Gilpin observer., 1901-11-21
GRAND REUNION AT GREELEY
OF UNION COLONY PIONEERS

II cOulu, WOulu go myself. nus
encouraged by Mr.. Greeley and aided
by the powerful influence Of John Rus
sell Young, at that time business man
ager of the New York Tribune Mr..
Meeker organized the colony through
the instrumentality of that paper. The
officers chosen We're n. G. Meeker,
president; General Robert A. Cameron,
vice president, and Horace Greeley,
treasurer. Mr.. II. Il. West was after
ward chosen secretary.
A locating committee was chosen to
select suitable site for the colony,
which consisted of Meeker, General
Cameron and certain Mr.. Fisk of To-
ledo, who, however, soon resigned and
Mr.. II. T. West was chosen in his
stead. Mr.. West, now at the age of
seventy-five years. is the only surviv-
Ing member of the committee. The
committee visited Denver and the
country around Colorado Springs and
Canon City, Big Bend, Evans and
Poudre valley, going thence to Utah,
and returned to New York to report
to the executive committee. They were
sent back to locate site. and deter
mined upon the spot on the Cache In
Poudre river where Greeley now stands
Temperance and morality were the
by-words. And in order to guard
against the sellig of liquor in the col
ony this clause was inserted in the
deeds to the original colonists, viz:
After the money consideration. and
also the further consideration, that 1t
Is especially agreed between the par
ties hereto. that intoxicating liquors
shall never be manufactured. sold or
given away in any place or public re-
sort as beverage on said premises.
and that in case of any of these ccndi-
! tions being violated, then the convey
| ance and everything herein contained
shall be null and void
And TO this day there is not saloon
in the city of Greeley.
After the locating committee the
first colonist to set foot in Greeley was
Mr.. John +. Sanborn. and soon after
they began to come rapidly.
Certainly they faced very disheart-
ening set of circumstances. 1t seldom
rained. and nothing would grow with
out water. The necessarles of life had
to be shipped from the East, freight
was high and the colony was short OF
| funds.
great deal of credit Is due General
Cameron for his optimistic views and
| sanguine hopes probably saved the col
ony from being failure.
To provide water for the crops four
bitches Were to be built. almost an un-
known factor at that time in the West.
No one knew how Il ditch should be
constructed. Some doubted If the wat
er would run in the ditch when it was
finished. others If crops could be raised
by irrigation ia any event. or. If they
could, whether or not it would be pos
sible to cultivate and irrigate more
than five or six acres. and no two
could agree upon any one point
The problem of irrigation was solved
1t developed from theory, an expert
ment. to a realized fact. Then and
there the future of the plains of Colo
RADIO was decided.
From the time that the first settler
landed in Greeley in 1870 it has grown
to be n city of 1000 Inhabitants. with
n population tributary thereto of about
] 10000. Over 1000 carloads of potatoes
Will be shipped from the Greeley po-
tato belt this season, besides other
produce. 1t is soon to have sugar
beet factory to cost over 100000. The
city is growing. steady. healthy
growth. without boom or uncertainty
Certainly the prophecies of Meeker
have been fulfilled.