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<br />BACKGROUND l~rOR~ATICN
<br />
<br />Other important military installations follow8d-~J.S, Air 'orco
<br />Academy, (nt Air Force Base, ~orth American Air Defanss Command~.
<br />and the area readily accepted the military as a new and dominant
<br />
<br />Settlnm~"t
<br />
<br />T1,~ city of COlorado Springs, tOlUn of fountain, and unin-
<br />corporated commeJl1i tins of Strat ~on l\1eadow~, Securi ty, '~idefi.,ld ond
<br />Stratmoor ,'111age, dre the princif'al pupuletion centHs alon9 ,ountein
<br />Croek as it extends from Colorado Springs' sowth~estern quadrant to
<br />the southern [1 Paso C~nty line. This heartland area of Colorado
<br />lUaS first explorod by the early-day napmaksr lieutenant Zebulin M,
<br />Pike in Novsmber 1806. Today,asthen, the famed mountain bearing
<br />his nams__Pikss Peak-_towers 14,110 fset high in the western back-
<br />ground, ov~rluoking the fertile ,ountain Valley below.
<br />Colorado Springs WaS founded in July 1871 by General
<br />Willi a" J. Pal~er, who
<br />the nearby ~ining town
<br />which gcld se~kers h~d
<br />had diaplaced the older .ettl~nent ~s the county s~at of (1 P~so
<br />County. In I917, Colorado City became the wast p~ro of Colorado
<br />Spring~, being ~'holly absorbotJ by its Jolinny_r.mn~_lately ~iv~l,
<br />ThR year 1~5g alao marked the teginningo of Fount~in
<br />as a cammu~ity w~are a~ricultura ~nd cattlB raising ~ere of primary
<br />concer~. A baGh~lor, rho~'e O~~n~, ~nd tha A~cs T~rrell f~~iIy
<br />"ere ~he earIic~t pioneer hOtlle.t~~u~,e. D'~ring tile lS'/Q's, 'o'_'nt;>in
<br />fl~udeh"d ~s a railheau chipping point for the erea's cattls ranches.
<br />Th8 t~.~ uf Fountain w~s Incotporated an April 23, 1903,
<br />Two hi~taric event. have moat signific~ntly affected the
<br />Pi~r." ~~"k nrB~'s e~rly ~n~ modern~dey dovclopmB~t. 1n 1~91, dib_
<br />covery of the incr~uibly oich Cripple CreeK gold fielda, roughly 20
<br />~ij~~ we~t of Cojo,~do S~ringn, brou;ht wenlth ~nd ~n initial ~ra
<br />(lS9l.1CnC) of a>~1o$ive 9r"~th. LHl...,., in 19.12, the "etabllshment
<br />of Camp C~rnM (no'~ Fort Cereo") On Colcrado Springs' southern out_
<br />
<br />planned a city more decorous and morel than
<br />of Colorndo City (origindly named "El DoradO")
<br />established " 1859. S, 1873, <" ,.. to~"
<br />
<br />economic resource.
<br />The unincorporated Socurity-Widefield com~wnity, located
<br />bet~esn Colo~ado Springs and Fountain, i~ e$~antially a compo.ite of
<br />t~o major residential developnsntll--"SecurJ.ty Vll1eg.." end "~'ide.
<br />field Homeg'~.built since ,953 to houQe the post-war influx of
<br />military familiee and their Civilian employse cou~terperts. Similar
<br />residential development and related econ~~ic growth havo produced
<br />increasing urbanizatian throughout [1 P~so County.
<br />In 1970, th~ U.S. 8ureau uf the Census reported a papu_
<br />lation of 135,060 in urban Colorado Springa; 6,223 in Stratton
<br />Meadow.; 15,297 in Security~Widafi..ld; and 3,515 in Fountain.
<br />Durin9 the 1960_1970 decade, [1 Paso County increased from 143,742
<br />to 235,972 inhabitants, reflecting e g~in of 64.2 percent.
<br />
<br />The Streams and Thsir V~lleys
<br />FO\Jntein Creek originateo about ? ~lles northw8st af
<br />Pikos Peak in tha mountain~ of the ~a~part kange ~nd flow~ g~nerally
<br />southeast thraLlgh ~ narrow steep-walled canyon to ~~er'JB on th~ high
<br />plain~ at ColoradO Springs, El~vatian~ in the water~hod abova tha
<br />sO;Jthorn El P"30 County line rang~ frc<r 14,110 feet at Pikes Paak,
<br />thrO'~gh 5,948 feet ai th" Muth of 1\10nument Creek in Colorddo Springs,
<br />to 5,152 feet at the county line.
<br />Fountain Cr~ek's headwaters are fed from glacial ~now_
<br />;>acks 3nd spring~ in tlls alpine northern eloped c"nyons of Pikes
<br />Peok, ond f~om glocl"t deposits thet psrsist in m~ny of the v~lley~
<br />at.ov~ 9,50G foot el~vation. In other are"", narrOw eteap-w"lled canyon.
<br />
<br />"~'-r~~ int::d...~cd " -ore d"bl~ ~c.uno."y, t..d~~U un y~dr-round rdlltdry
<br />
<br />"re str~ight end w..ll dr"i,,~J, th~ir ground covtJr indudirog "sp~n,
<br />treee. The b~drook craek channel, str~~n ~ith
<br />~idth s~ovo the foothill~ ~h~r~ the
<br />
<br />ec;enJin'J. in ;ll~c'''' af the toudsm fe~tur~d in pre-'~orld ~'~r II days.
<br />
<br />~pr"ce, and pine
<br />bClJldsr~, av~r"S~~ 5D feet in
<br />R~mp"rt Rangs ~ou~tains erode
<br />
<br />into the high pl~in~,
<br />
<br />Thi5 transitionai
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