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<br />]-- COLOR APO ?tAG AZIN2
<br />
<br />
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<br />a
<br />the u; • •' ~. «
<br />y i..: nh a c:rn~ of n:akir:~_ a cnutn;i~l n• huil•i a .,]_x.000
<br />rr•tn~r hr's- in I<;c: ~~ i'a,:ntt~ ..: ,.. ,1 is J•; .'•• ':.`~: ''•L••. Charles
<br />P~rers,a:. emPl!•, ed a. IhP :?'Brien q uarrc. :~a~ birtr•r ::t thr finger
<br />hr ,: rar!P•~al:e. N~ came at cur- to to,,: : ccr r:e:!i_:a ass~staace
<br />and a 1: _•=ra! dose ! f :LP olri~=r.~lii.. a-,i •an c•:ri•••.•' .=a;-~',y ..
<br />Th- , ars l:n, ir. 1Gr:0 =:~'.c :. , ,,,a in
<br />.
<br />-..- I.::,~ . ..:e h::<iucss.
<br />•
<br />T::•• spcr. t-• the quay:~ies e'rre rF; ; :!a? ,, rAnce track
<br />:.9 a !•:'^:i
<br />~".
<br />lair] iatc• cL ~1a,:fie ursrrr is : pre
<br />- .. -.. - .
<br />-.- 1~ ~~ ~.• ~.. _~~~ ~ ~ _ s`tir'
<br />
<br />~.i ]'TA FE CiAARi-. l:'F:r- r •F Ca E'.'LF. F. ri!'):
<br />rh: _11~•ri! 16. 1f4~. "ten >?at es r- ]oade•;i r:it;: stra:e ,•ot e:ccy
<br />from the :•: o:'kn~~r. at the Cr'RriFn ~;~ta rr~- a:;u ;.a°;N•.1 at a iirely-
<br />,ia'.rut icy ~„r: n. Thee cr,lliderl rat the 'aazr s--itch o.itir n•:n •tn•~r
<br />ir,ncird rar•. and a promiscnr.,u, s,t:aat •.ra; tLr• rr•ah."=' The
<br />L?eu'ccr a::ri ]iio i:raude section cret•: tcer- I~rocirled t+iti; r'ori: iv:
<br />alla~•st t«r, :ront!!s ir, remociu~ the ,creeka,~~ 2n~_i repairing ti:c
<br />track.
<br />l.'a st lc i;: ~r~k tinixiled eon,tru~:tim_ her -;zw ichnvi of lava
<br />st%n:~ iu un.e for thr fall u~rm in I>y7. ai,'1 '1; •' j;. Elizabeth
<br />church in l?cncer na; opened fur ~ercices Jan. '?~. 1~~. "The
<br />elr,treit is tnlilt r•f C'astle Rocl: ~tr,ue end is enP rif :hz handsomest
<br />Ca:!.:dic cl:nn~!:~• in the state."~
<br />....,i.. J'. :'~. 156
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<br />THE QUARRIES OF THE CASTLE ROCK AREA 123
<br />In 1900 the shipment of stone from the Hathaway rO'Brien
<br />and Madge) quarries was so bean- that thr stone train on the Rio
<br />Grande branch came out from Donyer every day to pick up the
<br />loaded gat cars. The total cutp'.tt that year was IE00 cars. The
<br />stone averaged $10 a car at the gnarrc, so that the total revenue
<br />to Douglas County was $'_E.000. The labcr was the grzatzst ez-
<br />pense, resulting in s large pay roll, must of which found its wsc
<br />into Castle Rock business establishmenu.'0
<br />In 1300 the De:c Santa I'z quarry to the •se~t of to'.rn. ;-:x
<br />rapidly to the front and obsc: bed most of the available ia.'r.
<br />stone business. The coutractc securers by tie \Indgr and C`R:ic:
<br />quarries dwindled uLtil they wz:e furced out of business. In 1•~G2
<br />the Denver and Rio Grande railroad abandoned the spars to the
<br />workings and removed most of the rails," thus writing "Suss" to
<br />their quarry- business in Douglas county.
<br />Tl,e story of the Santa Fe quarry is the store of Gus \elson
<br />of Sedalia. He was the last of the quarrymen and closed the era
<br />of the lava stone business in Douglas Counts, begun somz thirty
<br />years presiousiy bs Silas R'. Madge.
<br />Gtts ?nelson was born in Fankenburg, Sn-edea, in I5~1. nud
<br />came to America in lEEl. Three year; later he mad' his ;ca
<br />westward to Colorado, where be rorkt"I in tF.e smrlizr at ;.ra~l-
<br />eille and helped ptlt through the railr:iad there. For the nr~:t fu;:r
<br />years be was empioyed by the Graltt Smelter in llence:, tlhe:'e be
<br />assisted io building the high smoke stack still standing xt the old
<br />smelter site.
<br />1u lES7 he event to Castle Rock to work in tLx O'Brien quar-
<br />ry. which Curry was then ]casing. Rrhen the quarries abut dawn
<br />due to the panic of 1E93, Itir. \elson returned tu'rcnrer, where
<br />he was married to Betty- Johnson the saWa year. The ::elsons new
<br />returned to Castle Rork anZ stertad betsz seepi:;g at the u?per
<br />O'Erien camp. They remained here far two ye:.rs. For almrst ,~
<br />year 'tir. \elson ran the quarry alone, tivioe all thz -r:.ck F•c 1^: nd,
<br />brc.tkiug out the stone, loadic; it, sad haulm; it in :. ... ra::-„ad.
<br />Gus \'elsou was young and very strcn~. ': he oid ti:,:.-~ at th-
<br />"Rock" like to tell tales of his imm?use strength. \fl- 1•'ra-Jt Cas^,
<br />now working for the Recurrl Jeurnrt(, relaters the incid~ct to the
<br />writers in August, 195: "I saa- Gus :~eLsae. i^ tlwn t;'ac. His
<br />son Frank bed to lead him. That wasn't the Gus we enew, n-hy,
<br />often in the winter of '95, when the reads to the upper O'%ric~.
<br />camp were blocked with snow, the town's people wotild ~e Gus
<br />start out on foot for the five mile tramp Lome to the quarry, u-ith
<br />r'lbW., Dte. 25. 1900.
<br />~Mr. C. M. LlehtDurn, Arrct Chle[ En~lneer, Lknt'er and Rio Cnnde Ran-
<br />road.
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