Palmer Lake Historical Society, March 19 – History of fox farming recounted

April 1, 2026

Highlights

The Palmer Lake Historical Society held its March 19 membership meeting at the Palmer Lake Town Hall.
The PLHS is responsible for preserving Palmer Divide history and maintaining the Lucretia Vaile museum, located in the Palmer Lake Library, with photos, articles, and artifacts from Palmer Lake, Monument, Black Forest, and nearby areas.
Julie Haverluk of Silver Fox Farms present the rise and fall of fox farming as a major industry in the 1920s and 1930s, noting more than 75 fox farms in Douglas and El Paso counties in 1932.
The first fox farm in El Paso County began in 1921 in Fountain, with northern El Paso County offering favorable climate, shade, and rail access for feed, supplies, and pelt export to eastern and foreign markets; the Black Forest Fur Farm later spanned about 1,240 acres with over 900 pens.
By 1945 the fox industry declined due to WWII, a 20% excise tax, and changing fashion, signaling the end of the era, though the Black Forest Fur Farm site was later repurposed as the Black Forest Baptist Assembly camp and later parts became Fox Run Regional Park.

By Marlene Brown

The Palmer Lake Historical Society (PLHS) held its membership meeting on March 19 at the Palmer Lake Town Hall. The PLHS promotes, preserves, and protects the history of the Palmer Divide area. PLHS is also responsible for maintaining the Lucretia Vaile museum, downstairs in the Palmer Lake Library. It houses many photos, articles, and artifacts of Palmer Lake, Monument, Black Forest, and the surrounding area.

The presentation for the night was by Julie Haverluk of Silver Fox Farms of El Paso County. Fox farming was a booming business in the 1920s and ‘30s. She said there were over 75 fox farms in the area of Douglas County and El Paso County in 1932. It was predicted to be one of the greatest industries in the state.

Haverluk said that in the 1920s, the fashion was to wear a fox fur. There was a big market and everyone wanted one. The first fox farm in El Paso County was started in 1921 in Fountain. Northern El Paso County was perfect for raising foxes, a cool, dry climate with tall shade trees and good rail transportation. They would bring feed and supplies in and export the pelts to eastern and foreign markets.

The Black Forest Fur Farm was started in the 1930s on 1,240 acres, Haverluk said. The farm had over 900 pens. In 1949, the Black Forest Fur Farm was sold to the Black Forest Baptist Assembly, which ran summer camps there for many years. In 1986, 390 acres were sold to El Paso County, which was named Fox Run Regional Park and was opened to the public in 1987.

By 1945, the bottom fell out of the fox industry. With WWII, a 20% excise tax, and fashion evolving, people were not buying luxury items as they had just a decade before.

By then, my grandparents, Bill and Esther Brown, had just begun to build their fox farm on the old Jackson Place (W.S. Jackson of Colorado Springs). They were able to pay off their ranch in one year and buy my grandmother a Cadillac. It was a very lucrative business while it lasted.

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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. They are free and open to the public. For full descriptions, dates, and times for future programs and information on memberships or donating to the PLHS, visit their newly updated website: palmerdividehistory.org.

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

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