Palmer Lake Historical Society, Feb. 19 – Ranch owners discovered Cherokee Trail artifacts

By Marlene Brown

The Palmer Lake Historical Society (PLHS) heard about Cherokee Trail artifacts on Feb. 19 at the Palmer Lake Town Hall.

The night’s topic was titled Cherokee Trail Artifacts Across the Palmer Divide, History, Culture, and Discoveries Unearthed. Anne Berlemann shared her and her family’s discovery of Cherokee Trail artifacts at their ranch on the Palmer Divide. She explained that their ranch was along the Cherokee Trail, which was also known as Trapper’s Trail and Trader’s Trail. The road was used extensively during the Gold Rush days as a way to get to the mountains from Oklahoma and Bent’s Fort.

Imagine looking toward the prairie from your property and seeing the ruts of the trail made by wagons. Suddenly, you realize that you are standing on the Cherokee Trail, where pioneers had traveled to make the historical trips west. Upon contacting the Oregon-California Trail Association (OCTA), they found a group of people who work with private landowners and government agencies to mark and map the trails. Their mission is to protect the legacy of the historic trails and promote preservation of the Cherokee Trail.

The Berlemanns took the scientific approach and, along with help from OCTA and a metal detector, carefully unearthed many items left behind by the pioneers. They carefully and systematically dug and cataloged each item they found across their property and worked with their neighbors to continue the discovery of the well-used road. Pictured at right are some of the artifacts, from square nails to wagon wheel parts to even guitar tuning pegs. For more information about trails in the Palmer Divide area, go to octa-trails.org/regional-chapters/Colorado-cherokee-trail-chapter.

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PLHS meetings are usually held on the third Thursday of the month, 7-8:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) at the Palmer Lake Town Hall, 28 Valley Crescent St. Meetings are free and open to the public. For full descriptions, dates, and times of future programs and information on memberships or donating to the PLHS, visit its newly updated website: palmerdividehistory.org.

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

Other Palmer Lake Historical Society articles

• Palmer Lake Historical Society, March 19 – History of fox farming recounted (4/1/2026)
• Palmer Lake Historical Society, Jan. 15 – 2026 board installed at annual meeting (2/4/2026)
• Palmer Lake Historical Society, Oct. 16 – Ancient days of Garden of the Gods explored (10/30/2025)
• Palmer Lake Historical Society, Sept. 18 – Pioneers Museum: past and present (10/2/2025)
• Palmer Lake Historical Society, July 19 – The power of print (7/31/2025)
• Palmer Lake Historical Society, June 15 – Father’s Day Ice Cream Social (7/3/2025)
• 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)