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<br />BACKGROUND INfORMATION
<br />
<br />yioldod $25 ."iltion in gold. So"'~ rnin~s ~re still produdn!J gold
<br />tod~y, ~nd total output sin~e ths first striko has sxcoedod $800
<br />"illion.
<br />
<br />Cdor~do Springs, tho county ssat of E1 PaSo Coc.nty,
<br />is loc~hd in c"n~rol ColoradO on ~ gently rollin9 plateau that
<br />feat~ros tow~ring 14,110 foot high Pikas Peak in its western baok-
<br />ground. This now famQu~ flountein ~~s sn early-day lodestono for
<br />ths region, first ~ttrscting tho intrepid mopmoker, Zobulin ~. Pike,
<br />in Novom~er 1806. A helf-centwry later, however, it was the lure
<br />of gold that brought these who "vBntu~lly .tayed ~6 settlers.
<br />Tho town of Colorado City. orioinally named El Dorado,
<br />waS fou"ded in 18S9 by a gold seeking party frorn KaMes. Within
<br />t~o yeers, more than 3C~ cabins ~are erected slong fountein Croek,
<br />and thB crude town had atart9d advertising its medicinal spring
<br />waters and the f~bulous Garden of the God~.
<br />In July 1871, ColorQdo Springs ~'''a fcy~nd"d by G8"er~1
<br />William J. l'''lmer, who plannod " c:ity th~t ~OJld attract and hold
<br />poople of mea"" and sodal standing. g"isterolJ5 Color,,"" City,
<br />~nly a short distance to thG WGot, wos destined to ret~in the less
<br />decorous mining community. ~lth itc a~~Ott&d mills, smelters, Sa.
<br />loen~ ~nd l)~"'bling hou~es. :Juring later ye"rs, 1 t caelIc! bo s"id
<br />that "Colorado City did the \lJork, \lJhile Color"do Spring. re~pod
<br />thBprofit." By 1873. th.. new town had displaced the elder set-
<br />tlAm9nt ~s t.hR r.olJnty se~t. In 1917, Coloredo City became the
<br />westpertofColorado5prings, being "holly 3bsorbEld by it.s John"y-
<br />co~e_lately rival.
<br />Color~do Springs' pop"lation increese<.J from ll,OCQ 00
<br />
<br />I
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<br />The establishmo~t of Ca~p Car~on (now Fort C~rson) on
<br />th~ city'a southern edge, in 1942, for8caat tn~ transition of Colo_
<br />rado Sprin9S a~ay from ita ov~rly tourist_oriented ecooorry of p~e-
<br />World War II days. Other important. rnilitary instsllations followeo__
<br />U.S. Air force Academy, Ent Air Force Ba~s, North Anerica~ Air De_
<br />renee Commend__and the oity readily accepted the military as a ~ew
<br />a"d dorninant econornic rasouroe. Published data for 1968 indicates
<br />that the overall regio~al BCO"","Y receivsd in~e fro," four pdm~~y
<br />sourceS: rnilitary 55 percent; indu~trie~ 38 pBrce"t; tourism
<br />and conventio". _ 6 purce~t; and agriculture _ 1 percsnt. At the
<br />atart of 1970, the ColoradO Springs area r8port~dly was host to 329
<br />rn"nufacturers,proce5sors, ""dserviceindustries; 29rese"r chor_
<br />g~~i'atlons; and 42 Bdmi~istrative orga"i2ations.
<br />As rBcorrl9d hy thA U.S. Ca~aele Bur~au, urban Colorado
<br />Springs' populotion i~crc~sed frc~ 70,194 in 1960 to 13S,Q~0 in
<br />l'nO, and El ;l~~o County inc,'ea~ed from 143,742 to 235,gn in the
<br />"amS YB~rs. The Colorado Springs Ch"nber of Com,"erco haa "ati'nat~d
<br />that ;lopulatio"" will ~~ach 21..,CDO in th" oity ~rd 3~8 ,ODD in u'e
<br />cOunty by 197~, which roflocts f~~ther explosive ~ro~th of ~6.2
<br />percent end 30.5 per~ent, tBspectively, within a 5-yeor poriod.
<br />
<br />S~t:le~"nt
<br />
<br />p8riod, ~ivi~ booste~$ proc18imed th~ city as ths \lJ681thiest pe~
<br />capit~ in U'B Un~ted State5. The c~use ~~o tiw J:~cuv"q ill ..891
<br />of the incredibly rich Cripf'l~ Cree" gold fiald:;, roughly 20 mUee
<br />",,"t of Co:or.,do S.,rings. In its bo~t y,,~r, 1901. Cripple (r",'k
<br />
<br />The Stre~,~ "nd Its VallBY
<br />~on~ment Creek originetes on the e8starn face of the
<br />Rocky Mo~~t~ins no~tnwe8t of Color~do Sp~ing" ~nd ttaVa~SB8 35.7
<br />river ~il~s b~for~ joining fount~in Crook in th~ city's south-
<br />\lJeotetn quadrarlt. from it~ souroo, the p"I'"~,,ial stre~ll flow"
<br />gener~lly eaet ~bout 8 .miles, d8sc~nding from 9,350 feBt Blev~_
<br />tinn thrn,,,::h rr"dpito<le ~~nYOnB ~"d tr~n"ition~l foothills to
<br />emsrge naar P~1mer LaKe Bt. 7,10C feet. It then turn~ south "fl<.J
<br />
<br />'",un, ei]",., 23,COO i.>..l,"~~n 11lS0 clI',J 1900, ",-,d, ":"ring th;;; 1988-1918
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