Colorado Springs, CO - history - On the corner of E. Platte Avenue and N. Nevada Avenue in downtown Colorado Springs, CO sits a bronze statue of General William Jackson Palmer, Civil War General and founder of Colorado Springs, CO. Gen. Palmer had come west after the Civil War to survey the Colorado Territory for the Kansas Pacific Railroad when he came across a beautiful valley that sits at the foot of Pikes Peak.
The beauty of the mountains, the spectacular views in addition to the incredible red rock formations that make up Garden of the Gods drew Palmer in and persuaded him this would be the perfect place to build his home and establish a city. On July 31, 1871 Palmer purchased 10,000 acres of land and founded the city of Colorado Springs, CO. He purchased an additional 2225 acres of land to build his estate that nestled in the valley at the foot of Pikes Peak.
He built his beautiful home and estate just north of Garden of the Gods among the red rocks. The estate began with a Carriage House where the family initially lived. They later built a 22 room house then later added towers and extra rooms. The plan was to transform the home into an English Castle but the entire project was never completed when Gen Palmer’s beautiful wife, “Queen” had a mild heart attack and had to return to her home in England.
The Palmer’s home was named Glen Eyrie when their Scottish landscaper, John Blair, a Landscape Architect from Chicago, looked up to see an eagle’s nest high in the cleft of a rock and exclaimed “Ah, Glen Eyrie, Valley of the eagle’s nest.” The General and his wife adopted the name Glen Eyrie as the name of their estate and the name continues to this day. The estate today is owned by the mission organization, “The Navigators” and is beautifully maintained as a conference center.
The city of Colorado Springs, CO grew and flourished after Gen. Palmer secured legislation and the funding needed to build the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad that ran south from Denver. He laid out the streets and grand boulevards of Colorado Springs and within two years had built the Antlers Hotel and Resort downtown. His influence encouraged US as well as world travelers to choose Colorado Springs as their vacation destination. Tourism is still a large part of Colorado Springs economy because of the many natural wonders and the dry, sunny climate.
For further information on the history of our beautiful city go to www.coloradospringschamber.org/ or http://www.gleneyrie.org/.
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