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John B. Garvin, an Unsung Springfield Hero from the County Seat Fights
John B. Garvin, an Unsung Springfield Hero from the County Seat Fights John Garvin is usually a footnote in the history of Baca County. You usually see him mentioned as a name in a list of early Springfield newspapers as follows: Sam Konkel mentions him in the Springfield paper in 1918 (Right) when he pulled…
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Baca County’s Connection to 1939 Czechoslovakia: Another Unusual Baca County Dust Bowl story.
The Sudetenland, a region located in the western part of what was Czechoslovakia (The Czech Republic until 2016, and is now called Czechia) has a long and complicated history that has been marked by controversy and conflict. The area is known for its cultural diversity, and strategic importance, which has made it a coveted…
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HUGE IRRIGATION PROJECT ABOUT TO START
The possibility of a dam on Two Buttes Creek had been discussed as early as the 1880’s by early settlers in the area, but it was after the turn of the century before anyone attempted to develop the idea. The Springfield Herald, Volume 22, Number 19, January 8, 1909 reprinted a Pueblo Chieftain piece on…
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Sam Konkel: The Writer
Sam Konkel was the editor of one of the two Boston Colorado Newspapers, The Boston World (1886-1889) and later the Springfield Herald /Springfield Democrat Herald (1913-1930). It was in 1918 -1919 during this time in Springfield where he relived and wrote during the stories of his time in Boston, which we used as the foundation…
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Passing of a Great Range Herd
Prairie Cattle Company, Owners of the JJ Brand, Quits Business The Prairie Cattle Company was established in December of 1880 with headquarters in Edinburgh Scotland. The initial investors noticed that the ranching business had assumed extensive proportions in the Western States and territories of America and had yielded very large profits, in spite of the…
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Butte City: 1886
Boston wasn’t quite the first in the east end as this part of Las Animas county as it was thencalled. Butte City was started in June 1886; we believe that less than half a dozen houses were builtthere when it was abandoned and the houses moved over to Minneapolis, started a few miles west of…
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THE WELDING SHOP
by Kathryn Ratliff Benes(A special thank you to Donitta Johnson for the photographs of the Welding Shop) The notice in the weekly county newspaper informed the public that Cow County Welding had sold its inventory effective in January, 2000. Eugene and Marilyn appreciated the years of continued patronage. The welding shop had closed. An era…
