Cañon City record., 1898-05-12
CANON YEARS AGO.
A Correspondent Recites Few Inter-
esting Historical Facts Cleaned
From Old Newspapers.


which states: Canon may begin to
breathe more freely. The railroad
has now become fixed fact. By the
first or middle of July it is expected
that the cars will be running within
its limits The railroad referred to
was the D. & r. G. which was then
completed to what was then called
Labran, now Florence. The hotel
which has always been known as the
Mcclure house, is also spoken of as
nearing completion. In this paper
the planting of trees is strongly
urged that the infant city may be
made attractive. From these few
items of less than a quarter of a
century passed one may gain an idea
of the development of the city at
that time. As we look back upon the
desert appearance of this little val
ley few short years age how charm
ing seems our present situation
among fruits and flowers Of endless
variety. We are accustomed to hear
Canon spoken Of as slow town. To
be sure she has never had a boom as
has some of her neighbors. However,
while she has not risen in day her
growth has been steady and ever for
ward. The most primatiye settle
ment of Canon dates back to January,
1853. Previous 20 this time ii was
part Of the great desert. For time
il fiourished as a station along the
wagon route leading to the numerous
ming districts of the mountains.
Tn. population increased rapidly. As
e. ly as 1862 it is said to have had
NJ lrly one thousand inhabitants. But
3le civil war, and following closel.
upon that the Indian depredations
on the plains completely blockaded
the fayorite Arkansas route. The
tide OF immigration turned. In those
wild times resort was made to the
Northern or Platte route. Thus
Canon City went down more suddenly
than IL had risen. In 1868 but one
man and his family were left within
the original limits Of the town. The
causes leading 10 its failure were
wholly external. When they were re-
moved it gradually recovered until in
1874. the date of the paper referred
to. there WAS claimed population of
six hundred.
Many names familiar TO the few
remaining old settlers Of this section
are found in this issue. All. braves
of that day, They have scattered to
the four winds. Some, the lovers Of
adventure and the wilds, have gone
even farther west. Many, alasl have
gone to lands far distant"
From this same issue of the Free
Press will quote what it states as
being correct boundary Of Canon
City at that time: ION the north by
the big ditch, the oil wells, Smiths
marble quarry; Pixies Peak, the Polar
Sea, and the Northern Lights; on the
east by Digget's mills, Beaver creek.
the depot at Pueblo, the Great Ameri-
can Desert and the Liberal Conven-
ton al Cincinnati; on the south by
the Arkansas river, Catlin's brick
kiln, the coal fields, Hardscrabble,
New Mexico. and Cape Horn; on the
west by the penitentiary, the Soda
springs, Brigham Young, the Pacific
Ocean, and China wish to say that
the city now far overreaches and COM
prises within its limits many of the
then stated boundries, including Cuba
and the Philippine Islands. AT that
time Canon was but an oasis on the
western boundry of the Great Ameri-
can desert. Today it embraces a
broad vtlley of luxuriant fruitage. 1t
is rare flower garden an emerald
studding the mighty crags of Central
Colorado.
The star of hope which in 1874 but
peeped above the distant horizon has
now risen aloft in the open day.
Canon is often spoken of by tourists
as the garden spot the most charm
ing of Colorado cities. She has at
tanned that attractiveness which the
early settlers so earnestly strove to
bring about. Could some of the
faithful workers Of that early day
visit here again how changed would
be the scene. The Ute, the buffalo,
and the antelope have receded. The
..mo-haw," the Missouri schooner, and
the coyote; where are they? If they
could again visit the old scene of ac-
tion it could alone be recognized by
Al ILL., ~r Al.<