Roswell, Colorado

Roswell, now annexed into the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado,[1][lower-alpha 1] was a coal mine settlement near the northern bluffs of Colorado Springs[1] and a 19th-century railroad junction.[4] The town was located at roughly the present intersection of Fillmore Street and North Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs.[5]

History

The town of Roswell, built 2.5 miles (4.0 km) north of Colorado Springs in 1889,[6] was named for a man from New York, Governor Roswell P. Flower,[7] who felt that Colorado Springs' climate was only second to Saranac, New York for its curative benefits for tuberculosis patients. (See Tuberculosis treatment in Colorado Springs).[8]

By 1899, he was an investor in mining[9] and the Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway.[10] The town was located on Monument Creek at the junction of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D&RG) and Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroads (CRI&P).[6] The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad had reached the area about 1875[11] and in 1889, Roswell had a Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P) yard.[12][lower-alpha 2] Roswell had a stone Rock Island Round House and an Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway bridge over the CRI&P railway.[14]

There were 448 residents in 1900.[15] In 1902, Roswell was a "considerable settlement".[16] Its streets included: Brewster, Cable, Elm (a northern city boundary), Holly, Laurel, Low, Myrtle, Parker, Poplar, Rock Island, Roswell, Sage, and part of Cedar.[1] Roswell had a school,[1] Methodist Episcopal Church,[13] and the Roswell Hotel by 1903.[13] That year, the 26.04-acre (10.54 ha) Roswell Park had an equestrian race track[1][lower-alpha 3] and a ballpark.[18]

According to the 1910 United States Federal census, there were 426 residents in Roswell (El Paso County precinct 22).[19] By 1911, the population had reduced to 250 people.[20] By 1919, Roswell was a transfer station for coal loads from the Pikeview mine to the north and the Keystone mine 4.5 mi (7.2 km) to the east.[21][22][lower-alpha 4] In the 1940s, the Roswell race track was used as an automobile speedway.[24]

Preceding station	Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad			Following station
Colorado Springs toward Ogden		Royal Gorge Route		Pikeview toward Denver

Notes

1. Roswell was annexed as part of northern Colorado Springs beginning in 1909.[2] Additional annexations were made through November 1, 1967, for a total of 245.13 acres (99.20 ha).[3]
2. The yard was located at milepost 607.3 of the D&RG.[12] There were CRI&P shops in Roswell, a passenger and freight office at 2 E. Pikes Peak Avenue, and the Depot Hotel and CRI&P passenger/freight stations were downtown with the Denver and Rio Grande.[13]
3. The equestrian race track was a member of the Colorado Springs Driving Park Association in 1898[17] and in 1903, of the Colorado Springs Racing Association.[13] It was located between Beacon, Cascade, and Fourth.[4]
4. Keystone Mine was located at 38.86806°N 104.78361°W[23]

References

1. Town incorporation, city organization and reorganization, also …. 1902. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
2. Ken Hudnall; Sharon Hudnall (28 September 2011). Spirits of the Border: The History and Mystery of Colorado. Grave Distractions Pub. p. PT109. ISBN 978-1-4524-2931-1.
3. annexdata.xls (spreadsheet), SpringsGov.com, retrieved 2013-10-27
4. Tourists guide to Colorado Springs, Manitou, Colorado City and the Pike's Peak Region (Map). "Geo. S. Clason, Denver, Colo.". 1906. Archived from the original on 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
5. "Roswell coordinates 38.873603,-104.819419". google maps. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
6. Frank Hall; Rocky Mountain Historical Company (1889). History of the state of Colorado, embracing accounts of the pre-historic races and their remains: the earliest Spanish, French and American explorations ... the first American settlements founded; the original discoveries of gold in the Rocky Mountains; the development of cities and towns, with the various phases of industrial and political transition, from 1858 to 1890 ... The Blakely Printing Company.
7. Henry Gannett (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 267.
8. New York (State). Governor (1892–1895 : Flower); Roswell Pettibone Flower (1893). Public papers of Roswell P. Flower, Governor, 1892-[1894]. The Argus company, printers. pp. 228–229.
9. Western Electrician. Electrician Publishing Company. 1899. p. 259.
10. Alice Polk Hill (1915). Colorado Pioneers in Picture and Story. Brock-Haffner Press. p. 469.
11. Historic Trail Map of the Denver 1degx2 deg Quadrangle, Central Colorado: Geologic Investigations Series I-2639 (Sheet 1 of 2) (PDF) (Map). Cartography by Scott, Glenn R. United States Geological Survey. 1999.
12. "Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway Routes". donwinter.com.
13. The Giles City Directory of Colorado Springs and Manitou (PDF) (almanac). The Giles Directory Company. May 1903. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
14. Geological Survey Bulletin. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1914. p. 178.
15. United States. Census Office (1900). Bulletins of the Twelfth Census of the United States: Issued from October 6, 1900 to [October 20, 1902]. Census office. p. xxvii.
16. Colorado Springs (Colo.). City Council; John R. Robinson (1902). Town incorporation, city organization and reorganization, also classification as city of the first class. Officers from time of incorporation. City government and officers 1902. The ideal city, by Mayor J. R. Robinson. Annual reports and financial statements to the City council for the fiscal year March 1st, 1901, to March 1st, 1902, and the four months March 1st to July 1st 1902. Comp. and pub. by authority of the City council. City Council. p. 209.
17. Colorado Springs Directory (PDF) (almanac), Pikes Peak Library District website, 1898, retrieved 2013-11-05
18. Roger P. Hadix (2013). Baseball in Colorado Springs. Arcadia Publishing. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-7385-9954-0.
19. United States. Bureau of the Census (1912). Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910: Population by Counties and Minor Civil Divisions, 1910, 1900, 1890. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 48.
20. Colorado Business Directory, Roswell, El Paso County (Joy Fisher transcript) (Report). The Gazetteer Publishing Co. 1911. Retrieved 2013-11-01. Fitzsimmons Harry, mgr Rock Island Round House.
21. United States. Interstate Commerce Commission (1920). Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Reports and Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. L.K. Strouse. p. 250.
22. Bulletin. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1913. p. 408.
23. "Keystone Mine (1734070)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
24. "Roswell Race Track". Radio Colorado College.