WSP05262 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

3062 . . . The scenic attraction to the west is the high mountain range which dominates and overshadows the scenery of the high plains. The territory was first explored by the Spanish in 1760, In 18a6 Lt. Zebulon M. Pike explored the Arkansas Valley as far as the present City of Leadville. While in the area of the proposed reservoir, he first noted the Wet Mountains to the west and the great peak to the northwest which was later to serve as his greatest monument. This territory also became familiar to colorful American trappers like Kit Carson, Jim Beckworth and Bill Williams, who, in 1842, erected adobe-walled Fort Pueblo. The old Charles Goodnight Ranch was established in the valley in 1869. Goodnight imported Texas cattle to the area, and became an important figure in the western cattle industry. Goodnight was a notable conservationist of the nearly extinct buffalo herds, In 1876, Goodnight sold this ranch to two Englishmen, James and Thomas Livesy. Until recently this ranch was known as the Goodnight or Livesy Ranch. Portions of the ranch were acquired for the project and will be inundated. The original Goodnight ranch home- stead was not acquired and is presently in private owner- ship approximately one mile east of the reservoir area. It has potential for historical notoriety for the cattle drive era and the Goodnight-Loving Trail, Several railroad ghost town sites, railroad station loca- tions and a substantial section of the historic Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad will be inundated. The railroad through this section of the Arkansas Valley was completed in 1872, and a few years later the Santa Fe Railroad was also built through the valley, Saall railroad ghost towns like Vegas, Carters, Taylors and Riverton resulted from shifting original routes and modernization. At one time, Liversey and Swallows railroad stations were located in the reservoir area, Liversey has no special distinction, but Swallows, a well-known section point, was established in 1881 at the first Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad bridge across the Arkansas. Prior owners and vandals have destroyed the historical remnants of the towns and stations to the extent that the ruins are of no value. (See Figure 9 - Swallows School Ruin). Other features of possible historic interest include the Bessemer Ditch, the abandoned aqueduct of the CF&I Steel 26