mr. Little and others, with some outside assistance, built a handsome Episcopal Chapel since known as St. Paul's. For several years, Mr. L. and his wife were the only communicants, but now the Church has forty members. Until 1873, it was a mission of St. John's Church in Denver, but in that year Rev. T. James McFadden became its Rector, remaining one year, when he became identified with the Reformed Episcopal Church and organized a congregation in Littleton. He was succeded at St. Paul's by Rev. Charles De Garmo, and in turn Mr. De Garmo was followed by the present Rector, Rev. M. F. Sorenson, who came in 1876. In addition to the neat church edifice proper, St. Paul's boasts of a comfortable rectory, built in 1875 ad costing about $2,000. The Reformed Episcopal Church was built in 1874. It is a handsome brick structure, costing about $4,000. John G. Lilley, Mr. Little's partner, was at the ehad of the new church movement, and was the Senior Warden, R. H. Mowbury being the other. The original vestrymen were F. Comstock, H. E. Allen, J. D. Hill, G. W. Beltcher, L. B. Ames, J. M. Bowles, John McBroom, J. M. Fox, Otis Hardenburg, D. . Powers, B. J. Berry and I. W. Chatfield. Rev. T. James McFadden, as already stated, was the first Rector, serving until 1877, when he was succeeded by Rev. T. L. Smith, the present incumbent. Though Littleton is largely Episcopal, the other denominations are represented there, and the society is excellent for a so small a place. Although Devner stands in no immediate need of a suburb to live in, the time will come, no doubt, when Littleton's wealth and population will be swelled by the overflow of Denver, and no more charming country village can be found in Colorado than cozy Littleton, nestled in its groves of trees like any New England village. History of the City of Denver, Arapahoe County, and Colorado, O. L. Baskin & Co., Historical Pulishers, c. 1880, pp. 177-180. |