Oliver W. Toll

by Cindy Elkins

Ever wonder why there is a Mount Olympus in the middle of the USA near a protected body of land? Remember the famous Mount Olympus with all the mythology and super-power gods doing their thing?

Well, speculation be; let your imagination roam to a time when light pollution was nonexistent, roads were few, and the skies over the plains and Front Range of Colorado revealed the magnificent views that we love in their purest form. Silhouetted clear horizons and storm-filled peaks harbor creation stories and magic. The original inhabitants of the happy hunting grounds that now house millions of visitors and permanent residents along the front range, once encompassed the trails that Oliver W. Toll traversed while diligently recording what he could from his traveling companions. Come on into a slice of the history of the making of Rocky Mountain National Park and imagine what it was to hunt game within the deep forests and sacred grounds. Now we follow strict regulations, make sure to check for trespassing and know that special places need protection. Our National Park Service protects and holds sacred places that could be overrun. Here is a short recap of a journey that helped create our Rocky.

Top from left: Shep Husted, Sherman Sage, Gun Griswold, Tom Crispin, Oliver Toll, and seated, David Hawkins.

Historical photo

Imagine embarking on a horseback service trip that would help preserve history and support the development of the Rocky Mountain National Park. In 1914, members of the Colorado Mountain Club were inspired to approach Arapaho Elders of the Wind River Reservation to come back to Colorado and help identify the original names of the peaks, creeks, and valleys. The intention of the Colorado Mountain Club was to persuade congress to create a National Park in the high peaks of Colorado. Harriet Vaille and Edna Hendie spearheaded the project and went searching for Arapaho Elders that would be willing to help. The project needed them for a journey to record the Arapaho names and capture the importance of place connections that would be forgotten if not written down. Willing participants found, Harriet approached her 22-year-old cousin Oliver W. Toll to be the official ethnographer for the voyage. The group accepted the challenge to ride across the rugged mountains of Estes Park, Grand Lake, and what is now known as Rocky Mountain National Park. On July 16, 1914 the two-week trip began starting at Mary's Lake where a native camp was once located. Weathering the elements to support a project that would inspire generations, Toll and Shep Husted, a local backcountry guide, traveled with two Arapaho Elders named Sherman Sage and Gun Griswold, along with an interpreter Tom Crispin, who was part Arapaho. They shared their knowledge of the land and waterways remembered from childhood. In their youth Sage and Griswold had lived and traveled through the pristine land with their families. They were able to share stories, insights and original names with the help of Crispin. Language barriers and complications with cultural differences influenced the ability to capture information. In the Arapaho language several of the words mean different things depending on how and where they are used and this complicated the interpretation. Griswold, then 73, and Sage at age 63, kept up with the youthful Toll and did their best to remember the stories of their youth. Yet the trip was especially difficult on Griswold as they traversed the Continental Divide four times in two weeks. Meeting locals along the way such as Peter Hondius, Enos Mills and staying with “Squeaky” Bob Wheeler at his ranch in Upper Beaver Meadows, the group completed the mission. Toll diligently recorded what he could of the names of landmarks and stories of Shoshone, Apache, and Arapaho battle locations.

Marys Lake today is much different than when it was a small pond, used as a campsite for traveling Arapaho hunters.

Photo by Cindy Elkins

His account of the geography and history of the northern Colorado Rocky Mountains, "Arapaho Names & Trails: A Report of a 1914 Pack Trip," was published almost five decades after the trip. It reads like a daily dairy and is available from the Rocky Mountain Conservancy and the RMNP visitor centers. In one section of the book Toll explains about how the trails that cross the Divide are marked by placing rocks on a monument when he wrote, “The whole country was covered with Indian trails. In open parks, these trails would generally be very vague..., but over the mountains the trails were distinct and occasionally marked by monuments. These piles of stones were on the average about four feet in diameter. ... As they passed, it was customary for everyone to put a rock on the monument..."

Oliver Wolcott Toll (1891-1981) lived to be 90 years old and served our country in World War I as a naval aviator and in World War II as a member of the prosecuting team for the Nuremburg War Crimes. His career as an attorney led him to work for several different government agencies and influenced by family and his trip across Colorado's high country, Toll led a life of service. He graduated from Williams College and Harvard Law School and eventually practiced law in Denver, Colorado. Prior to returning to Colorado, Toll worked in Washington DC with the Department of Agriculture and the Federal Trade Commission. His accomplishments supported land preservation and can be credited with helping to preserve our natural environment for generations.

The voyage into the backcountry supported the creation of RMNP and strengthened the relationship with the Arapaho Nation. Celebrations for the 100 Year Anniversary of the trip were held. Recently, a ceremonial acknowledgement from the Town of Estes Park honored that the lands in and around Estes Park were originally native owned. With the courage and insights of the Colorado Mountain Club, young Oliver W. Toll, and his companions: Sage, Griswold, Crispin, and Husted, a park was born and thankfully our park is much like it was before the progress of development.

Born in the mountains of West Virginia, Cindy Elkins has called Colorado home since 1981. As a professional artist and teacher, hiking and the outdoors provide inspiration and keep her active.

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