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Indianapolis, Colorado – Est. 1887.
In the 1880s Americans were moving in droves to the Western frontier. Waves of migrants were inspired by the promises of cheap land and riches, Following the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, the journey west became considerably easier. Many entrepreneurs and private town companies began heavily advertising real estate, investment and tourism…
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Horse Thieves Paradise: John Jennings leads Colorado Vigilantes into No Man’s Land
Here are a few clippings about the citizens “of half a dozen Colorado villages, Boston, Springfield, Vilas, Minneapolis, and Carriso and also Richfield in Kansas, are uniting to make an expedition against its horse thieves into No Man’s Land.” It appears this trip was led by none other than John Jennings who at the time…
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Preacher Evans: The Great Orator of Minneapolis, Colorado
Public speaking was an important part of life in 19th century America. Whether you wanted to win an election, win support for a reform movement, or become a successful minister, you needed to learn how to deliver crowd-pleasing speeches. Candidates for office debated one another. Evangelical ministers hoping to win people to their denominations could…
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Theatre in 1880s Southeast Colorado: Ten Nights in a Bar Room
A part of the history of Old Boston, Colorado which might go unnoticed is the attempt by the town founders to build a civil and cultured existence in an environment that seemed to produce anything but civility. Their attempts at taming the “noted burying ground” as it was described in the following news clipping seems…
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Cooling Troughs in SE Colorado: Includes A Video Tour by Steve Doner
EDITORS NOTE: We have included videos from our good friend Steve Doner’s Youtube Channel. If you like history Subscribe Now. We live in an era where refrigeration allows us to have foods from all over the world. Modern refrigerated trucks and ships bring us foods which are kept in the fridge or freezer for months,…
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Crop Prospects for Southeast Colorado in 1888
PERSONS Stories and Incidents of the Early Day East Enders Before Baca County became a county in the spring of 1889 it was the eastern end of Las Animas county. As spring is upon us, I thought it might be good to look back at the crop prospects in Southeast Colorado in 1888. The following …
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Grandmother Eva Ratliff by Kathryn Ratliff Benes
With all of the news focused on COVID-19, I can’t help thinking about my Grandmother Eva Ratliff. As a young woman, she lived with her family in Pittsburg, KS where she taught school. She was told that, because of her weak immune system, that she would likely die unless she moved to a dry climate.…
