The Broomcorn Express, Quarterly Publication of the Friends of Broomfield History
Vol. 4, No. 2, April–June 2024
THE LURE OF GOLD
The disparaging descriptions by early explorers (“unfit for human habitation,” “howling wilderness”), challenges of geography, and hostile native inhabitants delayed white settlement of Colorado. Midwest land was easier to till, and the gold fields of California attracted people seeking fortune in the west. However, in 1858, when Georgian William Green Russell decided to leave gold prospecting in California and try the Rocky Mountains instead, things began to change. Russell and his party joined a wagon train of Cherokees at the Arkansas River, traveling with them to the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River, where Russell planned to prospect for gold. The Cherokees had been traveling a route along the front range since 1849, going north to Laramie, where they met up with the Oregon Trail, and then west to California. A second arm of the Cherokee Trail went further west and then north, joining the original trail at Fort Collins. This route, known as the Overland Trail, roughly follows present-day Hwy 287 and passed through land which later became Broomfield. Russell’s group found enough gold to set off the great Pike’s Peak gold rush.
While many came to Colorado looking for gold, others saw an opportunity to build towns or make a living providing services or goods. Thus, Denver City and Auraria were quickly plated. In 1859, when gold was discovered at the mouth of Boulder Canyon, Boulder City also emerged. Stage stops were established to help service the miners, early town developers, and other travelers to the area. In 1864, two Overland Trail stops were situated in what was later to become Broomfield. The Rock Creek Station was located on the north along present Hwy 287. The Church’s Crossing Stage Stop was south along the east side of present-day Old Wadsworth Boulevard. Ben Halladay, the owner of the Central Overland California & Pikes Peak Express Company that operated the stops, selected the western branch of the Cherokee Trail as it was considered safer than the eastern branch from Indian attacks. Halladay also obtained a government contract to carry the mail.
Church’s Station, run by George Church and his wife Sarah, was one of a string of “regular” or “home stations” where travelers could be lodged and fed. These were generally placed in ten- or eleven-mile intervals. It was eleven miles north of Denver. The Rock Creek Station, managed by Thomas Lindey, was an intermediate “swing” station where corrals were maintained for horse changes. George Church originally came to prospect for gold but found it more profitable to provide services. His station included a twelve-room bunkhouse where stagecoach passengers could spend the night. A number of Colorado “firsts” have been attributed to his energy and ambition: first to raise Hereford beef cattle, first farm to grow dryland wheat, first to bring irrigation and build water storage reservoirs on the eastern slope. Later, he owned a ranch in Middle Park where cattle were summered and then driven back to Broomfield in the fall. The stage stop was operated until 1924.
EARLIEST LAND SEEKERS
When the Colorado Territorial Legislature created the original seventeen counties in September of 1861, surveyors quickly began mapping out townships. Each township contained thirty-six numbered sections of one square mile (640 acres), which were then divided into quarter sections of 160 acres. The legal descriptions were recorded in the territorial land offices and the General Land Office (later named the Bureau of Land Management) in Washington, D.C. These legal descriptions were necessary in order to transfer the land into private ownership. The Boulder County survey for the Broomfield area began in October of 1861 and was completed by September 1864. At that time Broomfield was yet to be named and was just referred to as Section 35.
The first farmers in the area were squatters, but after the surveys, they could claim right of pre-emption and, for a small fee, purchase the land they had settled. Surveyor George Pierce was one of the first farmers in Broomfield. He was joined by Willis Gregory and Stephen Goodall. All three farmed along Rock Creek and obtained legal title to their lands in 1864. Other farmers followed through the 1860s, but most moved on, selling their farms to those who came later. Lack of water and grasshopper swarms were some of the challenges for these early settlers. However, for some reason, Broomcorn was not appealing to the insects, so it became an ideal crop to grow in this area. A good market was also available for the stems that could be sewn into brooms.
By the 1870s, the Church and Rock Creek stations were established farms. Lindsey had sold the Rock Creek station to James B. Foote in 1866. By 1870, Foote, in partnership with his sister Mary and her husband Lafayette Miller, was running a hotel and tavern called the Miller Tavern Ranch. The stagecoach line had been sold to Wells Fargo & Company in 1866, but traffic was steadily declining on the route. The Millers sold the station in 1871 to Abner Goodhue and J. A. Bates and purchased other land of their own. Another early farmer of this era was John Palmer Graves, who married Mary Ema Wadsworth in 1873. Mary was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Wadsworth, the founding father of Arvada and namesake of Wadsworth Boulevard. John operated his farm until 1912 when he turned it over to his sons. Of the earliest settlers, the Graves and Church families were among the few to remain for several generations in the Broomfield area.
On the eastern side of Broomfield, in Adams County, another early family set down roots that continue to the present day. The Gay family settled on land that is now known as the Metzger Farm Open Space along Big Dry Creek. Susan Gay, a widow with several children, filed in 1870 on an 80-acre piece of property. Married women were generally not allowed to make entry (apply) for a land patent under the Homestead Act. Susan built a house on what is now the corner of 120th Avenue and Lowell, improved the land and received a patent (title) six years later in 1876 from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management—a remarkable accomplishment for a woman of that era. Later, her son Albert purchased several nearby 80-acre sections, including the upper portion of the Metzger property where the house sits. The main part of the Metzger house was his original home. The Homestead Act and the federal government’s distribution of land to the railroads would have a significant impact on future Broomfield land holdings.
To be continued in the next issue
Sources:
Historic Preservation Planning Report, Metzger Farm, Westminster and Broomfield, Colorado. Fort Collins, CO, Tatanka Historical Associates, Inc., 2007.
Lamar, Howard, ed. The Reader’s Encyclopedia of the American West. New York, Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1977.
Muhn, James. Correspondence related to the Bureau of Land Management. Muhnconsulting. February and March, 2024.
Pettem, Silva. Broomfield Changes Through Time. Longmont, Colorado, The Book Lode, 2001.
Spitler, Laura L. and Lou Walther. Gem of the Mountain Valley: A History of Broomfield. Boulder, Broomfield Centennial—Bicentennial Commission, 1975.
Turner, Carol. Legendary Locals of Broomfield, Colorado. Charleston, SC, Arcadia Publishing, 2014.
Ubbelohde, Carl, Maxine Benson and Duane A. Smith. A Colorado History, 9th ed. Boulder, Pruett Publishing Company, 2006.
Featured image: Church Ranch on Old Wadsworth, c. 1890-1950, Broomfield History Collections.