Historical Markers and War Memorials in Mesa County, Colorado
Grand Junction is the county seat for Mesa County
Adjacent to Mesa County, Colorado
Delta County(19) ► Garfield County(32) ► Gunnison County(33) ► Montrose County(36) ► Pitkin County(14) ► Grand County, Utah(27) ► San Juan County, Utah(47) ►
Touch name on this list to highlight map location. Touch blue arrow, or on map, to go there.
The rocks that make up this landscape formed in environments that are very similar to ones we can observe on the earth's surface today as well as ones that occur beneath the surface where tectonic plates collide to form mountain ranges.
Kayenta . . . — — Map (db m159711) HM
While this might look like a glacial U-shaped valley, it is not. It is a canyon formed by flowing water. The story is one of different rocks responding to erosion in different ways.
Hanging Canyon
Notice how the profile of this canyon . . . — — Map (db m159762) HM
[Left side historical photo captions read]
With his climbing partner Rae Kennedy, and photographer Whipple Chester, John Otto became the first person to summit Independence Monument.
Otto had been in the area five years by then. When he arrived . . . — — Map (db m159662) HM
He laid the foundation of the National Park Service defining and establishing the policies under which its areas shall be developed and conserved unimpaired for future generations. There will never come an end to the good that he has done. — — Map (db m159637) HM
Take the short stroll to a spectacular and unique viewpoint to discover more about the Monument's geology and high flying birds.
Bird Habitat
The airspace above the protected canyons is the domain for a diverse variety of birds.
The Oldest . . . — — Map (db m159709) HM
Does the shape of Independence Monument help tell the park's erosional story? It depends on your viewpoint. From here the monolith appears to be shaped like a tower, but the sideview shows that it is the remaining piece of a rock wall between . . . — — Map (db m159647) HM
Erosion produces unusual shapes on the landscape. As the protective Kayenta Formation layers erode from the ridge before you, the softer Wingate Formation beneath it is exposed and responds in a unique way. Early visitors throught these shapes . . . — — Map (db m159759) HM
Twenty-three mile Rim Rock Drive was built almost entirely by using picks, shovels, and sheer muscle to remove massive rock and debris. The engineering skill of the workers can be seen today in the tunnels and stonework. With construction came a . . . — — Map (db m159715) HM
On Rim Rock Drive, on the left when traveling west.
With around 20 switchbacks, this old road was once called the "crookedest road in the world." In 1961, the Serpents Trail was converted to a hiking trail, quickly becoming a local favorite. The scenic path curves back and forth through Wingate . . . — — Map (db m159612) HM
Reportedly, in October 1899 Butch Cassidy and several members of the Wild Bunch, also known as the Hole-in-the-wall Gang, travelled through Grand Valley.
From 1889 to 1904 this band of desperadoes thrilled local citizens and terrified many . . . — — Map (db m104504) HM
About the Diamond
The Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway (Dinosaur Diamond) is located in eastern Utah and western Colorado. Three-quarters of the 512-mile loop are within Utah. The segment within Colorado was designated the Dinosaur . . . — — Map (db m159772) HM
A Brief History
Fruita was founded in 1884 by William E. Pabor as a fruit growing colony. Pabor's early efforts to create a commercially viable fruit industry between California and the upper Midwestern states led to the Grand Valley . . . — — Map (db m159775) HM
Colorado Western Slope Vietnam Casualties
Charles Leland Adkins • Adam David Ballard • John Alvin Berry
Thomas Louis Brown • Sam Burnell Jr • Austin Ray Chenoweth
Billy Floyd Clark • George Arthur Clark • Mark Giles Danielson
Leroy . . . — — Map (db m159770) WM
On Main Street west of South 5th Street, on the right when traveling west.
William H. Bannister came from Molina, Colorado in the 1890s and in 1897,
bought an established furniture store and funeral parlor from M.O. Whitehead. At
the time, many furniture stores sold caskets and had an undertaker on staff.
W.H. . . . — — Map (db m120072) HM
On Main Street west of North 6th Street, on the right when traveling west.
Benge's store is the oldest shoe store in the state, possibly the oldest shoe store west of the Mississippi River. Founded in October of 1911, three generations of the Benge family have operated the business.
Founder Bertrand Benge moved from . . . — — Map (db m120051) HM
On South 4th Street at Ute Avenue (U.S. 50), on the right when traveling south on South 4th Street.
Lodge #575 was founded in 1900 by local drug clerk, 32-year-old J. Morrison Wohlfort. Before the present Lodge home was built, the founding Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks met in the I.O.O.F Hall at 454 Main Street.
Lodge #575 was . . . — — Map (db m120078) HM
On Main Street east of South 4th Street, on the right when traveling east.
Upon this site in October 1882
a vital cultural influence in the town
of Grand Junction was established by
the printing of the first newspaper ~
The Grand Junction News
Edwin Price, Editor — — Map (db m120052) HM
On Main Street west of North 6th Street, on the right when traveling west.
This building originally housed the Mesa Opera Rink, which opened in 1885. It offered a 300-seat playhouse for live theater, musical, and vaudeville acts. Ballroom dancing was on the large wooden "Rink" floor. In 1907, the front of the building was . . . — — Map (db m120045) HM
The Prinster family opened the first City Market Store in the back of this location with a storefront facing Fourth Street in 1924. By 1940, the Prinster Brothers built western Colorado's first supermarket one block to the north of this location. . . . — — Map (db m120073) HM
The first people to witness this view were probably Indians who had to scale the steep cliffs and talus slopes. Later, ranchers dug narrow passages up into the canyons to bring their cattle to graze in the rich highland trails below.
Begun during . . . — — Map (db m61910) HM
On Main Street at South 4th Street, on the right when traveling east on Main Street.
In the 1890s, Joseph and Albert Sampliner started a small business selling men's
fine clothing from a pushcart. The Sampliner cousins purchased their goods from
bankrupt dry good stores in the Red Mountain mining district.
The Sampliners . . . — — Map (db m120071) HM
On South 4th Street at Colorado Avenue, on the right when traveling south on South 4th Street.
An early stagecoach stop, The Grand Hotel, welcomed visitors with a tin-faced, two-story building, surrounded by shade trees, wooden sidewalks, and spacious lobby. In 1904 the building was purchased from William and Allie Neff and Anna Scott by . . . — — Map (db m120050) HM
On Main Street at South 5th Street, on the right when traveling east on Main Street.
William J. Moyer was one of Mesa County's leading businessmen and philanthropists. He arrived in Grand Junction in 1890 and opened the original Fair Store across the street in a room measuring 12 ft. x 20 ft. with $700 in stock. In 1904, Moyer . . . — — Map (db m120055) HM
On South 4th Street at Ute Avenue (U.S. 50), on the right when traveling north on South 4th Street.
This building was constructed in 1925, and served as an elementary school until
1965. It and the adjoining park, formerly known as Cottonwood, were named the
Whitman School and Whitman Park, in honor of frontier missionary Marcus
Whitman, who . . . — — Map (db m120079) HM
