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<br />BACKGROUND I NFQRMAT ION
<br />
<br />Oougl<3s r'<>U'lty was "5tabli5he~ In 1861, TM history Of
<br />tho county is much like that of Arapahoe County. ^ lar1e portion
<br />of the county's land is qra~ing land that is used tor liYestock
<br />raising, Agricultural pursuits incluqe raising of cattle, horsos,
<br />and poultry; dairying; and wheat nrowlng. Douglas County has
<br />benef I tted from consider,~ble exoansion of oonagr Icultural Industry
<br />since ~orld War II, Clay ",In Ins, stone nuarrylna, explosiyes manu~
<br />/acturln<),anda",issileplantprovideemrloymontinslzeable
<br />establishments, Oouglas County has an Increasing population and
<br />an expanding economy duo basically to its location on the fringe
<br />of the Denver metroPolitan area,
<br />
<br />SETTLEMENT
<br />
<br />Thesettlemento/Coloraooessentinllybeganir.1548
<br />whenlJonFrancescoDeCoronlldoandhispartyenteredterereglan.
<br />These Spaniards found many tribes of Indians. Tho Ute, Arapa~oe,
<br />and Cheyenne Indian Tribes resided in the ~untaln areaS and on
<br />the plains to the <J3St, Later, in 1806 and in 1820,r"esnectlYely,
<br />Zebulon PIke and Stephen H, Long exnlored the aroa, each discover-
<br />ing a mountain peak that today bears their name, Fur traders and
<br />mountain men also explored the area in the early leno's contribut-
<br />ing to the eventual settlement of the area, The search for wealth
<br />and status, however, brought on bv the <;!Old rush of 1858 contribu-
<br />ted most to settlemant of Colorado, This rush brought not only
<br />gold seekers but merchants, farmerS, and ranchers who establiShed
<br />permanent settlements,
<br />
<br />The main develooed areas alono the reach of Cherry Creek
<br />
<br />Arapahoe County WaS the first desiqnated county In
<br />ColoradO, from then, 1858,until April ot 1903,.theCountychanqed
<br />Shape and Size many tl~~s. During the oarly days of expansion
<br />..nd "xplan.tion, the county was oniy visited bv explorers and
<br />trappers. When gold was discovered at the mouth 01 Little Ory
<br />Creek,extensivegrowthOCCllrredthrrnJqhoutther<Jqion, Araeahoe
<br />County became known as one ot the greatest cattie ranch areas in
<br />the west and Is stili basically an agricultural CO/mlunity, In the
<br />past 15 years, however. the county has ex"erienced a rapid growth
<br />in population becduse of tho [)anver metropolItan area urbanization
<br />"nd th" subsO<1LJAnt nxtenslve suburban deYelopment, ~bst of the
<br />county population is concentrated In the western one-third ot the
<br />
<br />studi,,,) In this report are franktown and Parker, franktownwa5
<br />settlej In 1860. The location of Twenty-~ile Hou~e, a hotAI at
<br />the juoctionolCherryCreekRoJiland theSmokeyHil1 Staqeline,
<br />",~s n,)med Parker in 1881. Aqr icu I ture I s the r~ i mary <lcon"'" ic
<br />~divify in tr\€l f~anktown to Parker a~ea.
<br />
<br />THe 5H<fAHANIJ ITSYALLEY_
<br />Cherry Creek i~ A ri'lht-t",nk plains trit)(Jf<>ry of the
<br />South Platt~ River, enterinn the river in a hiqhly de~olo~d buSi-
<br />nessand industrial areao/Denye!", The Ch\jrry C!"!)ek basin is
<br />a~out ')4 mi la5 lon<) and aye rages 10 mi les wide, The creek f low~
<br />north.northwe5t from the upper nnd of the ba~ln located about 10
<br />",i les norHleast o' Colorado SDrin'.l5, to i t~ con; luenco) wi th thl'
<br />South P I ,~t~e ;liver.
<br />
<br />The C~erry Creek basin upstream tr~ Franktown ha~
<br />
<br />CD'J"ty.
<br />
<br />,
<br />~tGe~!,. to moder~tcly ro! II~q I."po~ra~~\' w:~h ~o~derD~a rl~" "r,...w-
<br />i nq on ~r.e h I "her r i1'1"5. Tho:> Ch\lrry Crp". v', I I "~V is, in 'l"nf>ra I ,
<br />"~"-sh;w"d. In lh" redch frarn :war ~rdn<f0"n ~o ncar "Jrker,
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