Blog, Relocation

Colorado Springs – Frontier Vision

Founded as a 19th-century health resort in the shadow of majestic Pikes Peak, Colorado Springs continues its inventive ways as a new-economy destination for athletes, artists, and high-tech innovators.

In 1893, poet and writer Katharine Lee Bates boarded a train in Massachusetts headed to Colorado Springs. Escaping the sweltering New
England summer, she planned to enjoy the region’s dry, mild climate and serve as a guest lecturer at Colorado College. During her stay, Bates made her way to the top of Pikes Peak and stood in awe of the scenic grandeur of the surrounding mountains and plains. The view from the summit inspired her to write the poem “America the Beautiful.” Once set to music, her vivid descriptions of “purple mountain majesties” and “amber waves of grain” became, for many, our national anthem.

Bates was one of countless people over the centuries to draw inspiration from Pikes Peak. The oral tradition of the Ute people says that they have always lived close to the mountain. They call it Ta-Wa-Ah-Gath, or “Sun Mountain,” for the way it collects and reflects the morning’s rays. The Spanish, who settled in northern New Mexico and explored the area in the 16th century, called it Almagre for its vibrant red coloring.

The first American official to encounter the mountain was a dashing young Army lieutenant named Zebulon Montgomery Pike. In 1806, as Lewis and Clark were returning home from their expedition, Pike was dispatched to explore the southwestern boundary of the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. Pike named the mountain Grand Peak when he first caught a glimpse of it looming in the distance. A few weeks later, he attempted to climb the peak to survey the surrounding landscape and chart the rivers. Deep snow deterred him from the summit, but in 1810 he published an account of his expedition and literally put the mountain on the map. As a result, his name is forever attached to the peak.

The discovery of gold spurred the first permanent settlement in the region. In 1859, bold businessmen established Colorado City at the lower end of the Ute Pass trail, which led to mining camps in the central Rockies. Their rugged and wild supply camp sold goods and equipment to eager miners on their way west. Old Colorado City is still a distinctive community on the west side of Colorado Springs with its own personality, quirky shops, and unique restaurants.

Today’s incorporated city of Colorado Springs sprang from the lively imagination of one man. General William Jackson Palmer, a Civil War hero and railroad magnate, established the city in 1871. A planned community from its beginning, the city was without an industrial or manufacturing base, but it prospered just the same. Palmer used the area’s enticing scenery, nearby mineral springs, and other amenities to attract residents. He laid out the broad streets, hauled in 10,000 trees to make the city green and lush, set aside thousands of acres of parkland, and built lavish buildings with a European sense of style.

Colorado Springs was no frontier boomtown. It attracted wealthy residents and capitalists as well as intellectuals, artists, inventors, and writers such as Bates. The city served as a destination for health seekers who hoped that the community’s abundant sunshine and fresh air would cure their tuberculosis. After the 1891 gold rush in Cripple Creek, just to the west of Pikes Peak, even more wealth came to Colorado Springs. For a time, the city had more millionaires per capita than anywhere in the country.

Entrepreneurs and visionaries continue to add intricate layers to the economy. Colorado Springs is an art colony, college town, military installation, destination for the high-tech industry, and home to the U.S. Olympic Committee headquarters. Peel away those layers and you still find Palmer’s healthful, attractive community with an extensive park system, trails galore, red sandstone spires, and that ever-present mountain. The Pikes Peak region is a cultural and geographic confluence. It’s where the mountains meet the plains, where the Southwest joins the heartland, where ancient cultures converge with 21st century society, and where the past informs the future. For some, it’s stirring enough to inspire poetry.

Matt Mayberry is a historian and cultural services manager for the city of Colorado Springs. He oversees operations of the Colorado Springs Museum and Rock Ledge Ranch and interpretive programs in Garden of the Gods and North Cheyenne Cañon.

Source: hemispheresmagazine.com 
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