History of the Rifle Ferry

The Rifle Ferry, the History
In 1885, three years after Abram Maxfield claimed the land that is now Rifle, William and Hannah Crann from Aspen established their own homestead three miles upriver in Cactus Valley.
William and Hannah Vaughn Crann made history May 16, 1882, when they were the first couple married in Pitkin County. Hannah worked there as a young waitress and William was a miner.
Hannah was born October 11, 1867, and was just 14 at her wedding. Hannah came from Ohio to Boulder by train and then to Aspen as a child accompanied by her parents..
In 1885, Hannah and William drove the first wagon through the canyon west of Glenwood Springs to Rifle and settled
in Cactus Valley, moving on across the river to what is now Crann Mesa in 1886. Hannah had learned to row on the Ohio River as a child, and became an expert at rowing across the Grand River. She could row it when no one else could. Before the first ferry, she would row passengers across with horses swimming behind.
When they later moved to Rifle, Hannah became a school board member when the 1926 Rifle High School was built. She bought the Winchester hotel in 1929 and owned it in 1930 according to the census. News accounts say she operated it many years until relinquishing operations in 1936. She passed away December 1, 1939. William passed away February 12, 1923.
William was born January 28, 1855 and came to the US from England in 1873 landing at Galveston Texas. He moved to Trinidad, then to Leadville. In the summer of 1879, he prospected in the Holy Cross country.
The fall of 1879, he went to Aspen where he engaged in mining. He operated the Camp Bird group of mines for a number of years.
He and Hannah married in 1882, then in 1885, they moved to Cactus valley. In August of 1886, they moved to the south side of the river on the ranches since known by his name.
He was an energetic builder and did much to improve the irrigation facilities for the Mesa lands in his neighborhood, being especially interested in the Divide Creek High Line Ditch Co.
William was associated with the Union State Bank as a director and stock
holder.
Their first child, according to Ancestry, was Elizabeth (Lizzie) born 1884, then Annie (Anna) Minerva June 16,1886. (William was 31, Hannah was 17). Ida was born in 1888, and Wilma nineteen years later, somewhat of a surprise, in 1907.
In 1886, a ferry was established near where Hannah had her boat crossing. The ferry ran until 1890 when the first Rifle bridge opened.
Operated by Charles L. Todd and his
brother Silas, the ferry allowed passengers to cross the river with their wagons without getting their horses wet.
The raft was propelled across the stream by a cable wound around a wheel by manpower and held on course by a guideline. Ferry service was initially a private enterprise, financed by a 25-cent
charge for each trip.
There are news clips from 1890 that show the County Commissioners making payment to Todd for operating a public ferry. The payments were significant and were made to the Western Mercantile Company.
Todd's ferry would be the area's only river crossing until the first Rifle bridge opened in1890. Could not find a photo of the Rifle ferry, so have included some photos of other local river ferries.
Todd would become one of Rifle's first merchants, owner and editor of the Rifle Reveille newspaper, member of the first school board, president of the first Fair Association of Garfield County, and Rifle's second Mayor, serving two terms, 1897 and 1898.
Charles Todd, had moved to Colorado in 1879 and located at Georgetown. He was an orphan, his mom died the day he was born, November 7, 1855, and his dad died 9 years later.
In October, 1884, Charles was married to Miss Minnie Holferoine, a native of Denmark. They had five children. One died in infancy, and four daughters survived to adulthood: May, Lillian, Gertrude, and Thelma.
In 1885, Charles moved to the Rifle area locating a ranch in Cactus Valley, three and a half miles east of Rifle near Antlers. He resided at that ranch four years before moving to Rifle in 1889.
In 1886, he opened a store near Mile Pond which he operated until 1888.
With his brother Silas, he also operated a ferry on the river at that location until 1890 when the first bridge was constructed.
About 1888, he opened the Western Mercantile Company, in Rifle, on the SW
corner of Railroad and 3rd, operating it
until J. W. Hugus purchased it. The store faced north, onto west 3rd.
The Hugus purchase was completed March 31, 1894. News clips say Hugus ordered a full line of everything, and that Todd continued to manage it, was behind the counter.
On September 7,1895, Hugus sent William H. Welch to Rifle to take charge of the store. Todd had desired to be relieved of the position.
The post office was located in this business and Charles was appointed Postmaster in 1889, being re-appointed in 1903, and several more times.
Charles was the Rifle Postmaster 16 years, from 1889 until he passed away October 7,1915.
His daughter Gertrude eventually served as assistant Postmaster and acting Postmaster. On October 6, 1915, she was appointed Postmaster succeeding her father, who had died the day before.
October 1, 1898, Zieseniss and Todd started a gentleman's furnishings business in a small store on the north side of Third Street with a capital of $4,500. In 1901 they built a very nice brick store.
About 1898, Todd also built himself a big brick residence, two stories and basement, with modern improvements, on east 3rd. It was the 3rd home east of East Avenue on the south side of 3rd.
[I believe William and Hannah Crann eventually purchased it because Hannah was not at all pleased when the Hollenbeck Garage opened to the east of it.]
The brothers Charles and Silas Todd passed away early in Rifle's history, 1915 and 1912 respectively. William Crann also was soon gone, in 1923. Their contributions were essential.

 

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