Fountain Valley News - Your Hometown Community Newspaper

I recently read a description of Fountain as it was just before the turn of the Twentieth Century, 1891. There are some interesting things in it. Fountain was first considered a town in 1859, but not...

Last week I left you with Deputy Harry Galbraith bringing three men to the Fountain Jail. He had rounded up the man from Oklahoma and his two sons at their camp out on Sand Creek. He was carrying...

Back in 1911 there was a branch office of the El Paso County Sheriff right here in Fountain. It was Harry Galbraith, and he watched the southern half of the county. He was not very busy, but he did...

This is the sort of a new little concrete bridge, few notice. It replaces a big wooden railroad bridge that was a constant problem to the owners. It burned in fires at least twice. It is on what was...

I have talked about the two inclines in Manitou several times in the past. I have also talked about the plan to build one up Cheyenne Mountain, long before there was a road up there, but this one is...

In past columns I have told of the opening of the airport, and how it became Peterson Field during World War II. After the war, like the dozens of airfields built for training military pilots,...

I find it interesting that there are hundreds who walk up the old Mount Manitou Incline track bed, who do not even know that it was a strange railroad. Even before it was open to the public, it was a...

In 1920 it was not that easy! In Colorado Springs, every summer thousands of tourists arrived, and they were driving here. There were all sorts of driving rules across the country. Each town had its...

I was in England this last month. Their driving is really different from here. The rules, road signs and traffic to be sure. I have discussed driving here before, but I thought this list I found might...

I told this story some years ago, but I often get asked about the school districts and what the numbers mean. The county at one time had a superintendent, and the county was divided into community...

In 1914, a story surfaced in the Cripple Creek newspaper that was quite curious. It made not of a strange gent who lived up on the hill above Cripple Creek. The newspaper called him "The Hermit of...

A real problem was raising the ire of school boards, teachers and parents a hundred years ago. Now, there was a resurgence of concern in the problem after World War II, and some thin even today, but I...

With our recent flurry of rain, I am reminded, it could have been snow! Yes even I have seen massive amounts of snow right here, in September. Oh, then there were the October storms, mainly at...

With the activity on Old Pueblo Road, I thought I would repeat some story items about that road. It was the way we got to Pueblo before the 1930's and the "new" highway. It was not just to get to...

I've done stories about some of the stories of unusual characters I have learned about in the past, but this one might be about his horse! This one starts in police court in Colorado Springs in the...

I've done stories about some of the stories of unusual characters I have learned about in the past, but this one might be about his horse! This one starts in police court in Colorado Springs in the...

My grandfather grew up on a farm in what is now part of Monument. He told us many stories about growing up there. One of my favorites was about going to the big city! A trip into town was like...

I have talked about the plaster business in Manitou and Colorado City. In January, 1921 the Manitou plaster mill was just getting cranked up again. They used to say that Manitou was a "little...

This summer has been interesting for the crews who work at the shops along the highway up the mountain. No trains, except for an occasional maintenance train on the cog, lots of workmen at the new...

I told this tale a few years back, but when I researched Fort Carson I found another item. This tale started in 1920. A fellow who was in the Pueblo County jail, escaped, and was suspected to have...

In 1932 a private railroad car was set out at the Colorado Springs, Santa Fe station. Now this had happened regularly since the railroads were built. Usually the resident of the car would then take a...

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I have done a few stories about the changes to Colorado with the use of automobiles. There have been tales about how the roads changed, along with the advent of driving rules, but today I want to...

Not since 1931 had the red plush chair cars of the Midland Terminal carried passengers over the famous Cripple Creek road. Not since the middle twenties had the observation coach echoed the oohs and a...