ERIE’S RICH HISTORY As a lover of history and the state of Colorado, I'd like to start with the middle of the 19th Century, when the white settlers "met" the indigenous tribes of the Plains and/or The Front Range of the The Great Rocky Mountains of Northern Colorado. Thanks to the beautiful survey books by James B. Stull and his affiliation with The Erie Historical Society and Mona Lambrecht from the Boulder Historical Society, my previous "brushes" with those 12 miles of Plains land between Erie and Boulder (my old stomping grounds), and my sister's family, who has lived in Erie for the past 8 years, my interest and love for the area has grown, compelling me to pen this series of retrospect for ELIFE Magazine. Hopefully, these short exposes will enlighten those who may not have the time to read the great books of Stull, Dyni, Lambrecht, Michener, etc. Although after these brief "walks down Erie's memory lane", you may (and perhaps should) read these authors' more in-depth views of the area. Due largely to the Gold Rush of 1858 at Pikes Peak and the tens of thousands who moved into the region as a result, the native tribes were inundated with all sorts of strange settlers on their land. The great journalist, Horace Greely from New York and his “command”, “Go West Young Man” certainly didn't help the confused and threatened Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes inhabiting these lands. If that were not enough, The Homestead Act of 1862 not only
invited those to move into these areas, but also buy and build upon the open plains inevitably changing the landscape forever. As an unfortunate consequence, nearly all of the Cheyennes and more than half of the Arapaho either left the plains for the southern "safer" areas of the territory or later on in history to the government reservations to the north in Wyoming or even further south to Oklahoma. Their departure left a cultural mystique still felt 150 years later in this region, for it is rare that we are not reminded of these superior Native Americans and their beautiful, if not awe-inspiring artwork everywhere you travel. By the 1830's white men were trapping, particularly beaver, along the Front Range from Wyoming to Colorado. Two of the earliest known white trappers in Erie were Jims Baker and Bridger, in or around 1838. It is said that Baker knew and befriended the famous Kit Carson. For 20 years, Baker travelled the West trapping and even guiding the U.S. Army in 1845, for a General John Fremont on several expeditions, one ending in California, Los Angeles to be exact. By 1847, Baker settled in Salt Lake City after marrying at least three Native American women (Shoshoni, Cherokee and Sioux) and fathering eleven children.
Jim B ak
Lakota Sioux Camp 1891 photographed by Grabill, John C. H.
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