Research Resources

I hope you find these resources helpful in your search for your ancestors. The links are on the left. If you have any resources that you consider helpful, please let me know.

Land Owners Alphabetical Listing:

A  |  B  |  C  |  D  |  E  |  F  |  G  |  H  |  I  |  J  |  K  |  L  |  M  |  N  |  O  |  P-Q  |  R  |  S  |  T  |  U-V  |  W  |  Y-Z

Some History
 

In the Beginning

Topographically speaking, the northeastern counties of Colorado were once the floor of a vast inland sea. Centuries ago, geologic forces pushed the landmass up and westward to form the Rocky Mountains, exposing it to glacial and weather erosion, which ultimately formed the high plains.

These high plains—the western edge of America’s Great Plains—were filled with tall grass that supported millions of buffalo, deer, elk, antelope, wolves, coyotes, prairie dogs, and other wildlife and birds. The landscape was described as flat, semi-arid, and dotted with occasional buttes or rocky outcroppings. If viewed from the air, the countryside seems to run unendingly until it meets the sandhills to the southeast.

Originally, this land was part of the Louisiana Purchase and was known only as the “Great American Desert.” As Easterners started moving west, it became known as the Nebraska Territory. As these emigrants began to settle in and around the Rocky Mountains, a new territory named Jefferson was formed.

The land west of the Missouri River was vast and inhabited only by wildlife and Native Americans. To stimulate development in the area, President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act in May 1862. This act allowed anyone over the age of 21 who was the head of a household, a legal resident, or who declared their intention of becoming a citizen to file a claim for a quarter-section (160 acres) of unappropriated land.

As a condition of ownership, the claimant had to live on the land and cultivate it for a period of five years. Another act, the Timber Culture Act, was enacted in March 1873. This act also granted a claimant title to 160 acres, provided they planted 40 acres of timber with trees spaced no more than 12 feet apart.

The Early Years

In 1861, the U.S. government officially recognized the territory, changed its name from Jefferson to Colorado, appointed a governor, and formed 17 counties.

One of those counties was originally intended to be named Platte County. However, because the citizens never voted on the name, the county was instead named Weld, after Territorial Secretary Ledyard Weld. It occupied the northeastern part of the new territory.

Colorado officially became a state in 1876. By 1889, Logan County was carved out of Weld County, and from Logan, the counties of Phillips and Sedgwick were formed.

Phillips County was established on March 27, 1889, and was named for R.O. Phillips, a secretary for the Lincoln Land Company. A hotel built by William Clemmons soon became the first courthouse. Located on the corner of Baxter and Interocean, Mr. Clemmons eventually sold the building to the county in 1901 for $850.00.

Of the two waterways in the county—Wild Horse Creek and Frenchman Creek (River)—Frenchman River (which is not considered a river until it enters Nebraska) has an interesting naming history. In the book Sutton's Southwest Nebraska, the author gives a logical explanation.

The story goes that a man named Geminian Perry (Jim Perry) ran a ranch and trading post called the “Star Trading Post” at the old California Crossing of the Platte River, 25 miles east of Julesburg. He had two sons: one white, and a half-breed son named Joseph Beavais.

As time went on and travel on the Oregon Trail slowed, Jim decided to move west. He put his white son in charge of the trading post and soon established the Lone Star Ranche east of Fort Laramie. This angered Joseph, who left the trading post and established a dugout four miles from Frenchman Falls (later Frenchman Cave) and another at the mouth of Bovau Canyon. There, he began trapping on what would become known as Frenchman’s Creek.

The earlier name for this creek was Whiteman's Fork of the Republican River. Captain Eugene F. Ware explained that "Whiteman’s Fork" was the name given to the creek by the Sioux. To the Sioux, Frenchmen were white men, and because the Sioux disliked white men, they named the creek “WHA-SEECHA WOCCA-PELLA”—where Wha means medicine and Seecha means bad.

No one knows for sure who the first white man to enter Phillips County was, but Volume 1 of the History of Colorado records that it may have been the Mallet brothers. The Mallets were French trappers who traveled up the South Platte to the mouth of Lodgepole Creek, then turned south across the prairie in 1739 while searching for a trade route to Santa Fe.

According to Sutton's book, two stones were found on Leonard Sharpe’s farm south of Haxtun. These stones were inscribed with the date of June 20, 1787, and The Rocky Mountain News featured a story on them in 1953. It is believed these stones are connected to the Remi La Doux expedition.

Department of the Interior / U.S. Geological Survey

To accompany Map 1-1894: Historic Trail Maps of the Sterling 1° x 2° Quadrangle, Northeastern Colorado by Glenn R. Scott.

June 20, 1787

Two stones, fragments of the Ogallala Formation, were found inscribed with the date "Jun 20 1787" in the Sterling quadrangle (T. 7 N., R. 47 W.) and reside in the museum of the Colorado Historical Society. Although the date format seems to be English, E. S. Sutton, a historian from Benkelman, Nebraska, suggested the stones might have been carved by the following expedition:

Rumor has it that in the 1780s, a French expedition of 300 men came to the Rocky Mountains. They discovered gold on what is now Treasure Mountain, located between Summitville and Wolf Creek Pass in southern Colorado. The leader of the expedition was named LeBreau, LeBreu, or LeBlanc—though his name was very likely Remy (Remi) Ledoux.

After two seasons of mining gold, casting gold ingots, and spending one winter in Taos, New Mexico, the party turned east. Their numbers were reduced to just 17 due to an outbreak of scurvy. As they crossed the mountains and moved down the Arkansas River, they were attacked by Native Americans several times. Having lost so many men, they were forced to hide the ingots. Ledoux was the only survivor.

In 1840, Ledoux's grandson traveled from New Orleans, Louisiana, with a party of 40 men to locate the gold ingots, but they were unsuccessful.

The Gold Rush

With the discovery of gold in 1859, thousands of men flooded into the Denver area. A new road to the goldfields and beyond was opened, which quickly led to hostilities with the Cheyenne and Sioux. The 1860s brought war to both the East and the plains; while the Civil War pitted brother against brother in the East, Native Americans clashed with homesteaders and the territorial military on the plains.

The year 1864 brought a general uprising along the South Platte. Indian raids were frequent. Tribes roamed at will, burning and ransacking every white settlement they encountered. Neither Native American nor white women were spared the ravages of war.

In an effort to control the uprising, General Mitchell ordered all stations from Fort Kearney to Denver to set prairie fires between posts in 1865. He wanted to clear the area between the Platte and Arkansas rivers of game, believing this would force the Native Americans to move north of the Platte and away from the overland trail. These fires reportedly burned as far south as Texas and Oklahoma.

While en route to Riverside Station and Fort Sedgwick in 1867, General Custer traveled through Phillips County, passing a few miles south of present-day Fleming in Logan County.

In 1869, the Battle of Summit Springs—the last major conflict with Native Americans on the high plains—took place just 20 miles west of the southeast corner of Phillips County.

Between 1870 and 1890, Native Americans lost their freedom to roam the plains, and their primary food source, the buffalo, was wantonly destroyed. Both were replaced by large herds of the white man’s longhorns and the westward expansion of the railroad.

General Sheridan, who was obsessed with driving Native Americans off the plains, commanded the Western Department. He frequently arranged buffalo hunts for the entertainment of visiting heads of state, such as Prince Alexis of Russia. On one such hunt, which spanned from Fort McPherson to Fort Hays, Sheridan recounted that his hunting party killed wild turkeys 70 miles south of what is now Phillips County.

Entertaining visiting dignitaries was not the only reason for these excursions. By sponsoring them, Sheridan could justify the slaughter of hundreds of buffalo, effectively forcing Native American tribes onto reservations. As a testament to the destruction, fewer than 90 wild buffalo were left in the United States by 1889.

By 1887, the Colorado and Wyoming Railroad (which later became the Burlington and Missouri) was incorporated. It constructed a line from the Colorado/Nebraska border west toward Sterling, then extended it northwesterly to the northern boundary of the state. Branch lines were constructed to meet the Nebraska and Colorado railroad at the western boundary of Keith County.

The Decade of Hardship

The 1890s proved to be a decade of severe hardship for Phillips County. With a population of 2,642, many discouraged families loaded up their wagons and drifted away.

The “White Cap” trail plunged the new county into heavy debt, forcing it to issue its first bonds. That winter, relentless rain caused many sod houses to leak, making them completely uninhabitable.

The aid society distributed food, clothing, and coal to those in need, and by spring, there was no seed available for planting. Prairie fires remained a constant threat.

In 1891, a prairie fire northwest of Amherst traveled at a mile a minute, burning a strip 5 miles wide and 20 miles long. Another fire in March 1893 threatened the town of Holyoke, but it was suppressed when the winds died down. By August, farmers had plowed furrows around the town, establishing Holyoke’s very first fire protection.

The year 1894 brought a devastating drought. Farmers were left with nothing and sought work in the irrigated areas around Greeley, in the mines around Denver, or on railroad construction crews.

The situation did not improve much in 1895. Coal and flour were distributed to the needy, but only if applicants could provide two witnesses to testify to their destitution or wait through a five-day verification period. In March, a severe blizzard struck the area, lasting for three days and nights.

Things began to look up in 1896. Many town buildings were relocated to farms, and wells were sunk for windmill irrigation. Land values rose, and most residents were able to pay their taxes. In fact, it was the railroad tax that kept the county afloat during those lean years.

Sheep farming became a major industry along the Burlington and Missouri line, and the Parker family established the Standard Sheep Company north of Holyoke.

But just when it seemed the worst was behind them, a new plague arrived in 1897: grasshoppers. Clouds of them descended on the region. As one old-timer recalled, “For two days, there were so many in the air that we couldn't see the sun. Not a blade of vegetation was left standing.”

It was estimated that by 1896, 75% of the original homesteaders had abandoned their farms before proving up on their claims—many due to the harsh conditions, others because they couldn't afford the $16.00 filing fee. Still, the county held fast. Crop yields remained moderate to poor, and corn sold for just 18 cents a bushel.

With the arrival of the 20th century, Phillips County continued to grow. Stock raising expanded, herds grew larger, settlers returned, new towns were established, and well drillers stayed busy—though prairie fires remained an ever-present danger.

Today, the county spans 32 miles from east to west and has a population of approximately 4,480 (according to the 2000 census). The county remains agriculturally based with several thriving communities, and the county seat is located in the town of Holyoke.