|
Yuma
County, Colorado
Place Names |
A Gazetteer for the Yuma County Historical
Map
If your place name doesn't appear here I suggest you also look
at the School District List.
- Abarr
- Abarr is now a ghost town on Highway 59 north of Joes but survives
as a community name. Abarr was established about 1921 as a general store
and in 1923 was named for Ethel (Abarr) Hoffman, wife of the store owner
when the post office opened. The Abarr post office was in operation from
1923 until 1947 when mail service was provided from the Joes post
office. According to local tradition, Abarr had a split personality -
buildings on the east side of Highway 59 were in Brownsville and the
west side in Abarr. During the 1950's and 1960's there was a grandstand
and rodeo arena on the east side of Highway 59, with a stock-car-racing track
around the arena. (Also see Brownsville.)
- Alva
- Alva was the original name for what is now Idalia. The Alva post office
(1887-1888) and townsite were located about a mile and a half west of Idalia.
According to local legend, the original townsite was abandoned and the
town of Alva moved to the present Idalia townsite because of a dispute
over access and water with the landowner. In 1888, the post office moved
and was renamed Idalia.
- Alvin
- Rural post office and store in northeast Yuma County, Alvin was named for
local homesteader Alvin Davis. The Alvin post office and store operated from
1910 to 1929 in at least three different locations. Mail service was provided
out of Wray after 1929.
- Alvin Cemetery
- See Johnson Family Cemetery
- Arikaree River
- The Arikaree's headwaters are in Lincoln County northeast of Limon. The
river flows generally northeast to where it joins the North Fork of the
Republican River near Haigler, Nebraska. The Arikaree has also been known as
the Middle Fork and the Dry Fork of the Republican. (See
spelling footnote.)
- Arlene
- Rural post office located about 3 miles southwest of Wauneta. Arlene
operated from 1916 to 1918. After 1918 mail service was provided from
Wray.
- Armel
- Now a ghost town, Armel was named by Armel Breninger who built a store
on his homestead and was first postmaster. The Armel post office operated
from 1903 until 1958 when mail service was moved to Wray. The townsite
and school were located a half mile north of the Armel Cemetery on
County Road PP.
- Armel Cemetery
- The Armel Cemetery is located at the intersection of County Roads 15
and PP. It was established in 1906 as a church cemetery and is still
in use as a public cemetery.
- Arnold
- Short-lived post office about five miles south of Wauneta that operated
from March to September 1914. The postmaster was Mrs. Emma Arnold.
- Avoca
- Post office that operated from 1889 to 1891 southwest of Heartstrong.
According to a 1898 map the Avoca community population was 20.
- Baseline, The
- The 40° North Latitude line runs east and west in the middle of
Yuma County and is the baseline for the 6th Principal Meridian land survey
township grid. 40° North was the dividing line between the 1854 Kansas
and Nebraska Territories and separated Weld from Arapahoe county in the
1861 Colorado Territory. While Yuma County was formed in 1889, the thirty-five
townships south of the baseline were not part of the county until the
borders of Arapahoe, Adams, Washington and Yuma counties were redrawn
in 1903.
- Beecher's Island Battlefield
- Site of 1868 nine-day battle between a fifty member Army scouting
party under the command of Col. George Forsyth out of Fort Wallace, Kansas
and a band of Arapahoe, Sioux and Cheyenne. The site is named for Lt.
Fred Beecher who was killed in the battle. The battlefield is located
on the Arikaree River at County Road KK, some 16 miles south of Wray
and 9 miles north of US 36. Beecher's Island Battlefield has been a joint
Kansas-Colorado historical site since 1905. There has been a reunion
held at the battlefield in September of every year since 1899.
- Beecher, Beecher Island and Glory
- The first Beecher post office was established in 1902 and operated
until 1905. It was re-established as the Glory post office in 1924 and
six months later was renamed Beecher Island. The post office operated
out of the Beecher Island store until 1958 when mail service was moved
to Wray. The store and a garage continued to operate until 1964. The
Beecher townsite is now a parking area across the road from the
Beecher Island Battlefield and church. All the buildings have recently
been torn down.
-
- Bethany Church
- Six miles south of Yuma "in the Cochrane neighborhood" - built in 1915, it
shared ministers 1930-1960 with Pleasant Valley Brethren (Evangelical United
Brethren).
-
- Bethel Church
- One mile east, then five and a half miles south of Eckley - dedicated
as a Presbyterian church in 1915. It was in the "South Eckley" or
Eureka area.
-
- Black Wolf
- Short-lived 1885 rural post office established by postmaster Thomas
Bermingham. According to the postal service, Black Wolf was located northwest
of Wray but it seems much more likely that the post office was located at the
Bermingham & McGavoch ranch headquarters on Black Wolf Creek near where it
joins the Arikaree.
- Black Wolf Creek
- The Black Wolf joins the Arikaree just east of Beecher Island. The
Black Wolf's headwaters are in the breaks immediately south of Vernon
and it flows generally east to the Arikaree. While it is usually dry
today, the Black Wolf was a constantly flowing stream until the 1960s.
Its tree shaded banks and ponds were the site of many early family, church
and school picnics.
- Bolton
- Rural post office that operated northeast of Armel from 1900 to 1901 when
it was moved to the Clough Valley area in Kansas.
- Bonny
- Bonny was a rural post office that operated from 1915 to 1924 just
inside Kit Carson County. The name was resurrected for the Bonny Dam
reservoir and state recreation area on the South Fork near Hale built
in the early 1950s.
- Bowles' Bar 11 Ranch
- The Bar 11 was headquartered near Robb starting in 1876. That year
Joseph Bowles moved his Bar 11 ranch operation into the area from the
San Luis Valley because the valley became too crowded for him. He owned
more than 8500 head of cattle and 500 horses and ran them on the open
range around the headwaters of Chief Creek and the North Fork. When other
cattlemen moved into the area the Bar 11 ran some 65 miles of wire fence
to preserve the ranch home range. In 1885, after a change in public land
use law, the ranch fences came down to allow settlers access to all public
lands. The Bowles operation continued on a much reduced scale until 1899.
- Brownsville
- Established about 1915 by Doctor Donald C. Brown, drug store owner,
barber, veterinarian and unlicensed general practitioner, on his homestead
south of Happyville. Dr. Brown moved his business to the Abarr townsite
about 1922 where he became the first Abarr postmaster. According to local
tradition Abarr occupied the west side of the road at the new townsite
and Brownsville the east. According to local stories the first application
for establishment of what would become the Abarr post office was for
it to operate under the name Brownsville but the Postmaster General turned
it down as being "to common."
- Bryant
- Rural post office that operated in Phillips County from 1888 to 1904 when
it was moved into northwest Yuma County. Bryant was named for the Bryant family
who were early settlers in the southwest corner of Phillips County.
- James E. Bryant was mustered into the
U.S. service on January 3, 1861, and was mustered out on December 6, 1864. He
belonged to Company A, 17th Kentucky infantry; was sergeant of his regiment and
was in all the leading engagements of the army of the Cumberland. He was a
member of the Holyoke G.A.R. Post No. 51 and peacefully answered the “last roll
call” on August 11, 1920.
In 1888 the Holyoke newspaper said "Headlight is the name of the new paper
at Bryant. We have received the first number and it wears the same dress as
the Colorodo (sic) Cactus.
A.J. Baker has moved his stock of general merchandise to Bryant. Mr.
Baker is a first class business man and we hope he will be well patronized by
the people of that section."
-
- Mattie
Turner was the first Yuma County postmaster. The Bryant post office closed in
1916 and mail service was provided from Burdett in Washington County.
- Brunerville
- Early townsite platted about 1890 on Hans Bruner's land at the railroad
siding that is now Schramm. While Mr. Bruner talked the railroad into naming
the siding after his new town and had a "ribbon cutting ceremony" attended
by local dignitaries and most of the citizens, it is thought that he failed
to sell a single lot. Brunerville disappeared from the Yuma County map
shortly after 1910 when Baron Von Schramm talked the railroad into renaming
the siding for his new townsite and post office located across the tracks.
- Burlington Railroad (B&M, B&K, B&C, CB&Q, BN,
BN&SF)
- The Burlington and Missouri railroad laid track through what is now Yuma
County in 1882 and by the 1890s provided daily passenger service from Denver to
Chicago. The Burlington line has operated under many names as illustrated by
the initials above. The last merger created the Burlington Northern and Santa
Fe Railroad company.
-
- The 1882 arrival of the railroad signaled the beginning of the end
of the open range, big ranch, period in local history and the start of
the individual family farm and ranch. The change was fueled by railroad
land promotions in the east and in Europe to attract new customers and
by Congress changing the U.S. land laws in 1885 to favor individual land
ownership over BLM owned, common use, open range.
- Carson Valley
- Valley is a voting and census precinct in the northeast corner of Yuma
County. Local news from part of this section of the county was published
in the
Wray Rattler under the by-line "Carson Valley News," no doubt named
for the Carson family, early settlers in the area.
- C Bar C
- The C Bar C Ranch, established about 1870 was owned by Peter Campbell
and was one of the first ranches in Yuma County. Ranch headquarters was
near today's Laird.
C Bar C (spelled Seebarsee by the post master general)
was the official name of the Laird post office from 1892-1899. (See Laird.)
- Cemeteries
- See the Cemetery map and locator page. Also see individual listings
here for Alvin, Armel, Delto Family, Downey Family, Eckley, Evangelical
Lutheran, Friend, German Lutheran, Gilstrap Family, Glendale, Grandview,
Hanshaw Family, Idalia, Idler Family, Joes Mennonite, Johnson Family,
Jones Family, Kingston, Kirk, Landsman, Lansing, Lakeview, Long Family,
Lucas, Mildred, New Hope Mennonite, Olivet, Pleasant Valley, St. Johns,
Schlake, Spring Valley, Triangle, Vernon, Wray and Yuma.
- Center
- Rural school district north of Joes. Center is also the name of a census
and voting precinct in the same area.
- Chief Creek also known as Papoose Creek
- The headwaters of Chief Creek are just east of Eckley. Chief Creek joins
the North Fork of the Republican just west of Wray.
- Clarkville
- Located in northwest Yuma County on Highway 59, Clarkville was established
in 1933 by Ted Clark who opened a store on the southwest corner of the intersection and was the first postmaster. The
Clarkville post office operated from 1938 to 1954 when mail service was
provided out of Haxtun. The Clark family also had a fuel delivery operation south of the store. The church was a half-mile east of the store.
- Condon (aka Condon's Corner)
- The community of Condon was established about 1885 three miles northeast
of present day Vernon on the northwest corner of a quarter section homesteaded
by Bryon E. Condon, the first editor and publisher of the Wray Rattler.
In 1888 the Wales post office was moved from the John Wales homestead,
renamed Condon and Mr. Condon's father-in-law George B. Vaughn,
who owned a store in Condon, became postmaster. The post office was moved
to the new Vernon townsite in 1892.
- Copper Kettle Creek
- The Copper Kettle flows generally east and joins the Arikaree south of
Vernon. Its headwaters are in the sand hills east of Mildred.
- Coyote Creek
- Tributary of the Red Willow. The headwaters of Coyote Creek are southeast
of Sterling in Logan County. Coyote Creek joins the Red Willow from the
northwest, south of Clarkville.
- Crystal Springs
- Crystal Springs was a C Bar C line shack and cattle roundup camp located
some nine miles northeast of Wray. The townsite of Crystal Springs was
established about 1888 and had disappeared by 1895. The town of Crystal
Springs briefly had a newspaper but was never able to claim a post office.
- Delto Family Cemetery
- Located just north of the Kit Carson County line a mile west of US
385, the abandoned Delto Family Cemetery has three known burials. The
only surviving marker is that of Christian J (1831-1895) and Ernsta
(1840-1888) Delto.
- Downey Family Cemetery
- Located on the Thomas Downey (1826-1896) homestead 10 miles east of
Idalia near the intersection of Rd 7 and MM. The cemetery has about
ten known Downey & Rolow family graves but no markers. Established
in 1896, the last known burial was in 1911.
- Dry Willow
- Dry Willow Creek joins the Arikaree from the west, south of Laird.
The Rosenkrans Ranch was headquartered on the Dry Willow near the Arikaree.
- Eckley
- Post office established in 1883 at a Burlington and Missouri railroad
water stop. The Eckley rail stop and post office were named for Adam
Eckles who was local foreman of the Bowles Ranch. The town of Eckley
was established in 1889 and was incorporated in 1920. Current zip code
is 80727.
- Eckley Cemetery
- The Eckley Cemetery is located just east of Eckley on the south side of the
highway. It was established in 1908 and is still in use.
- Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Also known as the Spring Valley Cemetery and
the Landsman Cemetery. Located north of the Kit Carson
County line and a mile and a half west of US 385. The cemetery was established
in 1888 and the last of the twenty known burials was in 1908.
- Ford
- Rural post office that operated from 1909 to 1917 in northern Yuma County.
Ford was named for the first postmaster Candacy Ford. The Ford post office
closed when the Wages post office opened.
July 1910, the Rattler reported "A new
town has been established eight miles south of Bryant, Colorado which has
been named Ford. The village consists of a store, postoffice, blacksmith
shop, and a number of residences. Mail is delivered twice a week from
Yuma."
- Fox
- Rural post office that operated near the Fox Ranch from 1890 to 1912. Mail
service from Kirk after 1912.
- Friend
- Thriving community west of Idalia with several stores and a post office
that operated from 1887 to 1901. It also had a newspaper until 1890. The
town was named after Friend, Nebraska, which was the hometown of several
of the original townsfolk. Mail service was from Idalia after 1901. Local
lore says that Friend simply gave up when railroad track crews quit laying
track in St Francis, Kansas instead of continuing west through Friend
to Limon as surveyed.
- Friend Cemetery
- Exact location is unknown today but the cemetery was about 5½ miles
west of Idalia. The Friend Cemetery was established about 1890 "two miles
west of Friend" and was abandoned before 1910. Most (if not all) of those
buried at Friend were reinterred in surrounding local cemeteries.
- Georgeston
- Georgeston was the name used for the general store that operated in
the 1930s and early 1940s on US 36 near what is now County Road U. It was
probably named for George Race who owned the land in the 1920s. From 1937
to 1941 it was operated by Sylvia and Harvey McDonald.
- German Lutheran Cemetery
- See Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery
- Gilstrap Family Cemetery
- Located a mile south of US 36 and a mile past the east end of Rd 11
near the Kansas line. There are a dozen marked graves of members of the
Jacob and Rosa Gilstrap family. Established in 1893 the last known burial
was in 1936.
- Glendale
- School established in 1886 two miles east of what is now
Vernon. Glendale was the first name for the Vernon community and was
used as the 1900 census precinct name for the part of Arapahoe County
north of the Arikaree.
- Glendale Cemetery
- Also called the Vernon Cemetery, the Glendale cemetery was established
in 1886 near the Glendale school. The cemetery is still in use.
- Glory
- See Beecher Island
- Grandview Cemetery
- Also known as the Wray Cemetery, Grandview was established in 1886
as a private cemetery on the bluffs south of Wray. A public cemetery
since 1900, it is still in use..
- Gurney
- Rural post office named for the first postmaster, Gurney Blake. Gurney was
established in Kansas in 1884 and was moved across the state line into Yuma
County in 1907. Gurney was located southeast of Armel near the earlier Rogers
site. The Gurney post office closed in 1923.
- H4 Gulch Line Camp
- See Olive Canyon.
- Hale
- Post office and later a store in southeast Yuma County. The Hale post
office opened in May 1890 at the Alonzo F. Rockwell home. According to
Lee Yount's diary, in early 1894 a mail carrier found Mr. Rockwell dead.
Temporary postmasters operated the Hale P.O. until October 30, 1900 when
Mrs. Hannah Taylor was appointed to operate the Hale P.O. out of the
Bennett Taylor store. The Hale store and post office continued to operate
under various owners until 1984 when the local post office was discontinued.
- Hanshaw Cemetery
- The Hanshaw Family Cemetery, also known as the Lakeview Cemetery, was
established 2 miles northeast of Laird in 1919 by the Edward Hanshaw family.
Now a public cemetery, there are about a dozen graves and it is still in
infrequent use.
- Happyville
- Rural post office established in 1910 southwest of Eckley on land owned
by the first postmaster Richard Gilmore. Cleve Mason built a store and
there was also a barber shop. Mr. Mason sold his store to a co-op but
stayed on as postmaster. In 1920 Mason had a falling out with the co-op.
He opened a new and bigger store on his homestead two miles west and
for a time Mr. Mason operated the Happyville post office out of the
new store without getting the blessing of the location change from the
postmaster general. In May 1921 a new Happyville postmaster was appointed
to replace him. The Happyville co-op store building burned late in 1921
and the post office was officially closed in February 1922.
- Heartstrong, Hartstrong, Happyville Townsite
- Established in 1920 by Cleve Mason on his homestead two miles west of
Happyville. Mr. Mason built a store and platted a townsite he named
"Happyville." When he ran into troubles with the postmaster general about
moving the Happyville post office without permission he applied for a new post
office with Maybelle Tucker as postmaster. The Heartstrong post office
"officially" opened in May 1921 and operated until 1940. The 1922 Standard
Atlas of Yuma County shows the Heartstrong post office located at the
Happyville townsite two miles west of the Happyville post office. The community
was locally known as Happyville well into the 1940s when for some reason
Heartstrong became the favored name.
- Hermes
- Rural post office in southern Yuma County that operated from 1908 to
1919.
- Holy Joe Creek
- The Holy Joe enters the North Fork just east of Wray. The creek and
the pond of the same name just north of Wray were named for Joseph Masters
the 1882-1883 Wray postmaster and railroad station agent. Joseph "Holy
Joe" Masters was a
'sky pilot' who held occasional religious services and didn't hesitate
to try to save his cowboy customers.
- Hughes
- Rural post office established in 1913 northwest of Abarr near the
Washington County line. Hughes was named
for Henry D. Hughes who owned the land and married the first Hughes postmistress,
Martha Jackson. In 1915 the post office was moved southwest of Abarr
to the farmstead of Fred Shelters, the second postmaster, where it remained
until it closed in 1954. (The map shows the 1915-1954 location.)
- Idalia
- First named Alva, the post office was renamed Idalia in 1888 after the town
of Alva picked up and moved. The name Idalia is a variation of "Ida Lee" the
wife of an early settler. Idalia is home to one of the four county school
districts. The Idalia post office is still open with zip code 80735. Local
cemeteries are the Lucas Cemetery and St. Johns Cemetery.
- Idler Family Cemetery
- Located just west of the intersection of Roads M and 7 north of Kirk,
the Idler Family Cemetery was established in 1896 as a final resting
place for the seven children of Gotthilf and Catherine Idler - Andreas,
Anna, Charles, Christoph, David, Henry and Joseph, who died that summer
of diptheria. Catherine (1854-1924), Gotthilf (1855-1942) and another
son Emil (1897-1975) are also buried there.
- Jaqua
- Short-lived 1919 post office established northeast of Hale on the farm of
A.H. Keiver who was the postmaster. The Jaqua post office was later
re-established in Kansas. The Jaqua community is still shown on the Kansas map
just east of the Colorado-Kansas state line.
- Joes
- The first postmaster, Charles N. White, wanted to use his middle
name Norman as the name of the post office which was turned down by the
Postmaster General because it was "to
common". At a loss Mr. White noted that several sons of local
settlers were named Joseph and reapplied. The Joes post office was established
in 1912 and is still in operation with a zip code of 80822.
- Joes Mennonite Cemetery (aka Joes Cemetery)
- Established in 1896 at the New Hope Mennonite Church 1½ miles east
of Joes it is still in use. The church is now the Liberty Baptist
Church.
- Johnson Family Cemetery
- Located 4 1/2 miles east of Wauneta on the Johnson family homestead,
this private cemetery had two known burials, both of them children buried
about 1920. It is now abandoned and is maintained by the landowner. This
cemetery has also been referred to as the Triangle Cemetery, the Wauneta
Cemetery and the Alvin Cemetery.
- Jones Family Cemetery
- Private cemetery located on the Jones ranch south of Laird. Two known
burials -
Robert B. Jones (1934-1991) and Barbara "Janie" [Parker]
Jones (1935-2003).
- Kingston
- Established southwest of Armel about 1885, Kingston was abandoned before
1890 in favor of nearby Lansing.
- Kingston Cemetery
- Also known as the Lansing Cemetery, the abandoned Kingston cemetery was
established in 1887. The last known burial was in the 1940s. The cemetery
grounds are now maintained by the East Yuma County Cemetery District.
- Kirk
- Community in southwestern Yuma county. The Kirk area was settled starting
about 1883. The Kirk post office and store opened in 1887. The name is a
contraction of "Niekirk" created by the first postmaster, George Niekirk. Kirk
is still an active community with a zip of 80824.
- Kirk Cemetery
- Established in 1892 about a mile southwest of town and still in use.
- Laird
- Post office and townsite established in 1887 on the railroad east of
Wray. While many sources credit the name to Senator James Laird of Nebraska,
the town and the earlier railroad stop were probably named for local
settler Jacob Laird who had purchased land just west of town in 1882
when the tracks were laid. From 1892 to 1899 the Laird post office was
renamed Seebarsee after the earlier C Bar C ranch. Renamed Laird in 1899
the post office closed in 1988 after 101 years of operation. While the
RR station, school, post office and most stores have closed or moved
to Wray, the town of Laird still exists.
- Lakeview Cemetery
- See Hanshaw Cemetery
- Landsman
- Rural post office that operated in southern Yuma County and northern Kit
Carson County from 1883 to 1918 near Landsman Creek. The Landsman post office
moved back and forth across the county line several times. The post office
directory shows entries for Elbert, Arapahoe (twice), Kit Carson and Yuma
counties.
- Landsman Cemetery
- See Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery
- Lansing
- Townsite and post office from 1886 to 1910. After 1910 mail service
was provided from Armel. Early Lansing had several businesses in addition
to the post office. A newspaper, the Kingston Lariat, operated
at Lansing from 1886-1889.
- Lansing Cemetery
- See Kingston Cemetery
- Leslie
- Town site on Yuma-Washington County line in northwest Yuma County. The
Leslie post office operated on the Washington County side of main street from
1888 to 1896.
- Liberty
- Consolidated school district for Joes/Kirk/Cope area.
- Logan
- Rural post office that operated from 1887 to 1901 east of Idalia. Mail
service from Lansing after 1901. Logan was also home to some businesses
and two short-lived newspapers.
- Long Family Cemetery
- Established in 1893, this small abandoned family cemetery is located
10 miles south of Wray on the homestead of John E. Long. All five known
burials are members of the Long family and include John (died 1898) and
his wife Sarah (died 1900). There are two surviving markers.
- Lucas Memorial Cemetery
- Established by the Lucas family three miles west of Idalia
in 1901 and donated to the community when the nearby Friend Cemetery
was abandoned. Lucas is still in use as a public cemetery.
- Ludlum
- Short-lived rural post office that operated from 1889 to 1890 north of
Yuma. The postmaster was Alexander Ludlum.
- Lutheran Cemetery
- See Spring Valley
- Magee
- Census and voting precinct in the northwest corner of Yuma County.
- Mildred
- Rural post office that operated from 1910 to 1954 twenty miles south
of Eckley. Local history relates that it was named for the daughter of
one of the residents. Many sources credit the name to Mildred Eastin
(born 1908, died 1911) a daughter of Nick Eastin.
- Mildred Cemetery
- Located on County Road U about 18 miles south of Eckley, the now abandoned
Mildred cemetery was in use from 1912 to 1932. There are 16 known burials
listed on the central directory stone erected in the 1960s by
the community.
- New Hope Mennonite Church Cemetery
- Also known as the Joes Mennonite Cemetery, the cemetery was established in
1896 at the New Hope Mennonite Church 1½ miles east of Joes and is still
in use. The church is now the Liberty Baptist Church.
- Newton
- Rural post office in southern Yuma County that operated from 1889 to
1918.
- North Fork of the Republican River
- The headwaters of the North Fork are south of Eckley near the Baseline.
The river flows generally northeast to Wray where it is joined by Chief
Creek and then flows east through Laird into Nebraska where it joins
the Arikaree near Haigler and the South Fork near Benkleman.
- Olive Canyon, Olive Ranch, H4 Gulch
- Olive Creek canyon is located two miles east of Wray and derives its name
from the Isom Prentice "Print" Olive line camp which was located in the canyon
in the 1870s. Print Olive, a native of Texas who found the grass greener
in the Nebraska sandhills, wintered several herds of cattle wearing his
H4 brand in the Wray area in the last half of the 1870s. J.T. "Tom" Wray
worked for Olive before he signed on as foreman with the C Bar C ranch.
- Olive Lake, Olive Lake Resort
- In 1898 a dam was built by the Laird Land and Ditch company in Olive
Creek canyon to store water for the Laird irrigation ditch creating Olive
Lake. An ice house to store ice blocks cut from the lake was one of the
first buildings built at the lake. Ed Wolfe stocked Olive lake with fish
about 1907 and it soon became a local boating, picnic and fishing mecca.
The facilities were expanded by John Remington in the 1920s to include
canoe rentals, a swimming beach, dance hall and roller skating rink.
When the Olive Lake dam washed out (the last of many times) in the late
1930s the railroad got a court
order to prevent rebuilding. The rest of the facilities closed during
World War II and never reopened.
- Olivet Nazarene Cemetery
- Located 6 miles north of Kirk at the original Nazarene Church site,
the Olivet Cemetery was established in 1915 and deeded to the Nazarene
Church by the Stahley family. The cemetery is still in use with
occasional burials. The church has been moved to the town of Kirk.
- Pleasant Valley Cemetery
- Located southeast of Clarkville, the Pleasant Valley Cemetery was
established in 1909 as a church cemetery and is still in use as a public
cemetery. South of the cemetery at the intersection of County Roads 53
and P is the United Methodist Church which was previously called the
Evangelical United Brethren Church.
- Red Willow Creek, Rock Creek
- The Red Willow, now named Rock Creek on USGS maps, originates in Washington
County west of Burdett and flows generally east to where it disappears
in the sand at the edge of the sand hills north of Eckley. Tributaries
are Surveyor Creek, with headwaters south of Akron, and Coyote Creek,
flowing out of Logan County, which both join the Red Willow south of
Clarkville.
- Republican River
- See Arikaree, North Fork and South Fork.
- Robb
- Siding on the railroad between Wray and Eckley established
in 1882. The Robb post office operated from 1889 to 1893 and again
for a brief time in 1920. The Robb townsite was platted in 1890 and homes
and businesses existed there until the 1930s. Starting in the 1880s,
the Robb siding was a major cattle shipping point for sandhill ranches
including the Bowles Ranch.
- Robbers Roost
- The 1870s "Roost" was located in a large bowl almost surrounded
by sand hills about six miles west of the later Mildred post office.
A small lake, hay meadows and a stream that flowed southeast to join
the Arikaree about a mile and a quarter west of the current Road U bridge
made it a secluded natural headquarters location. Those calling the Roost
home preyed on travelers on the Smoky Hill and Platte roads and on cattle
drives headed north. Outlaw occupation of the Roost ended when ranches
were established along the Republican and Arikaree Rivers in the late
1870s. It was later headquarters for the River Bend ranch.
- Rock Island
- Late 1880's place located about two miles southeast
of the present day Joes. Why the two bachelors who lived there named
their claim Rock Island is unknown. Rock Island was remembered
by early settlers because the dug well on the farmstead was the primary
source of drinking water until settlers could dig wells on their
own land. On an adjoining claim across from the bachelors' home
was an empty house where many stayed until they built homes
on their own claim.
- Rogers
- Rural post office that operated from 1886 to 1888 east of Armel. The
Rogers post office was about a mile north of the 1907 Gurney post office
location shown on my map.
- Saint John's Cemetery
- Established in 1887 across the road from Saint John's Church 2½
miles southeast of Idalia, the cemetery is still in use.
- Schlake Cemetery
- Private cemetery established in the late 1880s or early 1890s on the
homestead of William Schlake north of Yuma. The Schlake Cemetery was
abandoned in the 1920s. No markers, evidence of grave locations
or burial records exist today but there were probably upwards of twenty
members of local families buried there that were never moved. Located
at what is now the northeast corner of the intersection of County Roads
C and 52.
- Schramm
- Located east of Yuma, the 1910 townsite was named
for the founder, Baron Raimond Von Horrum Schramm, a wealthy German immigrant
who owned several businesses in Yuma. The Schramm post office operated
from 1913 to 1925. The rail siding and grain elevator complex across
the road from the townsite are still known as Schramm.
- Seebarsee
- Post office spelling for C Bar C. See Laird.
- Shields
- Rural post office that operated from 1887 to 1894 near the Shields' "Wine
Glass" ranch on the Arikaree northwest of Idalia. Daniel Shields was first
postmaster.
- South Fork of the Republican River
- Headwaters of the South Fork are east of Limon in Lincoln County. The South
Fork flows generally northeast through the southeast corner of Yuma County
toward its junction with the North Fork at Benkleman, Nebraska.
- Spring Canyon
- Creek that joins the Arikaree from the southwest between Road U and
Z. Spring Canyon was a major source of water for early settlers in the
Friend and Idalia area who had to haul it in barrels to their homesteads
until wells could be dug.
- Spring Valley Cemetery
- See Evangelical Lutheran Church Cemetery.
- Steffens
- Also known as Steffins, this rural post office located west of Heartstrong
on the Washington County line operated from 1915 to 1919. It was named for the
first postmaster, John Steffens.
- Sullivan
- Name of a mail route that ran south and west from the Yuma post office. The
route was probably named for the Sullivan Ranch in Washington County which
would have been near the end of the route.
- Surveyor Creek
- Surveyor Creek's headwaters are south of Akron in Washington County. It
joins the Red Willow from the southwest, south of Clarkville in Yuma
County.
- Triangle Cemetery
- See Johnson Family Cemetery
- Valley
- Voting and census precinct in the northeast corner of Yuma County. Local
news from part of this section of the county was published in the Wray
Rattler under the by-line "Carson Valley News."
- Vernon
- Vernon was established in 1892 on 40 acres of land sold to the town
by A. J. Miller. George Vaughn, postmaster at Condon, was convinced to
close the Condon post office after a petition was circulated favoring
the new town. The Vernon post office opened in 1892 with Francis Boatman
as postmaster and is still in operation with a zipcode of 80755. The
Vernon name was a compromise by the townsite committee after several
other favored names failed to gain approval. Supposedly it came from
the name of a traveling minister that several of the committee members
knew. Other sources credit the name to George Washington's home at Mt.
Vernon, VA.
- Vernon Cemetery
- See Glendale Cemetery.
- Wages
- Rural post office that operated from 1917 to 1950 in northern Yuma
County. Wages was named for the first postmaster, Middleton Wages.
The post office was inside the store/gas station, across the road from a grade school. On another corner was a church which is still
standing at the intersection of County Roads 58 and V.
-
- February 1914 Ora Joslin wrote "The
Christian preacher was down to the school house 4 miles west of here a week ago
yesterday and then yesterday he and the Methodist preacher both came. The
Methodist preacher preached as fine a sermon as I ever heard. They have a
splendid Sunday School every Sunday. The Christian
preacher comes once a month. Think he is real nice. You know yesterday was
church going day. The churches in town (except the Baptist) joined together and
had cards and tags printed to give everyone. They even went out into the
country with autos to tag people for church. Am sending you
a couple. The blue one I wore so it looks rather old but thought you
would like it anyway. They had pink ones too. We took dinner at Mr. Wages
Sunday. They invited us last Sunday. They live near the school house."
- 1915
Pa
has been helping on the church since Friday. It is 26 x 40 with a class room 12
x 20 on one side and the pulpit and place for choir built out with a basement
under the whole. Won’t it be nice tho.
We can hardly wait for it.
- Wales
- The first post office in the Vernon area, the Wales post office was
located on the John Wales farmstead a mile southwest of today's Vernon
and operated from 1887 to 1888 when the post office was moved to George
Vaughn's store in Condon.
- Wauneta
- Wauneta was established about 1925 north of Wray. It had a blacksmith and
garage, a school and a store but never had a post office. It was named for
Wauneta Atwood, daughter of Sid Atwood who owned the store. The community hall
is still in active use.
- Waverly
- Established in 1908, about twelve miles northeast of Yuma, Waverly had a church, high school / grade school,
store and garage but never had a post office. The school was closed in
1943 and the site was abandoned by 1960.
April 1911 “The Waverly Sunday School has an enrollment of nearly
80, and an average attendance of 55.”
- Weld City
- Located about 30 miles northeast of Yuma on the old Eckley-Julesburg
trail, Weld City was established before 1887 by R.W. Wilson and John Morrow.
It never had a post office and the townsite was abandoned before 1900.
The Weld City name survives as a voting precinct in same area.
- Witherbee
- Rural post office in the northeastern corner of the county that operated
from 1912 to 1918. Witherbee was named after the Witherbee family who were
early settlers in the area.
- Wray
- Rail stop and post office established in 1882 named for James Thomas "Tom"
Wray, foreman of the C-C Ranch when the rail line was laid. The Wray townsite
was platted in 1886 and the town was incorporated in 1889. Wray has been
the county seat since 1902 and has a zipcode of 80758.
- Wray Cemetery
- See Grandview Cemetery
- Yuma
- The Yuma post office was established in 1885 at the earlier Yuma rail
siding and water stop. The town was platted in 1886, was incorporated in
1887, and was the county seat from 1889 to 1902. The Yuma post office
zipcode is 80759.
-
- The derivation of the Yuma name depends on your source.
- Many sources credit the county name to
the Indian tribe that was the namesake for the "Yuma Point"
arrow heads found in the area. (see Yuma footnote)
- The popular local version of the story is that
Yuma was named for an Indian of the "Yuma" tribe who was working for
the Burlington and Missouri railroad construction crew in 1882. This
original nameless Yuma Indian, the namesake of the Yuma school
sports teams since the 1940s, was killed in a construction accident and
is buried in an unmarked grave beside the railroad tracks somewhere east
of town. Fans of this version of the story have placed a stone at the
historical marker three miles east of Yuma memorializing the burial.
-
- Yuma Cemetery
- Established in 1888 on land donated by John Wescott a mile east of Yuma on
County Road 39. The Yuma Cemetery is still in use.
Notes:
Dates and locations shown here and on the map are based on my sources. If
you have corrections, please send me an e-mail message providing the correct
information and your source.
The spelling of "Arickaree" depends on its context. The river valley is the
Arikaree. The town and post office are Arickaree.
The "Yuma Indian tribe" is apparently a bit of fiction. Following
standard practice archeologists named the local Yuma style point for
the place it was first found and not the prehistoric people who made
it. The Yuma point style dates from about the same geological era as
the Folsom point. It should be noted, a "Yuman" group of Indian
tribes of which the Mohave and Cocopah are probably best known, who speak
dialects of the same root language, did exist into modern times along
the Colorado River in what is now southwest Arizona and southern California.
Fort Yuma, Arizona established in 1840 was in the midst of this tribal
group.
Go to the Yuma County Cemetery Map.
For a listing of Yuma County Post Offices and Postmasters see
Postmasters 1882-1989.
For a state-wide list of place names see Colorado Places by County.
This list of Yuma County place names was complied by Lee Zion for use by the COGenWeb
Project. This page is copyright 1998 and 2008. All rights reserved