St. Vrain State Park

St. Vrain State Park, formerly known as Barbour Ponds, is a Colorado state park.Libran -parks libean.com Retrieved 4 August 2019 The park hosts year-round camping.resourceanalysis - campincolorado Retrieved 4 August 2019 It is a popular birding destination, hosting the states largest rookery of Blue Heron, it is home to several other bird species as well including migrating waterfowl, songbirds and the occasional bald eagle.state - park activities parks.state.co.us Retrieved 4 August 2019 Other park activities include year round fishing and hiking. There is a reservoir at the park named Blue Heron Reservoir.parks.state.co.us - parks Retrieved 4 August 2019

History

1800s The land of St. Vrain State Park was originally home to Ute, Arapaho, and Cheyenne Native American tribes. Once claimed by Spain then France who sold it to the United States in 1803 as part of the Louisiana Purchase. Having just made the largest land purchase in the history of the nation, the government was eager to discover what $15,000,000 had bought. They sent out scouts, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, then Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike to explore. Although neither group traveled in the area, their descriptions of the land and a growing fur trade encouraged adventurers to head west. In 1817, the US War Department sent Stephen Long, a Major in the Topographical Engineers, to explore the upper Mississippi. Following the North and South Platte Rivers, Long likely saw the St. Vrain Valley in July 1820.

In 1848, gold was discovered in California bringing a wave of eager gold-seekers headed west. A few made their fortunes, but more often prospectors headed home with empty pockets or found work in the communities that had sprung up around the prospectors. Some who left the goldfields found their fortune in land and sent word to their families. That sparked a new wave of immigrants moving west. The Oregon Trail passed by Fort Laramie, north of the St. Vrain Valley, and was a major route for the steady stream of immigrants moving from east to west. Historians estimate a combined 150,000 prospectors and immigrants traveled through Fort Laramie, north of the St Vrain Valley, between 1841 and 1853.Boyles, Berlyn L. "The Massacre of the Hungate Family," The St. Vrain Valley: Its early history (Longmont: StVrain Press, 1969), p.22. Native Americans watching these travelers had cause for concern; their way of life was in jeopardy. The immigrants did not understand the Native American tribes any more than the Native Americans understood them. Tensions rose. Although the government tried to address the issues through treaties, the government also broke those treaties. Bison hunters actively sought hides decimating the Native Americans' food supply while settlers were encroaching on what was supposed to be their land. The Native Americans' only recourse was to push the white men out.

In 1858, gold was discovered near Denver. Another wave of adventurers set off seeking their fortune. Again a few were lucky, but far more became discouraged with the search and left the goldfields. Many of them found land to their liking and made a home. Agriculture began to develop and cities were formed. Milo Smith, Perry L. Smith, and Elisha Duncan settled east of St. Vrain Creek and Boulder Creek on land that would one day become St. Vrain State Park.Patent #60842- Military Bounty Land Warrant in favor of Mary Jacobs, widow of David Jacobs assigned to Perry L.Smith;https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/ . Patent 188 Perry L. Smith https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/. Patent 339, Milo Smith https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/. Homestead Certificate 70 Application 203, Elisha Duncan https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/ . Life was good along the St. Vrain, but stories of trouble with Native Americas made the settlers wary. In June 1864 the Hungate family, living northeast of Denver City, was murdered by a raiding tribe.Boyles, Berlyn L. "The Massacre of the Hungate Family," The St. Vrain Valley: Its early history (Longmont: StVrain Press, 1969), p.44. Sorenson, Paul, Firestone Historical Commissioner "Fort Junction and the Lower Boulder and St. Vrain Home Guard" Aug 22, 2008. The settlers felt they needed to protect themselves, so they formed the Home Guard with 4 officers and 58 volunteers. The government provided each man a six-shooter and a rifle, and they drilled twice monthly on Elisha Duncan's homestead. Perry L. Smith donated a plot of land for a fort, and the community came together in July to build a sod fort.Boyles, Berlyn L. "The Massacre of the Hungate Family," The St. Vrain Valley: Its early history (Longmont: StVrain Press, 1969), 44. They cut the sod into strips one foot wide and two feet long and stacked them like bricks. The walls were two feet thick. The fort was 100 feet by 130 feet with portholes large enough to shoot through spaced every eight feet wide and eight feet high above the ground. There were sod benches two feet wide and three feet high lining the walls, so defenders could move along any wall in any direction to protect the fort from attack. Inside two structures were built in opposite corners to store supplies. Their roofs could be used as observation towers. They filled voids or gaps in the walls with mud and coated the walls from the bottom to the top both inside and out. Because it was close to where the St. Vrain and Boulder Creek join, it was called Fort Junction.

In August 1864, Elbridge Gerry made a historic ride along the South Platte to warn settlers of an impending attack. Two men were sent from the Platteville station to warn settlers along the lower Boulder and St. Vrain. Community members loaded their valuables into wagons and rushed to the fort, but no attack ever came. After a few days, everyone went back home.Sorenson, Paul, Firestone Historical Commissioner "Fort Junction and the Lower Boulder and St. Vrain Home Guard" Aug 22, 2008. From February 1866 to May 1867, Fort Junction was used as a post office with Perry L. Smith appointed as postmaster.Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-1971. NARA Microfilm Publication, M841, 145 rolls. Records of the Post Office Department, Record Group Number 28. Washington, D.C.: National Archives. Then in 1868 three other settlers were killed and the fort was used once again to protect settlers, but again there was no attack. After that, the fort was used as an occasional stopover place for travelers, and eventually, it was absorbed back into the prairie.

The Chicago Colony Colorado came to the St. Vrain Valley in 1872 as one of only a few successful planned colonies in the Colorado Territory and was incorporated as Longmont in 1873. Then in the late 1800s, a coal seam was discovered in the Carbon Valley, southeast of present-day St. Vrain State Park. The McKissick Mine was opened in 1887 and others followed drawing coal miners, not just from the United States, but also from Greece, France, Bulgaria, and Italy. Those miners settled in and around three distinct towns. Frederick is in the middle and incorporated first in 1907. It was followed by Dacono in 1908 to the south, and Firestone in 1908 to the north. These towns grew up around the mines and miners. Although the mines were all shut down by the 1970s, fossil fuels continue to be a big part of the area economy."History of Firestone." History of Firestone | Firestone, CO - Official Website, www.firestoneco.gov/281/History-of-Firestone; McKay, Brenda, and Sam Wallace. Celebrating 100 Years: Carbon Valley-- Dacono, Frederick, Firestone. Daily Times-Call, 2007. They now drill for gas.

1900s After the turn of the century, people began depending on cars rather than wagons. The Colorado Department of Transportation first built highway 87 then as early as the late 1940s began to rebuild it as an interstate highway running from Wyoming south to New Mexico. Building roads requires a lot of gravel, so in 1958 the Department of Transportation purchased land along the St. Vrain from Edwin and Albert Anderson to mine the needed gravel. In 1961 the highway was completed north to Highway 66, and the Department of Transportation no longer needed the gravel pit. At first, they thought the Department of Wildlife might use it for a fish hatchery, but flooding changed those plans.Gerhardt, Gary "Bigger Better Barbour Ponds- $9.29 Million Grant to Turn Fishing Hole into Rec Showpiece" Rocky Mountain News January 15, 2003 page 26A. Instead in 1962, the gravel ponds were turned over to the State Parks Department for a state recreation area. It was up to the Parks Department to turn the 50 acres of land and 80 acres of water into a recreation area named for Roy N. Barbour, an area resident and avid conservationist who was credited with helping to establish a chapter of the Izaak Walton League in Longmont."Gravel Pit Renovated." Colorado Transcript Golden Colorado Vol 102-No.85 July 16, 1968 From the Archives of the State Historical Society Denver, Colorado"Barbour Ponds: Place to fish, boat state recreation area" Longmont Daily Times Call 8 September 1977. Longmont Museum clipping file"Barbour Ponds State Park." Colorado Lakes & Reservoirs Guide: Fishing and Boating Guide By Outdoor Books & Maps(Firm). Adler Publishing, 2001, p13. Game, Fish, and Parks improved existing roads, built new ones, and spent $6,529 to install four toilets, five shade shelters, picnic tables, and grills to prepare the area for visitors. Two of the ponds were reserved for carp. Others received species such as bluegill, sunfish, bass, and bullheads. Trout were not stocked because the water is too warm for their survival.

Barbour Ponds drew visitors from the Denver area in search of fishing and seasonal duck hunting. In 1967 the area had 60,000 visitors. In 1968 the state allocated $55,000 to construct a 25 site campground with modern sanitary facilities, running water, turnouts and shade shelters, tables and grills. As visitation continued to grow the park service made more improvements. In 1975 the park roads remained closed a little later than usual as park personnel did some upgrades. When it opened in July of that year, it had received a facelift with significant improvements. There were 75 campsites, improved parking, and paving provided a better experience for visitors."Barbour Ponds Recreation Area Reopens" Longmont Daily Times Call July 1, 1975. Longmont Museum clipping file. In 1977 Muskrat Nature Trail was built with help from the Youth Conservation Corp.Dennison, Andrew. "Barbour trail a wetland wonderland" Longmont Daily Times Call March 14, 1981. Longmont Museum Clippings File In 1980 a Boy Scouts of America Eagle project planned to raise the level of the boardwalk on the nature trail.St. Vrain State Park, History of St.Vrain State Park: Based on Park Manager's Reports and other Published Sources, 1980. Area newspapers sang the area's praises with articles such as, "Nearby Flatland Nature Preserve, Protects Beauty of the Prairie.Gierach, John. "Nearby flatland preserves protects beauty of the prairie." Longmont Daily Times Call March 19, 1983, page A6, Longmont Museum clippings file.