Palmer Lake Historical Society – Take a walk through history

By Marlene Brown

In lieu of the regular meeting in July, the Palmer Lake Historical Society (PLHS) took a walk through historical Monument. Led by Jim Sawatzki, past president of PLHS and filmmaker and owner of Palmer Divide Productions. His research is rich, showing that Monument is still standing strong. Many of the little houses you see in town were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Pioneers began settling in the Monument area, and there were business owners, cowboys, and ranchers living in and near the town. There were two hotels near the Rio Grande Railroad train station.

Incorporated in 1879, the town was first called Henry’s Station, after Henry “Dutch” Limbach, Monument’s first town mayor. The train station and hotels were near where Limbach Park is today. The town’s name was later changed to Monument, after the rock formation to the west located in Monument Preserve, near Mount Herman.

Monument Lake was one of the first “ice harvest” towns, because it was on the railroad line. They sent ice blocks by train to the East that were used for cold storage of the meat from the cattle that had been raised in the West. The lake is now stocked with fish yearly and used for recreational fishing and boating.

Jim Sawatzki, past president of Palmer Lake Historical Society, leads a historical walk through Monument on a sunny Sunday morning. Photo by Steve Pate.

Members of PLHS walked along the streets of Monument looking at the homes that were built by the pioneers. The Higby General Store was located where Covered Treasures Bookstore is now at Washington and Second Streets. “Big Red,” a Lewis-Palmer School District 38 building, was built in the 1920s. It had all 12 grades in the same building attended by children from the town to the outlying ranchlands.

Walking with Sawatzki around Monument, you learn that many other buildings you see every day are originals, such as The Bistro on Second Street, which was the original post office. Though there have been additions to the building, the original structure is still under the walls of the restaurant.

Take the time someday to walk around the streets and imagine the life of the pioneers who lived there.

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The historical walk on July 15 in Greenland Open Space was called off due to weather conditions. The August meeting has been canceled. Board members will be volunteering and conducting tours at the Reynolds Ranch Homestead House at the Western Museum of Mining and Industry Aug. 12 from 10 a.m.-3 pm for Family Day (wwmi.org) and will be open to the public. PLHS normally meets the third Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Palmer Lake Town Hall.

The mission of the PLHS is to preserve, protect, promote, and provide access to historical data, artifacts, and other items of significance relating to the Palmer Divide area and make resources available to the public primarily through the Lucretia Vaile Museum and annual programming. For more information about membership and volunteer opportunities, go to palmerdividehistory.org

Marlene Brown can be contacted at marlenebrown@ocn.me.

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