Woodland Park REALTOR and resident, Debi Boucher
Woodland Park, Colorado—The City Above The Clouds, is so named because it is said that for approximately 360 days a year, the sun shines (at least part of the day) on our little mountain community! The population within the city of Woodland Park is about 7,000. We’re an easy commute traveling west on Hwy. 24 from Colorado Springs, through the historical Ute Pass, and are nestled at the base of Pikes Peak, the mountain made famous by Katherine Lee Bates’ poem, “America The Beautiful”.
I’ve been a resident in this area since late 1992, and fell in love with it instantly. The beauty surrounding us here cannot be equaled, and for me, much of the appeal is our rich and varied history. I am a director on the board of the Woodland Park Historical Preservation Committee, and I am committed to preserving our local heritage. The following is Part 1 of a series of historical articles I plan to share here, and on Localism.com.
The Indians of Colorado's Ute Pass
Ancestors of the Utes have occupied this area for at least a thousand years. The tribes were scattered over an area comprising about 150,000 square miles.
The name “Ute” means “Land of the Sun” and is the origin of the name of the state of Utah. The Ute Indians are the only Native Americans indigenous to the state of Colorado.
They are believed to be one of the first Native American groups in North America to use horses in great numbers, and they were the last tribe in the west to be confined to reservations.
Among the Ute people, the horse was a man’s most important possession, not only for hunting and raiding, but as a symbol of wealth and success.
The Ute’s experience with European-American settlers , is similar to that of many other Native American groups- competition, confrontation, and eventual coerced relocation to reservations.
The Utes And Their Horses
Original Ute Hunting Grounds
Ute Women
In 1873, a large cession of land transferred the gold-rich San Juan area to white settlers.
Indian agent, Nathaniel C. Meeker, insisted the Utes abandon hunting, and take up farming. The Utes had always been nomadic hunters, never farmers. As farmers, he told them, they would have little need for horses, and no need for their race tracks and trails, which Meeker promptly plowed under. In 1879, a group of Utes finally retaliated against their treatment, resulting in what became known as the “Meeker Massacre."
As a result of this incident, they lost most of their remaining land, and all Utes were confined on reservations by 1882.
By 1886 the reservation consisted of 56 million acres, down from the 156,000 square miles the Utes originally occupied.
The Gold Rush 'Land Grab' The Meeker Massacre
In 1905, the US government allotted new reservations. The land taken from the Utes was opened to white settlement.
Each Ute received an 80-160 acre plot for farming. This allotment reduced Ute land holdings by over 85%.
By 1934, the Ute reservation in Southern Colorado consisted of a strip of arid, desolate land, 15 miles wide, and 110 miles long.
Ute Family
All photos courtesy of the Western History/Genealogy Department, Denver Public Library
Commentary excerpted from an article by Jan Pettit, and from the Southern Ute Indian’s website.
If you would like a DVD presentation of this article, CONTACT ME
I hope you enjoyed this article as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing it
Your comments are welcome!
Woodland Park REALTOR, Debi Boucher
Look for Part 2 of the history of the Woodland Park area, coming soon!
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