The Peaceful Valley of Kiowa Creek

The Peaceful Valley of Kiowa Creek. . , Kiowa Creek, which runs through Kiowa (Peaceful) Valley, begins 20 miles south of here at the Platte River - Arkansas River Divide and winds north to the South Platte River. , This valley contains petrified wood from ancient forests, fossils of animals and plants now extinct, minerals carried here by ancient streams from the mountains to the west, and evidence of ancient peoples who lived here. , Spain, England, and France took turns claiming huge tracts of the Great Plains including Kiowa (Peaceful) Valley. In 1803, with the Louisiana Purchase, it became part of the United States. , In the 1800s Indian tribes, primarily Kiowa, Ute, Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Comanche, visited this valley because of ample forage for their ponies and food for themselves. Herds of the estimated 75 million buffalo in the Great Plains made this valley attractive for hunting. , During 1846-1847 the “Sick Detachment” of the Mormon Battalion of the U. S. Army, and Mormon pioneers from Mississippi, wintered at Fort Pueblo. The first Anglo children born in Colorado were to those families. In the spring they followed Trappers Trail (Jimmy Camp Trail) west of here to Fort Laramie (Wyoming) and then to the valley of the Great Salt Lake (Utah). , Mountain Men and explorers, followed by others pursuing the California gold rush of 1849 and the Colorado gold rush of 1859, traveled through this area using Taos Trail, Jimmy Camp Trail, Trappers Trail, Cherokee Trail, Smoky Hill Trail, and Starvation Trail. Then came the many pioneers who settled Colorado in the latter half of the 1800s. Statehood was granted in 1876. , Fighting between settlers and Indians, the capture and hanging of outlaws, and disputes between farmers and ranchers took place near here during the latter half of the 1800s. In time the Indians, as well as the buffalo, wolves, and other wild animals, began to disappear from this area. , Kiowa became a stop on David Butterfield's stage line and a rail line ran through Elbert and Elizabeth until the mid-1930s. Trains hauled timber from Elbert County for buildings in Denver. Tree stumps of the decimated forests can still be seen in this valley. , As the forests disappeared, and grass areas were overgrazed, Kiowa Creek periodically flooded causing significant loss of property and lives in Elbert County. In the 1940s containment dams were built by the U. S. Soil and Conservation Service to reduce future flooding. , In the 1960s the Denver Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America acquired 2,600 acres 11 miles south of Kiowa for the Peaceful Valley Scout Ranch. Today the ranch has expanded to 3,500 acres and hosts thousands of scouts each year. , This summary was compiled from “Saga of Peaceful Valley” by Albert C. Rehmer, writings of historian Lee Whiteley, “The Atlas of the North American Indian” by Carl Waldman, comments from the Church Historian's Office of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and information gathered from the Elbert County Historical Society and Museum located at 515 Comanche Street in Kiowa, Colorado. , This monument and the Veterans Memorial monument were built in July 2014 as an Eagle Scout project by Christopher Kelly of Troop 148 of the Denver Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America. It is intended to help preserve the history of the people of this valley while encouraging others who live or visit here to add their own positive chapters to it. , This project has enjoyed the support of the Elbert County Commissioners and other county officers, members of the Town Council of Kiowa, Colorado, numerous Boy Scouts, and other individuals and organizations who contributed money, supplies, and labor to erect this monument including TNT Signs, Inc., Cut Apart Metal Art, Gallegos C. Construction, Lowe's Home Improvement, and members of the Denver Chapter of the Brigham Young University Alumni Association.