Terrellville and the Lincoln Store - circa 1870

Ranch Life and Other Sketches by Michael Hendrick Fitch  1914

A. Jacobs owned a well equipped line of stages which ran from Denver to Pueblo, each stage drawn by four fine horses, with relay stations located every fourteen miles. A stage would start in the morning at a certain hour from each end of the line and make the distance, 120 miles, by a certain hour in the evening, the fare $20.00 each way. The route from Denver proceeded via Cherry Creek to Franktown (named after Frank M. Gardner, the owner), over the divide about four miles east of Palmer Lake and thence into old Colorado City, thence down the Fountain river to Pueblo.

The American's destination was the ranch on the little Fountain, known

Fountain Burns!

That and other assorted newspaper clippings gleaned from the Colorado Springs papers:

Colorado Springs Gazette November 10, 1878

Baled Hay. Upland Blue-Joint Hay

Constantly on Hand at OS Loomis’ Hay Yard, Fountain.

Colorado Springs April 5 1881

Trustee’s Sale

Whereas JS Sage of El Paso County by his certain deed of trust, dated Nov 28 1879 and recorded in book 29 page 122? of El Paso county records, to secure payment of his two promissory notes for $50 dollars, payable in 90 days, the other for $150, payment in one year from date to M. Wiley or order, did convey to Robert Douglass as trustee all those premises herein described. Whereas the notes are in default, sale to the highest bidder for cash will occur on May 3, 1881, to wit: Beginning at the section line between sections 5 and 6, T16S R65W, where the north side of Iowa Avenue crosses said section line running 18 6-10 rods, thence east 142 feet, thence south 18 6-10 rods, thence west 142 feet to place of beginning. Also a piece of land described as follows, to wit: Beginning at the NE corner of JS Sage’s House lot in Fountain, running west with is line 142 feet, thence north 306[?] feet, thence east 142 feet, thence south 306 feet to place of beginning.

The Denver & Rio Grande road grade

A Bridge to Fountain

Land Record Research - draft

I have been using Real Estate Transactions published in the old Gazette newspapers to try and identify who owned the Ark and nearby land in the 1870s.

One article from 1874 of interest was an advertisement for the

Fountain Hotel,

GA Wilcox, proprietor.

Entirely re-fitted and re-furnished.

Everything new.

Comfortable home for tourists and invalids.

No mention of where this was, and why in 1874, it would need to be remodeled!