2019 four corners - part 21, Colorado: Westcliffe's history - Travel With Us

Whenever we go to a new town, we always want to figure out why was it built where it was and what’s happening there now. At Westcliffe, all of the museums were only open on weekends and special days—and today wasn’t either. The one spot we could go to and walk around was the Beckwith Ranch.

early history

Custer County began like many Colorado Communities: an unspoiled wilderness that was pleasant for Native Americans to live for centuries. By 1550, the Spanish Conquistadors had arrived in the Sangre de Christo Mountains to conquer lands, find riches, trade with Indians, and convert the Indians to Christianity. Then came the great explorers: Lieutenant Zebulon Pike (Pike’s Peak fame) in 1806 and Lieutenant John Fremont with scout Kit Carson in 1845 (we’ve heard of all 3 as we’ve been traveling this past year). Soon mountain men and fur trappers followed the explorers, lured by the abundant wildlife in the lush Wet Mountain Valley. Some stayed to build trading posts, but no one attempted to create a permanent settlement.

first settlement

(Sorry these pictures in this post are so hard to see, but they have been exposed to the weather for a while.)

The Colfax Colony was founded in March 1870 about 10 miles south of our location west of Westcliffe and was Colorado’s first settled colony. Many of the roughly 300 German colonists from Chicago had no farming experience; financial mismanagement and internal friction only made their situation worse, but they were enticed to come here to escape their living and work conditions.

The top picture is of German immigrants at this communal settlement of 397 led by General Carl Wulsten 6 weeks after they left Chicago. It was the first non-indigenous community in what is now Custer County (Westcliffe’s and Silver Cliff’s county), which is the 10th least populous of the 64 counties in Colorado per Wikipedia.

For $250, German immigrants could escape the hard work in the Chicago’s factories to come to this colony. Within months many families left to start their own farms or ranches, and within 1 year, Colfax had dissolved completely—a worthy but failed experiment.

While the community didn’t last, their effect has been long lasting. Many colonists’ families have been here for generations, and Westcliffe’s Hope Lutheran Church, founded by colonists in 1872, still has an active congregation.

British influence

The town of Ula, 2 miles south of here, was founded in 1870 and became known as “the Briton’s paradise.” In the late 1880s, Irishman Reginald Cussack built a nearby guest ranch that brought more immigrants to this region, some of them “remittance men,” younger sons of wealthy families who lived on allowances from home. Cussack advertised in London papers that bachelors could come here and learn farming, but the respondents spent their time hunting and traveling, and most went home within a couple of months.

Some of these wealthy men stayed, however, and they brought over their families, bringing with them their touches of the English lifestyle that included formal dress dinners and afternoon teas. The women in the top photo are having afternoon tea (around 1900). A few of these English settlers still have descendants living in this area.

mining

Early silver strikes were made at Rosita, about 13 miles southeast of here in 1872, and at Querida about 12 miles southeast in 1877, and Silver Cliff, about 6 miles southeast in 1878 created an ongoing mining bonanza.

The Bassick Mine in Querida was so successful that by 1881 the town had a 3-story hotel, a sawmill, a smelter, and a concentration mill (not sure what this is). The mine went bankrupt in 1884 but was worked off and on into the 1920s.

In 1881, a narrow gauge railroad track was completed. Excitement built as the Denver and Rio Grande carved its tracks through the canyon of Grape Creek (by our campground). Joyous banquets, speeches, balls, railroad excursions and mine tours continued for days, but some saw a flaw in the plan. The tracks stopped a full mile west of town, and so Westcliffe was born at the end of the railroad tracks.

Train depot today is a museum that’s only open on the weekends.

Westcliffe pulled the energy from Silver Cliff and emerged as the central town in the Wet Mountain Valley. By 1890, the gold and silver had run out, and the mines in Rosita, Querida, and Silver Cliff were quiet. Westcliffe, however, began to thrive as the supply center for local ranchers and farmers. Prosperity returned to the valley as the ranching history began.

Silver Cliff’s miners found “horn silver,” a particularly pure variant of silver. In 1878, this discovery sparked a lightning-like boom. Before the end of the year, the town had almost 2500 residents, and by 1880, it ranked as the state’s 3rd largest city. But Westcliffe stole its spotlight with its railroad connection.

While being one of the last towns founded in the Wet Mountain Valley, Westcliffe has proved to be the most lasting because it had the railroad, allowing it to become the valley’s largest community.

Chronic flooding on Grape Creek repeatedly washed out tracks, forcing the railroad to close in 1889 and reopening in 1901 with a new line up Texas Creek. Westcliffe has established itself as a quiet, stable ranching town. Its scenery and relaxed atmosphere make it popular with tourists and second-home owners.

ranching

The Beckwith brothers, well-born and well-educated, came here from Maine in 1869 and developed one of the state’s largest cattle herds, more than 7000 strong. Around 200 horses helped to work the herds. Elton and his wife, Elsie, gave their ranch an air of an English country estate with prim lawns, guest cottages, and a stately ballroom for formal dances.

The large cattle herds started to arrive in 1870 with Edwin Beckwith’s herd of 1,500 Texas cattle. The valley was prime land for growing hay and raising livestock. A quiet boom was starting, and by May of 1880, over 13,000 head of cattle were at ranches throughout Custer County.

Their land had nearly 3000 fenced acres, and Elton developed well-placed political connections as a state senator. After Edwin’s death in 1898 and Elton’s in 1907, their land was sold off in pieces. But local residents rescued the ranch house and are working to preserve it as a tribute to the valley’s ranching heritage. Thank you!

(Much of this information came from a Custer County history website.)