TexasEscapes.com 
HOME : : NEW : : TEXAS TOWNS : : GHOST TOWNS : : TEXAS HOTELS : : FEATURES : : COLUMNS : : BUILDINGS : : IMAGES : : ARCHIVE : : SITE MAP
PEOPLE : : PLACES : : THINGS : : HOTELS : : VACATION PACKAGES
Texas Escapes
Online Magazine
Texas Towns by Region
  • Texas Hill Country
  • Central Texas North
  • Central Texas South
  • South Texas
  • East Texas
  • West Texas
  • Texas Panhandle
  • Texas Gulf Coast
    Texas Towns A - Z
    Over 2600 Towns

    Texas Ghost Towns
    Over 700 Ghost Towns

    Book Hotels
  • Texas | Columns | "It's All Trew"

    Old towns gone, not forgotten

    by Delbert Trew
    Delbert Trew
    As I gather information about the past, I am amazed that today’s towns and communities often had different names in the past.

    It seems each generation dubbed the sites with names they preferred over the old names. Here are a few samples of such changes about an area we pass through each time we go towards Denver and on north.

    Today’s Huerfano County, (Spanish for ‘orphan’) located in southern Colorado, contains the towns of Walsenburg, San Isabel, Westcliffe, La Veta and Rye. It dates to the 1700s and has a fascinating history. The Huerfano River that dominates the county originates in the Sangre de Christo Mountains, eventually emptying into the Arkansas River below Pueblo. The area was a fur trapper’s paradise in its early days with sky-high mountains and fast rushing streams teeming with beaver and other fur-bearing animals.

    Even the river had many different names before it received its present moniker. Seems each explorer who saw the beautiful valley wanted it to carry his own name.

    Actually, the final name comes from a volcanic hill by the same name located halfway between Colorado city and Walsenburg. The hill can be seen while traveling Interstate 25 north.

    History tells us that the first Americans passed through the area in 1739, over an old Indian trail across the Sangre de Cristo mountains to Taos to conduct trade. The trail became known as Trapper’s Trail, and was used by the mountain men to sell their winter’s cache of furs each spring.

    Numerous forts were built over time by both the Spanish and Americans to protect travelers. After 1840, the fur trade declined and the trail began to serve other types of commerce. The area eventually favored the South during the Civil War, but managed to do business with both sides by selling much-needed beef for the various military detachments passing through.

    Among the many early settlements once located in the area were Butte Valley, Huerfano Canyon, Huerfano Crossing later changed to Badito in 1865.

    In the next one hundred years, dozens of settlements popped up in the area. Some still exist today, like Walsenburg, Cucharis, La Veta and Gardiner. Other settlements went through a series of changes, usually trying to find a name acceptable for a U.S. Post Office, before finally becoming abandoned ghost towns.

    Reasons for original settlement were furs, gold strikes, opening for homesteading and finally the coming of farmers and ranchers. Of course, the beauty was always an attraction.

    Among those settlements that perished or were absorbed by more modern towns were Spanish Peak, Fort Francisco, Malachite, Tom Sharp’s Trading Post, Farisita, Quebeck, Scissors, Capps, Rouse, Apache, Santa Clara, Maitland, Pryor, Munel, Orlando, Winchell, Mayne, McGuire, Larimer and many others that boomed and busted for many reasons.

    The area experienced a drastic decline in population in the 1950s. However, the past is well documented with several museums and no less than 20-plus cemeteries and burial grounds.

    What an amazing history — and right at our Panhandle doorstep!

    © Delbert Trew -
    September 6 , 2011 column
    More
    "It's All Trew"
    Delbert Trew is a freelance writer and retired rancher. He can be reached at 806-779-3164, by mail at Box A, Alanreed, TX 79002, or by email at trewblue@centra media.net. For books see delberttrew.com. His column appears weekly.
    More Columns | Texas Panhandle
    Related Topics:
    Texas Panhandle | West Texas | Texas Towns A to Z | Texas |
    Custom Search
    TEXAS ESCAPES CONTENTS
    HOME | TEXAS ESCAPES ONLINE MAGAZINE | HOTELS | SEARCH SITE
    TEXAS TOWN LIST | TEXAS GHOST TOWNS | TEXAS COUNTIES

    Texas Hill Country | East Texas | Central Texas North | Central Texas South | West Texas | Texas Panhandle | South Texas | Texas Gulf Coast
    TRIPS | STATES PARKS | RIVERS | LAKES | DRIVES | FORTS | MAPS

    Texas Attractions
    TEXAS FEATURES
    People | Ghosts | Historic Trees | Cemeteries | Small Town Sagas | WWII | History | Texas Centennial | Black History | Art | Music | Animals | Books | Food
    COLUMNS : History, Humor, Topical and Opinion

    TEXAS ARCHITECTURE | IMAGES
    Courthouses | Jails | Churches | Gas Stations | Schoolhouses | Bridges | Theaters | Monuments/Statues | Depots | Water Towers | Post Offices | Grain Elevators | Lodges | Museums | Rooms with a Past | Gargoyles | Cornerstones | Pitted Dates | Stores | Banks | Drive-by Architecture | Signs | Ghost Signs | Old Neon | Murals | Then & Now
    Vintage Photos

    TRAVEL RESERVATIONS | USA | MEXICO

    Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Contributors | Staff | Contact TE
    Website Content Copyright ©1998-2011. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. All Rights Reserved