Yuma County, Colorado
Photographs

Near the headwaters of the North Fork was the big spread of J, W. Bowles 8c Company, with Shad Johnson as foreman. They had come to this range too, about 1876. Joining Bowles to the east were the Reeck Brothers, Frank and Charles, who came about the same time as Bowles, worked for
the Benkelman outfit for a while, then struck out for themselves "in cattle."

The 1907 "Souvenir of Wray and of Vernon, Colorado" says that both Reeck brother came in August 1876

The 1885 Colorado census - although really blurred, has Chas Rack, 39, married.

In the late summer of 1898, as the 30th anniversary of the battle approached, Chalmer Smith and James J. Peate, of the Forsyth Scouts, both living at Beverly, Kansas, decided to return to Colorado and see if they could locate the island battlefield. They invited another of the scouts, Harry H. Tucker of Oklahoma, to join them. With the help of Frank and Charles Reeck, who had settled near Beecher in 1876 and remembered all the horse skeletons still on the battlefield, the three veterans placed a sandstone cairn with a sandstone slab engraved "Battle of Beecher Island, September 17, 1868," marking the site

     Mr. Reeck is a native of near Berlin, Prussia, where he was born in 1851. He was the son of a prominent furniture manufacturer, from whom he learned this trade. The lad was endowed with a bright mechanical mind and at an early age he had acquired an expert practical knowledge of cabinet making, excelling in the more delicate branches of the trade. In 1870, when only nineteen years of age, Mr. Reeck came to the United States to carve his own fortune in the Western Hemisphere. He located in Chicago, where he worked at his trade for two years, when he came to Colorado and found remunerative employment in Denver. While he prospered in the city, he secured a section of land in what was then Elbert county, which increased in value year after year and netted him handsome returns as a cattle ranch. After spending seven years in Denver and on his ranch near there, Mr. Reeck sold his Elbert county property, and, with seventy-five cattle, located in that part of old Arapahoe county which is now a portion of Yuma county, on what now constitutes his beautiful and productive home. He bought 640 acres, which constitutes perhaps one of the most valuable ranch properties in Colorado, owing to its natural favorable conditions for conducting a successful cattle business. A valley composed of wonderfully rich soil, through which flows a never-failing stream of pure spring water, traverses his farm. On his valley land he harvests immense quantities of alfalfa and natural hay, corn, cane, etc., for his stock. Along the banks of the stream, on either side, there is a heavy growth of timber, which adds beauty to the landscape and furnishes excellent shade for the grazing cattle in the hot summer days. Another advantage is the fact that the fringe of forest along this stream has furnished Mr. Reeck excellent fuel all these years, and the supply will last for many years to come. In addition to his deeded land of 640 acres, the gentleman uses 1,000 acres of leased state land and controls a wide area of free range for his stock. He owns 200 fine Durham cattle, which are in excellent condition as a result of the abundance of feed and excellent care bestowed upon them by their energetic owner. The barns, sheds, corrals, etc., are substantial structures, the walls of which are composed of dressed stone laid in mortar, and displaying a comfort, convenience and neatness but seldom found on a ranch. Mr. Reeck's cattle have ample protection from the storms of winter, and the abundance of feed with which they are provided in both summer and winter is one of the secrets of the gentleman's success in the industry.

     In 1892 Mr. Reeck married Miss Sarah Bond, a charming English lady, whose brothers are well known in the business and financial circles of Colorado and Toronto, Canada. His sunny tempered and devoted wife has given Mr. Reeck inspiration and cheerful aid in making their ranch such a beautiful home of comfort. (  The certificate says that Jeff Willis, pastor of the M.E. Church, married Charly P Reck, 36,  of Lansing and Sarah Bond, 35,  of Lansing on July 20, 1892 in Burlington, Kit Carson County, with witnesses S. Bond and Geo. Bond)

     Five years ago they erected their new residence on an elevated plateau, at the base of which flows the stream of water, the banks of which are fringed with a generous growth of trees. From the front there is a fine view of a broad expanse of the rich valley land, with frequent clusters of forest trees, extending for miles, while towards the south arises a rugged background of picturesque hills, which extend east and west and make the view a most delightful one. The house is composed of cut magnesia limestone of superior quality of which Mr. Reeck owns an inexhaustible quarry situated about one-half mile southeast of his home. The interior presents a most elegant appearance. The walls and ceilings are exquisitely painted with beautiful decorations of chaste designs, while the rich carpets, furniture, paintings and other artistic decorations display the utmost harmony and good taste. In addition to a great variety of Indian relics found on the ranch, Mr. Reeck has added to the attractions of his home by creations of his own mechanical skill, among others, a handsome representation of a closed bible made from a piece of pink gypsum he found in the "Garden of the Gods." It is a beautiful work of art, the lids most delicately and perfectly engraved with the word "Bible" and other decorations. An ornamental table in which the legs are composed of polished horns is another striking evidence of the gentleman's mechanical genius, as well as hat racks with buffalo horn attachments. While the interior of the home reflects the refined instincts and love of the beautiful which characterize Mrs. Reeck, the easy grace and genial welcome with which she receives and entertains guests, enhance the happiness bestowed by the well-known hospitality of this estimable couple. In the front yard are artistic mounds and pyramids of petrified wood and peculiar rocky fossil formations, which bear the evidence of prehistoric times, when this part of Colorado was a portion of a great interior sea. Doubtless Mr. and Mrs. Reeck own the most beautiful and luxuriously furnished ranch home in Colorado, and the excellent couple well merit the happiness and comfort which they are enjoying. Mr. Reeck is a broad-minded gentleman who takes a generous interest in the moral and material welfare of the county and both he and his accomplished wife enjoy the sincere esteem of all who have the pleasure of their acquaintance.