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Families and individuals moved to Piceance Creek to pursue a ranching and farming <br />lifestyle with the average homestead about 160 acres. However, Piceance Creek never <br />developed the economic foundation for the birth of a bustling town. So the pioneers there <br />had to travel to Meeker/Rifle for supplies or to see a doctor. It took about 10 to 12 hours to <br />make the trip by horse. Eventually, by the early 1890's, the Rio Blanco General Store and <br />Post Office was established along with a hotel and halfway house. <br />The life of a pioneer was one of toil. Often, families grasped every chance they <br />could get to supplement their income; especially after the cattle industry started to <br />experience a downturn in the late 1880's due to inclement weather. Many pioneers sold the <br />hides they obtained from deceased cattle or deer. Other resources were tapped. For <br />example, the Dudley Family established the first Post Office on Piceance Creek (Bury and <br />Bury 1972: 45). <br />Development along Piceance Creek spurred the necessity for establishment of <br />schools. The Rock School was the first built in 1897-1898, where curriculum for grades one <br />through eight was taught to approximately 15 students (ibid.:49-50). Later, schools were <br />established at the Burke’s and Oldland’s homesteads, and one at the mouth of Ryan Gulch <br />(ibid.:46). Schools were the locus for community activities–both recreational and religious. <br />At the time of the coming of the railroad, cattle production was the major industry of <br />Northwest Colorado, and Piceance Creek was a major cattle producing area. At the time, <br />Steamboat Springs was the largest cattle shipping point in the United States (Athearn <br />1976:83), but most of the ranchers along Piceance Creek used the railhead in Rifle, which <br />allowed them to ship cattle out of the area for a good profit. Likewise, cattle were shipped <br />into the area. New breeds were introduced and cattle herds improved. <br />In 1889, a very dry summer was followed by a harsh winter with freezing rains and <br />insurmountable snows. Thousands of cattle perished. Hard times followed in the 1890's <br />when a drought literally dried up homesteads that employed dry-farming as their economic <br />base. Those that practiced agriculture were limited to the canyons with flowing water where <br />irrigation could be employed. A few sold their homesteads and ranches to move into <br />Meeker or Rifle and pursue a less strenuous life. Others capitalized and expanded their <br />holdings, and many of the ranches grew to astounding sizes. For instance, over the years, <br />Reuben Oldland’s place grew to 11,000 acres (Bury and Bury 1991:166). Another early <br />settler, Joseph N. Neal, ran over 5,000 cattle, and in 1916, he received a remarkable profit <br />of $75,000 for the sale of 1,110 head of cows and a few bulls (ibid.:159). <br />Large herds of cattle were accumulating, grazing the valley floors and the vast open <br />ranges of the surrounding mountains, driven to the uplands via trails leading up the various <br />gulches and canyons. As early as the 1890s, the ranching interests of northwest Colorado <br />had become divided. At the time of the coming of the railroad, cattle production was the <br />major industry there; and at one time, Steamboat Springs was the largest cattle shipping <br />point in the United States (Athearn 1976:83). <br />43