Roswell, Colorado

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Roswell, now annexed into the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado,[1][a] 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][b] 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][c] 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][d] In the 1940s, the Roswell race track was used as an automobile speedway.[24]

Notes

  1. [a]
    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. [b]
    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. [c]
    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. [d]
    Keystone Mine was located at 38.86806°N 104.78361°W / 38.86806; -104.78361[23]

References

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