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Grand Lake in Grand County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)
 

Rapids Lodge Historic Site

 
 
Rapids Lodge Historic Site Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 8, 2012
1. Rapids Lodge Historic Site Marker
Inscription.
Rapids Lodge is one of three tourist hotels built between 1900 and 1920. The other two burned. Laps Ish, the owner and builder, sawed all lumber of lodgepole pine. Until about 1935 the lights and some heat for the hotel came from his own water powered generator.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. A significant historical year for this entry is 1915.
 
Location. 40° 15.12′ N, 105° 48.958′ W. Marker is in Grand Lake, Colorado, in Grand County. Marker is on Hancock Street north of Park Avenue, on the right when traveling north. This is a large, painted wooden marker mounted at eye-level, directly on the west side of the subject building. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 210 Rapids Lane, Grand Lake CO 80447, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Cairns-Humphrey Store (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); Grand Lake (about 800 feet away); Public Square (about 800 feet away); Kauffman House Museum (approx. 0.2 miles away); a different marker also named Grand Lake (approx. ¼ mile away); Smith Eslick Cottage Camp (approx. 0.4 miles away); Automobiles Come to Grand Lake (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Smith-Eslick Family (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Grand Lake.
 
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1. Grand Lake Walking Tour. Grand Rapids Area Historical Society website entry:
This site is stop #7 on the Grand Lake Area Historical Society walking tour. The Rapids was one of the first hotels in the area to have running water, electricity, and heat, all of which were produced by a water-powered generator on the North Inlet. Note the use of lodgepole pines for both structure and design. (Submitted on February 11, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 

2. Rapids Lodge Brief History. Lodge website hompage:
The Rapids Lodge was built in 1915, and was the first building in Grand Lake, Colorado to have running water and electricity. The building originally opened as an inn and restaurant, and has been preserved over the years as an historical hotel and a local Grand Lake icon. Though gambling was illegal in the 1950s, there was some action to be had at Rapids! The lodge even had a secret bell to ring to when authorities pulled into the driveway, alerting guests and allowing them to “turn the tables” and hide the evidence of gambling! Without refrigeration, the Rapids kept an ice house into the 1950’s and 300 pounds of lake ice, harvested in the spring, was chipped every morning. (Submitted on February 11, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 

3. The Ish family. Grand County History Stories website entry:
The
Rapids Lodge Historic Site Marker (<i>wide view</i>) image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 8, 2012
2. Rapids Lodge Historic Site Marker (wide view)
prosperous John Lapsley (Laps) Ish family are an example of very successful settlers and entrepreneurs in early Grand County. The Ish family, with eleven children, came by covered wagon to Colorado from Missouri 1863 and settled on a farm outside of Denver. 18-year-old Laps Ish came to Grand County in 1881 to attempt his luck at the short lived mining boom outside of Teller. He tried his luck at mining for 4 years and also carried the mail between Teller and Grand Lake, on skis or snowshoes in the winter and by foot in the summer. They built the Rapids Lodge by operating a sawmill on the Tonahutu River in Grand Lake and opened for business in 1915. (Submitted on February 11, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.) 
 
Rapids Lodge Historic Cabin image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 8, 2012
3. Rapids Lodge Historic Cabin
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on March 27, 2022. It was originally submitted on February 11, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 181 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on February 11, 2019, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 29, 2024