The town site of Cripple Creek was laid out shortly after the discovery of gold by Horace Bennett, a Denver realtor, with his partner, Julius Myers, naming the street after each of them. Bennett Avenue became the main street of the town and of . . . — — Map (db m51827) HM
Furniture retailers C.L. and D.B. Fairley joined undertaker Oscar Lampman to finance the construction of this building. The Fairleys opened a branch of their Colorado Springs store here; Lampman acted primarily as an investor.
The Central Drug . . . — — Map (db m51823) HM
Situated just below Cripple Creek’s fashionable business district, the Old Homestead anchored Myers Avenue’s “entertainment trade.” On a street flanked by saloons and one-room “cribs” where individual “ladies” could ply their trade, this brothel . . . — — Map (db m51824) HM
This family circle of fossilized stumps grew out of the single trunk of an older parent tree. The three trunks are ancient clones, or genetically identical copies, of that parent tree.
Modern coastal redwoods also reproduce by stump sprouting. If . . . — — Map (db m158485) HM
The Rocky Mountain region was much warmer 34 million years ago. The Florissant valley was forested with towering redwoods, false cypresses, pines, mixed hardwoods, and ferns surrounded by drier slopes with scrublands, shrubs, and low trees. . . . — — Map (db m158385) HM
Within a few steps is the transition from a dry meadow into a cooler forest of Douglas-fir, spruce, and common juniper. The moisture content is higher here. Though you're looking south, you are standing on a north-facing slope. North-facing slopes . . . — — Map (db m158502) HM
Standing here 34 million years ago you would probably recognize a number of plants and insects. But the year-round mild climate in the Rockies would be a surprise, as would the mammals of the time. The warm temperate forest was diverse, with . . . — — Map (db m158429) HM
As outcrops of shale weather, they separate into paper-thin sheets, exposing fossils on their surfaces. Within these delicate pages, a chapter of Earth's history unfolds.
Size played a key role in determining what was preserved at Florissant. The . . . — — Map (db m158439) HM
Open stands of ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, and quaking aspen now dominate the slopes of the Florissant valley. The ecosystem has changed since the days of the dense redwood forests. There are more open grasslands and the cold temperate forest is . . . — — Map (db m158433) HM
The three trunks of the Trio are all interconnected because they are part of the same tree! They were likely sprouts from a broken central tree, which makes them clones. The original rock matrix that buried the Trio in the late Eocene was . . . — — Map (db m158427) HM
"One of the wonders of this part of the world is the 'Petrified Forest'...between Colorado Springs and Fairplay. This remarkable relic...bids fair to disappear very shortly, unless the...tourists cease their work of destruction. Everyone must . . . — — Map (db m158483) HM
To uncover the geologic history of the Florissant region, you must peel back the surface and examine the rock layers below. Sediments are deposited layer upon layer, with the oldest at the bottom and the youngest on top. Because of this principle . . . — — Map (db m158482) HM
The Abert's squirrel inhabits this forest. It eats ponderosa pine cones and the inner bark of the twigs. It's just one of many animals that depend on the ponderosa forest for food, nesting, and cover. The fossil record also shows animals and plant . . . — — Map (db m158510) HM
Pikes Peak is the huge mountain you see across the valley. On a clear day, you can see two distinct areas on the mountain—a darker band of forest and a lighter colored treeless area. These different layers called "life zones" are a . . . — — Map (db m158493) HM
Living Artifacts
Prayer Trees — One of dozens of ponderosa pine trees bent and tied parallel to the ground, marking places of prayer on the Pilgrimage trail (now named Cedar Mountain Road) to Pikes Peak from Crystal Peak. Many . . . — — Map (db m153231) HM
A grassroots effort
Beneath this valley is one of the richest fossil deposits in the world. Imagine instead this valley filled with a housing subdivision. There would be no open space, no trails, no scientific research, and no . . . — — Map (db m158376) HM
Core samples from Sequoia affinis fossil stumps contain remarkably well-preserved annual growth rings. Locked within those concentric rings are clues about past growing conditions in the Florissant valley.
The stumps at Florissant have . . . — — Map (db m158428) HM
In the late Eocene epoch, about 34 million years ago, the Florissant valley was buried by eruptions from a cluster of volcanoes known as the Guffey volcanic center. Huge volcanic mudflows (lahars) spread into this forested valley with great speed, . . . — — Map (db m158402) HM
Explosive volcanic eruptions, a quiet freshwater lake, towering redwoods. A picture of this valley 35 million years ago is revealed by studying the rocks that are here today. — — Map (db m93087) HM
Just beyond the circular wooden fence in front of you is a young ponderosa pine tree growing out of the top of an ancient petrified redwood tree stump. The huge redwood tree was buried by a volcanic mudflow and was later exposed by erosion. The . . . — — Map (db m158515) HM
Can you see the spiral scar on the ponderosa pine directly to your right? It goes all the way up and around the tree. Lightning struck this tree many years ago. Lightning and the fires it causes are natural processes in forests like this one. Fire . . . — — Map (db m158506) HM
You are standing in the Florissant valley surrounded by ponderosa pine forests. But 34-35 million years ago, this was the site of Lake Florissant. The twelve-mile-long lake was formed when volcanic mudflows dammed a stream that flowed south . . . — — Map (db m158489) HM
Rich Cultural History
The legacy of many different cultures and people can be found along the Byway. Native
American Indian tribes who lived here for centuries prior to settlement have left traces of their life ways in the earth, trees and . . . — — Map (db m153243) HM
Pikes Peak backcountry was a hunter's paradise, and the native Ute people were
constantly challenged by the Plains Indians for possession. Fierce warriors, the Utes
endured and are the only tribe based in their Colorado homeland. Kit Carson . . . — — Map (db m153222) HM
Alta Vista Station
The Alta Vista Railroad Depot, pictured below, was originally located on Phantom Canyon Road where it served the Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad line. After the trains quit running in 1912, the building was used as a . . . — — Map (db m46760) HM
Up In Flames
Victor was founded in 1893 at the foot of Battle Mountain – a stone’s throw from where the richest gold mines in the Gold Camp were eventually located. Underground mining was very labor intensive so, like many gold rush . . . — — Map (db m46798) HM
Miners Win 8-hour Day
Underground gold mining was difficult, dangerous, labor intensive work. Two major labor conflicts between the Association of Mine Owners and the Western Federation of Mines (WFM) Labor Union changed Victor and Gold . . . — — Map (db m46892) HM
Tomkins Hardware/Victor Museum
In 1900, the Victor museum building was the Tompkins Hardware Store, part of the Reynolds Block.
At one time the offices upstairs served as the Mining Exchange. In later years it became the Hackley . . . — — Map (db m92261) HM
On this corner, an electric street car (the Low Line) turned off Victor Avenue onto N 3rd Street to continue its trip to the Independence Mine and around Battle Mountain. In the early 1900s, the miners commuted to work via these streetcars for a . . . — — Map (db m46796) HM
Original Hotel Victor
The Original Hotel Victor was built by the Woods family in 1894 at the corner of 4th and Victor Avenue – where JET Service now stands. While digging the hotel foundation workmen discovered a rich gold bearing vein . . . — — Map (db m46759) HM
Fortune Club
The Fortune Club was a famous gambling house and saloon and it was reported to also be home to one of the area’s most talked about Red Light Social Clubs with rooms for rent on the second floor – later the Fortune Club . . . — — Map (db m46866) HM
Like a Phoenix, Victor rose from the ashes of the great 1899 fire better than before. The flimsy wooden structures, built in hast during the boom years of the gold rush, were replaced seemingly overnight by the majestic sturdy brick buildings seen . . . — — Map (db m52404) HM
For many who came West, their biggest dream was to find gold. With small grubstakes they came, over 12,000 of them, making Victor the 5th largest city in Colorado by 1900. The glory days brought entertainment as well. Jack Dempsey trained at the . . . — — Map (db m46728) HM
Thrill-seekers, fund-raisers, and publicity hounds have been attracted to Pikes Peak for decades. Daring adventurers have hang-glided and skied off the summit, and rock climbers have challenged steep rock faces. Here is the scoop on some of the . . . — — Map (db m45842) HM
The bears that live on Pikes Peak are Black Bears and have been seen in shades of cinnamon to dark brown. They stand approximately 3 feet tall at the shoulder and eat mostly berries, nuts and leaves. Before winter hits, bears eat almost constantly . . . — — Map (db m45772) HM
You can help the Peak’s wild animals by not feeding them. “Can one chip hurt?” you may wonder. Yes it can, when multiplied by 2,000 visitors per summer day. Then when the summer’s over, the animals are without their junk food fix.
Even . . . — — Map (db m45844) HM
When snow falls and cold winds blow, elk lose their antlers. Elk drop and re-grow antlers each year while bighorn sheep wear their horns for life. The antler cycle begins when the previous season’s antlers, now useless, break off. Soon skull bumps . . . — — Map (db m45774) HM
Sightseers have been riding the spectacular road up Pikes Peak since 1889. Back then, early risers chugged up the pass on the Colorado Midland train to Cascade. There, horse drawn carriages awaited eager passengers. According to Francis Heizer, . . . — — Map (db m45840) HM
Can you imagine racing up a mountain that has 1,000 foot drop-offs? That’s exactly what daring drivers have been doing since 1916. That was the year mining magnate Spencer Penrose announced the first Pikes Peak National Hill Climbing Contest to . . . — — Map (db m45839) HM
The porcupine defends itself with between 15,000 and 30,000 needle-sharp quills. Each quill has barbs that flair out from the shaft that resist being pulled out, but also work themselves in. When challenged, the porcupine simply puts its head . . . — — Map (db m45773) HM
