A View of the Past
A Douglas County History Repository Exhibit
Ivan's Blacksmith Shop: The Smithy, A Pioneer's Best Friend
What is one the most recognizable businesses found in pioneer towns? The blacksmith shop, of course. It was an indispensable trade for a community that needed metal fittings of all kinds, domestic, farming, ranching, and commercial. In the late 1800s and early 1900s Castle Rock, Colorado had three blacksmith shops. Two of these faced the courthouse square, one to the north and one to the south. The Sanborn Fire Insurance map of 1890 has the shops on the map. Research has led to the belief that the plot #13 to the north of the courthouse is the blacksmith shop belonging to a man named George Nickson. Mr. Nickson owned the shop until the 1960s when Ivan Cramer purchased the furnishings. Mr. Cramer moved the equipment for use on his ranch on Liggett Road north of Castle Rock..
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THE BIG DRY CREEK CHEESE RANCH 1879-1943:
The Success Story of an Early Douglas County Pioneer Family
In 1879, pioneers John Welte and Plaziduo Gassner, Austrian immigrants purchased for $700.00 the land upon which the Big Dry Creek Cheese Ranch would be built. In 1985 Mission Viejo commissioned Dr. Richard Carrillo and his staff of historical archaeologists to do an archaeological study of the Cheese Ranch prior to the demolition of the site. The history and the artifacts collected by Dr. Carrillo give us a window into a family and a business that contributed to the settlement of Douglas County and Colorado.
The June 1880 census reveals a total of eleven persons residing at the Cheese Ranch. Plaziduo Gassner whose occupation is listed as stock grower, age undetermined, who was born in Austria; Mary, his wife, age 30, born in Austria and listed as housekeeper; and their two daughters. Emma who was five years old born in 1875, and Bertha, who was 2 months old. Also listed are John B. Welte, stock raiser, 36 years of age; Theresa 34 years old, his wife, listed as a housekeeper; and their daughter Emily who was one year old. Also living at the ranch were several boarders and/or ranch hands. In addition to the economic aspects of the Cheese Ranch it played an additional role as a popular social center for both the local residents and people from Denver. Young and old would ride to the ranch on occassion, drink their favorite beverages and enjoy the delicious cheeses made there. John Welte's unique dairying and farming techniques were recognized in a farming magazine entitled The Scientific Farmer. Two articles were written in 1906 about the Cheese Ranch describing the ranch during its peak period of production.
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THE KENT AND MARY LOU BRANDEBERY COLLECTION:
Music and Instruments 1860s-1900s
Kent Brandebery was the band director for Douglas County High School for thirty-two years. In addition to his vocal and instrumental career in public schools, he is an avid collector of historic artifacts. One of these collections, musical instruments of the 1860s to the 1900s, is now part of the Douglas County History Repository and ready to be enjoyed by the public.
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Who walked with the Columbian mammoth in Douglas County, Colorado 13,000 years ago?
The Ice Age was coming to an end and climate was warming. The mammoth, ancestral bison, three-toed sloth, sabre-toothed tiger, camel, ancestral horse were prey for humans and the weapons of choice were the spear and atlatl. As the environment changed, the large mammals went extinct and over time the people adjusted their weapons and methods of food procurement.
Animal trails became trails for the humans as well on their migrations following food and water sources. Populations grew and interaction with other groups of people brought new technologies. Shelters went from natural caves and rockshelters to shallow pit structures. The bow and arrow and pottery were introduced. The 11,500 years until contact with European explorers moved slowly but with continuing changes in the life of the people.
This exhibit will show artifacts left behind by inhabitants of Douglas County from the early occupation to the time when written records documented their presence.
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Prehistoric Archaic Stage: 7500 BP - 1800 BP
Archaic Stage is characterized by hunting of large and small animals and increasing use of plants. Early Archaic is characterized by large, side and corner notched dart points. Middle Archaic had stemmed, indented-base points and some large side-notched, corner notched and stemmed points. Late Archaic had large corner and side notched points.
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Late Prehistoric Stage: 150 - 1540
Basic life systems are little changed from the Archaic Stage. People migrated in a seasonal round for their daily needs although the nomadic groups gradually grew into larger clusters and stayed in one place for longer periods of time.
Early Ceramic and Middle Ceramic periods define the suble differences in cultural artifacts. The largest technological changes are the introduction of the bow and arrow, and the manufacture and use of ceramics.
Both of these tool adoptions are reflected in the artifacts recovered from archaeological sites. Projectile points are smaller, fired clay ceramics are commonly associated with more domesicated plants. Ground stone artifacts are more numerous.
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Gold Rush to Settlement: 1858-1950
The Protohistoric Period, A.D. 1540-1860, begins with European contact and ends with settlement by EuroAmerican people who wrote down their observations of the native peoples.
The discovery of gold in Douglas County in 1858 by the Green Russell party began the gold rush era in Colorado.
Russellville Gulch along the Cherokee Trail was the site of first 'color'. Green Russell and his group that included Cherokee Indians camped at Russellville Gulch and panned the small creek. Finding gold in amounts not worth their time, they moved on but sent word back East about the gold. Sporadic mining in the county yielded little gold but brought settlers who found other reasons to stay.
Gold mining continued in one area of Douglas County until the early 1940s, the Newlin Gulch (Muldoon) mine.
This exhibit will feature early settlement household life artifacts as well as the gold recovery.
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Agriculture, Commerce, Government: Cattle, Lumber, Potatoes and Dynamite, 1860-1950
When the gold mining waned, sawmills, cattle ranching, dairying and farming became the economic mainstays. The company town of Louviers was founded by the DuPont Company for the manufacture of dynamite.
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Guns and Ammunition: Military and Civilian 1860-1950
Once again the trail system brought Douglas County into history. Military groups formed for protection from the Indians traveled the Cherokee Trail and camped in the Russellville Gulch area. All ranchers and farmers had weapons for protection and for hunting. This exhibit will feature military weaponry, accessories and ammunition but will also have artifacts from households that show this aspect of how the family or community lived.
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