Fountain Valley News - Your Hometown Community Newspaper

I mentioned a few of our crops last week, but I have long known that potatoes were a big crop up in the upper Ute Pass area in the 1920s into the 1940s. This story goes back to that area in the 1890s...

Here we are, maybe we can plant gardens now, but then again maybe it will snow again! When it comes to gardens, it seems fewer and fewer family gardens are seen in our yards. You might be surprised...

We do not often think that our major product might be wood. The first building material for Denver was from the Pike's Peak Region's forests. Not only that but it came from Black Forest. Early rancher...

I was recently reminded of this story and thought I would repeat it for you. One of the most exhilarating sports known in the west a hundred years ago was hunting Jack Rabbits! Such was the tale told...

It being Springtime, and a bit of rain has been in the area, I thought I would talk a bit about conditions that were fairly common a hundred years ago. This is one of those that bothered many a wife,...

I recently found a farming story that was not really new to me. I knew that potatoes were a big crop up in the upper Ute Pass area in the 1920s and 1930s. This story goes back to that area in the...

After last week's story I had a few questions about Franceville and the railroad. Franceville was named for Matt France, an early Colorado Springs man. Not far away was McFerran, named for Judge...

This area has a lot of ghost towns. Many are now included in other towns, but some around here are not even as much as a pile of old wood. Some were farm towns, while a few were railroad towns. This...

Perhaps you know about the big gravel pit at Midland, near the entrance to Mueller State Park. Did you know a lot of it was taken to Kansas and Nebraska? That disintegrated granite found in the...

I told this story a few years ago, but recently I was asked about the timing of train rides from Pueblo to Denver. In October, 1901 the Colorado and Southern made their fastest trip to Colorado Spring...

I was recently asked about this story. Today there are many herds of buffalo, preserved all over North America. Some of the largest are in South Dakota, Wyoming and here in Colorado. The situation...

I have become quite amused by an early businessman of the area. There is an interesting twist to the story. Today I want to share this man's story with you. The development of this area by General...

I talked last week about the "crooks" of the early Cripple Creek days, so how about the real big business opportunities of the day. What business would you think was the big money maker of the day?...

As a fan of TV westerns, I often wondered what it was really like in the early days. As I read about how it was, in the old newspapers, I find the answer to some of those questions. The truth is...

We have a bit of time to go before we can get away from cold weather, but I thought I would share a bit of a story about Summer weather. We can do without the problems we had last summer , but this...

I have been watching the new crossing of the railroad tracks up on 85, and I think today I will share this with you. This spot has been featured in several of my old columns. This spot is where the... Full story

I have related here how our military posts were established. One has been only lightly covered, as I have been searching for an exact date. Recently I found the last bit of information. I have been...

I recently was asked about this building when I was up at Penrose Library reading the old newspapers. Since we have had a typically cold winter I thought I would tell this story again. I have done man...

Recently I made a trip to Durango and dropped in to see an old friend, Emma Sweeny. Maybe you remember a column I wrote some years back about Emma and her movie roles, or even her stint on the old TV...

I have told stories of the many training flights at early Peterson Airfield. Today is just a bit different, because these were some of the Air Force's biggest bombers of the time. A big B-29 bomber...

Back in the 1890's there was big business in sheep in this area. I found a story that goes to show just how strange this could get. The Seldomridge and Pebbles Company, of Colorado Springs had sheep...

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...