By Marlene Brown
On Feb. 16, the Palmer Lake Historical Society (PLHS) meeting led by Vice President Diane Kokes heard from the Awake the Lake Committee. Members of the committee explained the mission of Awake the Lake is to salvage, restore, and recreate the natural majesty of the namesake of the town. Palmer Lake is the only natural lake along the Front Range. The Town of Palmer Lake was founded in 1871 by Gen. William Jackson Palmer and incorporated in 1889.
Committee member Jeannine Engle, former owner of the Rock House, gave a photographic history of the tiny town of Palmer Lake from 1820 when the Columbine, the state flower, was discovered along with Elephant Rock. Though Elephant Rock is privately owned, it can be seen from Highway 105 and the Santa Fe Trail that runs from Palmer Lake to Monument. In 1871, a telegraph office was set up in Palmer Lake and Hacket’s Ditch was dug from Summit Lake to Palmer Lake to fill the lake because the railroad drained most of the water to run steam engines across the state. The Rockland Hotel was built in 1889, and in 1890 the first Chautauqua was held. Many people came by railroad for the event. It was $2.25 round trip from Denver.
Jason Phillips, a graduate of School District 38, began the efforts to “Save the Lake” in the ‘90s. Though he was only 10 years old, he was able to raise over $10,000 to donate to the town to help refill the lake.
Linda Vier of Divide GeoAnalytics LLC monitors the six wells and reports to the town. She has tracked precipitation and evaporation of the lake since June 2017 and watches for significant water dissipation due to drought and other natural causes.
Jeff Hulsmann, owner of O’Malley’s Steak Pub, reported that the railroad was still using steam engines up until 1950s. The lake had been drained and refilled several times. Even though Palmer Lake is a natural spring-fed lake, the use of the water for train engines caused the lake to be emptied. Water was brought from the reservoirs above the town in an effort to refill the lake.
In 2014, Chris Cummins, volunteer water attorney, worked to fight the railroad and filed for the water rights for the town. In 2016, the change of water rights was finally obtained. Though the railroad had tried to increase the size of the lake’s footprint, the Awake the Lake organization decreased the size of the lake back to its natural state.
Several fundraisers include the Fourth of July Festival and .5k race. With over 1,000 runners, the 2022 .5k race raised $37,000 in day. One of the group’s accomplishments is the pedestrian bridge that crosses the tracks from the parking areas on the west side of the lake. Being able to access the lake without crossing the railroad tracks has been a true community effort. For more information and to make donations, go to awakepalmerlake.org
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The next meeting of PLHS will be at the Palmer Lake Town Hall on the third Thursday of the month, March 16, 7 p.m., doors open at 6:30 pm. For more information, go to palmerdividehistory.org.
Marlene Brown can be reached by email at malenebrown@ocn.me.
Other Palmer Lake Historical Society articles
- Palmer Lake Historical Society, May 15 – Author recounts life of Nikola Tesla (6/7/2025)
- Palmer Lake Historical Society, April 17 – Women of the Colorado gold rush era (5/3/2025)
- Palmer Lake Historical Society, April 21 – General Palmer’s life explored (4/5/2025)
- Palmer Lake Historical Society, Jan. 16 – 2024 events recalled (2/1/2025)
- Palmer Lake Historical Society, Dec. 19 – Palmer Lake holds 91st annual Yule Log Hunt (1/4/2025)
- Palmer Lake Historical Society, Nov. 21 – Life of town hero explored (12/5/2024)
- Palmer Lake Historical Society, Oct. 17 – How the star and Town Hall became historic places (11/2/2024)
- Palmer Lake Historical Society, Sep. 19 – Author focuses on Old West (10/5/2024)
- Palmer Lake Historical Society, June 6 – Book launch (7/6/2024)
- Palmer Lake Historical Society, May 18 – Colorado’s Rosie the Riveter (6/1/2024)
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