Grand County

Smiths of the Blue River

Frank John Smith was born October 5, 1852 in Granby, New York. He married Elizabeth Olive Sanders, who was born in 1860 in Hannibal, New York. They were married in 1878 in Hannibal and had two children Albert and Lelah. Albert died as an infant in 1881. In 1880 Frank homesteaded his ranch close to the Blue River and sent for his wife and baby daughter who came West by train to Dillon in the spring of 1883.

They had 10 more children, all born at the Smith Ranch, between 1884 and 1907. As the boys grew into young men, they homesteaded additional acreage around the ranch. The youngest son, Earl, operated the Smith Ranch until 1958, when it was sold to Ted Orr Sr. His son, Ted Orr Jr. and his wife, Virginia Smith (granddaughter of Frank and Elizabeth) operated the ranch until 1967, when it was sold to the Berger brothers.

Kremmling

Topic: Towns

Kremmling

Kremmling started as a general mechandise store, owned by Rudolph (or Kare) Kremmling, on the ranch of Dr. Harris, located on the north bank of the Muddy River. In 1888, John and Aaron Kinsey had part of their ranch platted, calling the site Kinsey City. Kremmling moved his store across the river from the new site and the town that subsequently developed became known as Kremmling. There was a post office established at Kremmling as early as 1885 and the town was incorporated in 1904.

The Middle Park Fair was established here in 1912. Famous Western Novelist Zane Grey spent time in Kremmling and, as a result, wrote "Mysterious Rider" in which the area is shown as a classic Western setting.

During World War II the town was the location of a prisoner of war camp where German prisoners cut ice that was shipped by rail to other locations.

The local ranching industry, the presence of the railroad and its strategic location at the confluence of the Colorado River, the Blue River, and Muddy Creek made Kremmling a natural location for a town, which still retains the “Old West“ atmosphere.

Zane Grey

Topic:

Zane Grey

Article contributed by students of Joe Kelly's Senior History Class

Zane Grey was one of, if not the most famous western writer of his time. He spent his life traveling the world and writing until his death. Some of his midlife years were spent in Kremmling, Colorado, and other parts of Grand County, where it is said he produced his best-known book Riders of the Purple Sage. His adventures and experiences shaped his literature into the wonderful western classics that we still enjoy today.

Pearl John Gray was born to Lewis M. Gray, a dentist, and his wife, Alice Josephine Zane, on October 1872 in Zanesville, Ohio. Pearl changed his name to Zane soon after his family changed the spelling of their last name. During his childhood, Zane bore much interest in baseball, fishing, and writing, as well as taking part in a few violent brawls. A severe financial setback caused Grey's father to start a new dentistry in Columbus, Ohio in 1889. While helping his father, Zane, who had learned basic dental procedures, made rural house calls as an unlicensed teenage dentist.

Grey attended the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship, where he studied dentistry practices. The Ivy League was an excellent training ground for future pro baseball players. Zane was a solid hitter and a pitcher with a deadly curveball, but when the distance from mound to plate was lengthened in 1894, his pitching suffered and he was sent to the outfield, dabbling in all three positions. Grey eventually went on to play minor league baseball, even without his pitching.

Grey got his first taste of the West while on his honeymoon, and although amazed, he felt unready to use it in his novels. Grey later took a mountain lion hunting trip on the rim of the Grand Canyon. There, Grey gained the confidence and authenticity to write convincingly about the West, its characters, and its landscape. Treacherous river crossings, unpredictable beasts, bone chilling cold, searing heat, parching thirst, bad water, irascible tempers, and heroic cooperation all became very real to him throughout his travels.

Zane wrote his first western just after the birth of his first child. Soon after, Grey produced his best-known book, Riders of the Purple Sage. These two books sent his career into the western genre, writing classic tales of "conquering the Wild West". Zane Grey was the author of over 90 books and many of them became bestsellers.

Zane Grey made a comfortable fortune through the sale of his novels. Almost all of his books were based on his own experiences and travels. Around half of the year was used for traveling, and the second half of the year was used to put this valuable time and experiences into his next novel. Some of that time was spent in Grand County and Grey owned a home in Kremmling.

Grey indulged his interest in fishing with visits to Australia and New Zealand. He first visited in 1926 and caught several large fish, with the most impressive being a mako shark. Grey established a base at Otehei Bay Lodge on Urupukapuka Island. This hotspot became a magnet for the rich and famous, as well as avid fishermen. He held numerous world records during this time and invented the teaser, a hookless bait that is still used today to attract fish.

Zane Grey lived a wonderful life full of very real and fictitious adventures. While enjoying his later years, he died of heart failure on October 23, 1939 at his home in Altadena, California.

References: Thomas H. Pauley, Zane Grey: His Life His Adventures His Women, 2005, Chicago, University of Illinois Press; http://www.zanegreyinc.com/; http://www.zgws.org/; http://www.zanegreyinc.com/zgworks.html

Christmas in the Mountains 1951

Topic: Stories and Poems of Past Memories

Christmas in the Mountains 1951

It was my first Christmas in the mountains. Not only that, but it was my first time to be part of a vacation in a cozy ski inn. This was at Millers Idlewild Inn in Hideaway Park (now the town of Winter Park). I had been married only eight months. Dwight and I had worked hard, getting everything in order: clean beds, fresh spreads and curtains, floors shining and bathrooms sparkling. The woodpile was full and food supplies ready. Our plans for evenings were laid out too. Dwight would do movies. His brother Woodie would call square dances, with former Moffat Road engineer George Shryer accompanying on the fiddle and his wife, Grace, chording on the piano. Tom Smith would bring his sled and team of horses, to take happy folks along snow-packed roads for sleigh rides, to the tune of jingling bells. Games were at hand, along with a fine supply of books on the shelves. We expected a wonderfully busy two weeks, which was a good thing, because it had been a long time since our last income, before Labor Day.

Family and friends were coming tomorrow to give a hand over the holiday, and then the fun would begin. As the first guests arrived, I stepped outside, and lifting my nose, I thought, "I smell snow!" Great! The area already had a pretty good covering, so that when people called and asked, "Is there snow yet? Should we come on ahead?" we could gladly say, "Come." That night it snowed, 12" of beautiful soft flakes. Skiers were overjoyed. Dwight got out early to shovel, plow, pull people out of drifts, take others to Winter Park Ski Area, three miles away. That evening we heard that almost no stumps or rocks were evident on the slopes; all had been buried. The next night it snowed again 12" of beautiful white stuff. We were amazed. But Dwight got out early to shovel, plow, pull people out if drifts, and take others to the area. The following night it snowed again, and every night for a week, it snowed, dumping heaps of snow on the whole valley.

Winter Park Ski Area, in those days, wasn't open on Christmas Day; the management wanted to let its employees have the day at home with their families. So we took our guests to the top of Berthoud Pass; from there they could ski down Seven Mile Trail and we met them at the bottom. The day after Christmas began the busiest days of all. Back then, many families didn't leave home until the 26th. This was fine, until the passes closed from heavy snows and avalanches. Then visitors, who had to leave, couldn't drive out, but people who were coming by train could still get in! We had a problem. The parking lot was jammed with rental cars. Although some folks went ahead and left by train, many families stayed on. The rooms were completely full and after all, newcomers were entitled to their reserved space. We had guests stashed all over the lounge, extras in the dorms, and extras in the cabins. What a crowd it was. I hardly had time to think.

I cleaned all morning, helped set tables and serve, did dishes, sometimes hauled skiers to or from the area, kept up with the office work, and joined in entertaining folks in the evenings. Thank heaven for family and friends! There never was such a hectic week. But the Miller hospitality at Idlewild kept our visitors relaxed and happy. Truly, it was a jolly time, with tired skiers loafing in front of the fire, doing puzzles or playing games. There was always a group playing canasta after dinner, in the dining room, and peals of laughter would pour forth when somebody won a great hand. At last New Year's Eve came and went. The rental cars had gone back to Denver. The rooms were empty. We were alone except for a couple of guests. Making our path through the deep drifts, Dwight and I went home and flopped down on our own sofa. I heaved a sigh, saying, "Well! So that's what Christmas in the mountains is like. I had o idea there would be so much snow." Little did I know that for Christmas, 1952, we would still have the crowd of guests, but there would be hardly any snow until January!

Water from the Mountains - The Grand Ditch

Topic: Water

Water from the Mountains - The Grand Ditch

Though few, high altitude water ditches have had a major impact on Grand County's history and economy, there were many early valley ditches transporting this precious commodity from water-right sources to the owner's ranch. However, the threat of transporting great volumes of water from our county to Boulder County via high altitude ditches appeared back in 1889. Certain interests east of the Divide talked the Legislature into appropriating $25,000, for surveying and developing a 20-mile-long canal over South Boulder Pass to South Boulder Creek. Amazingly, neither Grand County residents nor very many others opposed this notion. Luckily the state engineer found the terrain so difficult that not even $2000 was ever spent on the project.

The next effort occurred also in 1889. This privately financed plan was to develop a two-branched canal system that would move 700 second feet of water to a half-mile tunnel just beneath Berthoud Pass at over 11,000 feet, thence down to Clear Creek and on to the Golden area. Initial surveys were begun that fall and roads laid out the following year. The effort bogged down but was resurrected in 1900 under the Agricultural Ditch Co., supplemented in 1902 with the Berthoud Canal Co. The canal was partially completed by the Frank Church family ranching interests of Jefferson County by 1906. The ditch, which can be walked today, runs from Second Creek to Berthoud Pass, though it no longer carries much water. However, the Church Ditch water rights coming from Clear Creek still exist and today are owned by Northglenn.

Proposed in 1890 by the Water Supply and Storage Company of Fort Collins, a greater canal was to be built 1000 feet above the Kawuneeche Valley, that would tap the high tributaries of the North Fork of the Grand River, sending the water over Poudre Pass to a reservoir and then into the Cache La Poudre River and on to agricultural areas east of the Front Range. The water company, later known as the Grand River Ditch Company, appropriated 525 second feet at the time of the initial diversion in 1892. (When the Grand River was renamed the Colorado River in 1921, the company was changed to the Grand Valley Irrigation Company.) The ditch was dug by hand, primarily by Japanese and Mexican laborers. By 1900, water was flowing eastward.

By 1906, this major canal, known as the Grand Ditch, and draining water from the Never Summer Range, had a capacity of nearly 358 second feet with 12 headgates within 8 miles, running from Baker Creek to the pass at 10,179 feet, plus a smaller canal carrying 183 second feet within 11 miles, coming from Specimen Mountain. In 1936, using machinery, the ditch was lengthened to 14 miles. The Grand Ditch is about 20 feet wide and 6 feet deep, though the water is rarely more than 3 feet deep, and this water irrigates some 40,000 acres in Weld and Larimer counties.

The National Park Service has argued against the allocation of all this water to the canal as it is needed to support plant life and animal habitat. Becuase river water flow was cut in half, the immediate effect was a reduction in the fish population in the Colorado River. More recently, a major washout in the ditch caused devastating damage to the slopes below the ditch and to the Colorado River itself. Hikers climbing up from the valley use the Grand Ditch as a route to the high peaks and lake. But as viewed from below, the Grand Ditch is often considered an ugly scar on the landscape.

Sheriff

Topic: Early Families

Sheriff

One of the oldest brands in Colorado still in use by the same family is the Bar Double S brand of the Sheriff Ranch near Hot Sulphur Springs. The current owners of the ranch are John Brice and Ida Sheriff. In 1863, Matthew Sheriff of Keithsburg, Illinois came to Colorado to search for gold in the California Gulch, near where Leadville would be established. Mathew was dismayed by the gray mineral which consistently clogged the gold sluice, and gave up on his dreams of instant wealth to return to Illinois.

Many other miners also gave up mining for this reason, never realizing that the gray mineral was carbonite of lead, which was rich in silver. Mathew died in 1863 at the age of 40, leaving behind his wife Marietta and their 3 surviving sons, Burt, Glenn and Mark. In 1878, Marietta was inspired to return to Colorado in search of security and stability for her family. She spent some time in Leadville running a boarding house. Her sister was the wife of William Byers who was developing the Hot Sulphur Springs area so Marietta moved to the area to settle with her sons. In 1882 the family homesteaded three ranches of 160 acres each, proving them up and added a preemption right to another 160 acres.

Bert later moved to Denver and established a livery stable and Mark and his mother moved into Hot Sulphur Springs, while Glenn continued to work the ranch. Glenn married Alice Cleora Smith in 1886 and they had two surviving sons, Brice and Glenn Jr. Glenn Jr. was only 6 weeks old when his father died at the age of 33 of “brain fever” or diphtheria. Alice took the children back to her family in Iowa to raise them, but the boys returned to their Colorado ranch in 1910. Brice, who suffered from a back injury as a child, bought an abstract business in Hot Sulphur Springs and lived there with his mother for the rest of their lives.

Glenn Jr. continued to expand and develop the ranch and married Adaline Morgan in 1923. They had four children; Nona, John, Robert and Catherine. Glenn Jr. served Grand County as a Commissioner for 24 years and also as the County Assessor for 4 years. Glenn Jr.s, son John, took over the ranch and married Ida Marte in 1949. Ida’s family had homesteaded their own ranch near Cottonwood Pass. They have two children and continue to work the ranch to this day.

Early Families

Topic:

Early Families

While natural events occasionally determine history, it is most often the existence of natural resources that lure humans to a region. Those who first arrived in Grand County came to mine ore, cut timber and graze cattle and therefore they determined the subsequent history of the region.

The pioneering families of Grand County had exceptional stamina, pride and endurance to survive the grueling winters and isolation. We have collected the stories of just a few of these families, but will continue expanding this section as information becomes available. If you know the story of one of the early Grand County families, please contact us so that we may include it in this section

Regions

Topic:

Regions

Grand County has a stunning variety of terrain, landscapes and distinctive regions. The county encompasses 1869 square miles with almost 68% of the land is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management or the National Park Service. The Continental Divide marks the northern and western boundary of the county and the county is also the headwaters of the Colorado River. Regions have been established by proximity to water sources (The Troublesome, The Muddy, The Blue, and Three Lakes) or by their geographic features (Middle Park, Church Park, and the Fraser Valley).

Early Water Disagreements

Topic: Water

Early Water Disagreements

As fast as settlers arrived in the county, conflicts arose over water use. George T. Bell, an early rancher on the Blue River in the 1890's, had water rights coming out of Deep Creek, Spring Creek, and Soda and Iron Springs. Daughter Maud Bell had married James Mugrage and when her father died in 1925, she and James stayed on the ranch of about 800 acres, to operate it. She reported years later that when Noonen, a large rancher also on the Blue, built his ditch, he took much of the Bell water and used it for his own benefit. Many years later, Maud discovered that although her father was long dead, those early water rights still belonged to the Bells, not the Noonens.

Another family, that of George Henricks, settled far up the Troublesome Valley, about 1900, in what was truly an inaccessible spot. What possessed him to pick such a remote area for his ranch? Because when he and his wife Aurille lived in Nebraska and tried to make a living on their farm, farmers upstream stole their water to the point that they couldn't keep their crops alive. Aurille actually had to use the same batch of water for two or three purposes! As water fights escalated, George vowed to find a place where nobody could be above him and his water source. Rancher Will Call took him far up the Troublesome valley to a large meadow, reachable only by foot or horseback. Life wasn't easy, for George and Aurille had to do everything from scratch, and they lived in a cabin with a dirt floor for many years. But nobody took his water!

Even more recently there was a case on Crooked Creek, where a ranching family that owned quite a good spring and used it to water their hay, discovered that a new neighbor was diverting the water from the spring over onto his own land, to water his own hay! The rancher protested and diverted the water back where it belonged. The newcomer turned around and stole it again. This situation went on for many years without good satisfaction.

The Kirtz Ditch development on the Troublesome began about 1890. In 1911, an Elias T. Copelin homesteaded land, later adjacent to the Alexander and George Murray Baker ranches. One day Copelin and Murray Baker, one of the brothers, got into an argument over water rights in the Kirtz Ditch, each accusing the other of stealing his water. Murray, who was a little guy with a fierce temper, picked up a shovel and gave Copelin a mighty whack with it. Copelin fell to the ground but after a bit picked himself up, climbed on his horse, and headed toward his home. However, the blow must have damaged his brain because he was found the next day, dead on the ground at his own gate

High on Meadow Creek, in the early 1900's, lumber activity began in the area later known as Sawmill Meadow. About 1910, the Western Land and Flume Co. put in a little dam near what is now the trailhead to Columbine Lake. The resulting lake, today filled with water lilies, was used as a holding pond for logs that would be moved by flume to the main mill downstream in Tabernash. This lumber company sold to Western Box & Lumber Company in 1912. Business flourished. There was even a short railroad going into the woods, with the tracks made of logs about 6" to 8" in diameter. Prospects looked good. However, from the beginning water rights were an issue. Some people say it was Nathan Hurd who broke the company. Western Box had lost some of its water to the Strawberry Ditch (going to Granby) in 1914. More trouble was looming. Hurd wanted to keep the water from the little reservoir for the ranchers and lettuce farmers below. The timber folks wanted to use the water during the summer months to keep the flume going. Nobody was willing to give up anything, so in 1915, the big mill closed. Still, efforts continued.

Then in 1919, the planing mill at Tabernash burned. In the early twenties, further contention led to the withholding of more water from the lumber companies who wanted permission to ditch Trail Creek water across into Meadow Creek, replacing water taken higher up for the flume and Strawberry Ditch. This would have been quite easy because, about seven miles out of Tabernash is a nearly flat saddle that exists between the two creeks. Nevertheless the Hurds wouldn't hear of it.

Then one Henry Jarvis showed up on the scene. He was known to all the timber men. In 1923, Jarvis, using a box of TNT, "blew the dam" of the irrigation reservoir at Western Box. People suspected that he did it for T.S. Huston, one of the big lumber powers of the area. The feeling was that "if the lumbermen couldn't have the water, neither could the ranchers and the Granby farmers." In any case, that basically was the end of Western Box Company.

Skiing

Topic: Skiing

Skiing

Grand County was one of the first areas in Colorado to enjoy sport skiing. While mail carriers, loggers and other workers used the "Norwegian Snowshoes" as necessary winter transportation, it was a natural progression to begin racing down the slopes for fun.

An 1883 newspaper noted that in Grand Lake "Coasting on snowshoes has taken the place of dancing parties. Quite a number of ladies are becoming adept at the art. First class snowshoers, B.W. Tower and Max James are the best; or at least they can fall more gracefully then the rest".

According to famous Hot Sulphur Springs champion Barney McLean, that town had three jumping hills in the 1920s and held the first Winter Carnival in the West there in 1911. By 1925, Denver sent special "snow trains" there for the recreating tourists. Skiers such as Bob McQueary and Jim Harsh competed in statewide events along with skiing "veterans" Horace Button and McLean. Grand Lake's Jim Harsh became the first Coloradoan to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team.

In 1932, the Grand Lake Ski Club held its first winter sports week on Denver 25-January 1^st. Featured was a motor sled with an airplane engine which pulled skiers over the frozen lake are speeds of 90 miles per hour.

Colorado's first ski tow was opened at the summit of Berthoud Pass in 1936. Berthoud Pass operated on and off throughout the next 60+ years but was finally closed and the lifts dismantled in 2002.

What became the resort of Winter Park featured skiing at the West Portal of the Moffatt Tunnel and the Winter Park Ski Area opened as a result of efforts by Denver Parks & Recreation Director George Cranmer. Early lodging resorts in the area, then known as Hideaway Park (now Winter Park), included Sportland Valley, Timberhaus Lodge, and Millers Idlewild Inn. Eventually trains made daily runs to Winter Park, loaded with intrepid skiers. Steve Bradley invented the first effective snow packer on the slopes of Winter Park.

With a strong record of winning high school ski teams, Grand County accounted for a remarkable number of skiers who later took park in FIS (International Federation of Skiers) meets and U.S. Olympic teams.

A later ski area, now know as Sol Vista Ski Basin (formerly Silver Creek Resort) opened in Granby in the 1980's. World class cross country ski areas in Grand County include Snow Mountain Ranch and Devil's Thumb Ranch.

Grand County History Stories

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Smiths of the Blue River

Kremmling

Zane Grey

Christmas in the Mountains 1951

Water from the Mountains - The Grand Ditch

Sheriff

Early Families

Regions

Early Water Disagreements

Skiing

Grand County

Grand County	Grand County Grand County was established in 1874 by the Territory of Colorado, thus becoming a county two years before Colorado became a state. It was named for the Grand River, the name by which the Colorado River was known at that time. The headwaters of the today’s Colorado River are in Grand County. The county was formed from a portion of Summit County but acquired its current boundaries in 1877, when part of the Grand County was used to create Routt County. The county seat is Hot Sulphur Springs. The area of 1,854 square miles consists of meadows, river valleys and mountains.
Grand County Time Line	Grand County Time Line Prehistoric 7000 BCE to 900 BCE: Paleo Indians (Yarmony, Rollins Pass, Windy Gap) use Middle Park as summer hunting area 1819 – 1860 1819:Adams-Onis Treaty – Middle Park partitioned – Sites of Granby, Fraser, Grand Lake and Hot Sulphur are in the U.S, Kremmling still part of Spain Middle Park well known to “Mountain Men” by 1820 1828: Kremmling becomes part of Texas 1837: T.J. Farnham’s expedition crosses the Blue at Grand River 1839: Grand River named on a semi-official map 1842: Rufus B. Sage visit 1844: Captain John C. Fremont’s second expedition, accompanied by Kit Carson, enters Middle Park over Muddy Pass and exits up the Blue River 1854: Sir St. George Gore, an Englishmen, accompanied by Jim Bridger enters Middle Park for hunting expedition 1859: First appearance of prospectors; interest in Hot Sulphur Springs 1861 – 1874 1861: Berthoud crosses Berthoud Pass and traverses Middle Park 1861: Middle Park becomes part of Summit County 1863: Trouble begins between the Utes and white men 1864-1868: Wm. N. Byers acquires Hot Sulphur Springs 1866: Gov. Cummings signs Treaty of Middle Park 1868: John Wesley Powell visits Grand Lake, makes first recorded ascent of Longs Peak 1867: Joseph Westcott settles at Grand Lake 1871-1872: Clarence King surveys area 1873-1874: F.V. Hayden surveys area 1874: Creation of Grand County (two years before Colorado became a state) 1874: Toll roads opens over Rollins and Berthoud Passes 1874: William H. Jackson, renowned photographer, takes first photographs of Middle Park 1875 – 1888 1875: First mail routes to Hot Sulphur Springs 1875: Silver ore indications in Never Summer Range 1875: First school opens in Hot Sulphur Springs with 12 students, (school “year” was 20 days) 1877: Routt County detached from Grand County 1877: Stokes-Dean political crisis 1878: Tabernash and Abraham Elliott killed 1879: Ute Indian War produces excitement, anxiety 1879: Lulu City & Teller City formed 1880: Gaskill City formed 1881: Four railroad projects frustrated 1881: County Seat moves to Grand Lake, height of mining boom, Grand Lake Prospector is launched 1883: Commissioner shootings at Grand Lake 1884: Shooting of Texas Charlie in Hot Sulphur Springs 1884: Kremmling formed 1885: Kremmling Post Office opens 1885-1886: Collapse of mining, North Park separates from Grand County 1888: County Seat moves back to Hot Sulphur Springs 1889 – 1904 Expansion of ranching Development of public education 1890: Grand Ditch construction begins... carries water from Grand Lake mountains to the front range 1891: First platting of Kremmling 1891: Berthoud Pass route becomes state road 1893: Construction begins on Byers Canyon road 1896 et seq.: Organized religious congregations develop 1892: First diversion of water to eastern slope 1898: First high school opens in Kremmling 1902-1904: Moffat – Harriman struggle 1903: Hot Sulphur Springs incorporates 1904: Kremmling incorporates 1904: Moffat Road crosses Rollins Pass 1904: First motor car arrives Grand County 1904: First telephones installed 1905 – 1914 1905: First Forest Reserves 1905: Fraser develops, Granby is founded 1905: Moffat Road reaches Hot Sulphur Springs 1905: Parshall is founded 1906: Moffat Road reaches Kremmling Proliferation of competitive newspapers 1905-1908: Heyday of Monarch 1908: Arapaho National Forest established 1911: First Hot Sulphur Springs Winter Carnival 1912: First Middle Park Fair 1913: Eleven motor vehicles are registered in Grand County 1913: Tabernash established as railroad division point 1915 – 1930 1915: Rocky Mountain National Park founded 1917-1918: Participation in World War I by 151 Grand County residents 1918-1919: Influenza epidemic 1919: Grand County Pioneer Society founded 1919: Fall River Road completed 1921: Grand River name changed to Colorado River by U.S. Congress 1922: First radio receiver 1923: Gore Pass opens to motor vehicles 1923: Improved Berthoud Pass road opens 1923-1928: Moffat Tunnel built 1926: Fred Selak murder 1929-1941: The Great Depression 1930-1932: Berthoud kept open all winter 1932: Trail Ridge Road completed Since 1930 1938: Colorado-Big Thompson irrigation and power project begins 1940: Winter Park Ski Area opens 1941-1945: Participation in WWII Late 1940s – early 1950s: Construction of Colorado– Big Thompson Project 1947: Adams Tunnel in operation Growth, then boom, of winter sports
Grand County Trivia	Grand County Trivia After 1879 there were no Native Americans in Grand County. In the 1800, the leading cause of death in Grand County was accidents followed by pneumonia. Between 1887 and 1902, Grand County had no divorces. The total resident population of Grand County in 1900 was 741. The average life expectancy was 47 years. Winters in Grand County often were severe, but nothing as terrible as the winter of 1898-1899. Warm weather preceded the storm which began on February 2nd. Four feet of snow fell by that first evening and the residents did not see the sun for the rest of the month as the snow continued to fall. The snow continued into March and April and while few residents died, but the loss of livestock was tremendous.

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Grand County

Smiths of the Blue River

Kremmling

Zane Grey

Christmas in the Mountains 1951

Water from the Mountains - The Grand Ditch

Sheriff

Early Families

Regions

Early Water Disagreements

Skiing

Grand County