WESTERN FREMONT HISTORIC SOCIETY

P.O. Box 181, Howard, CO  81233

Parkdale   Texas Creek   Cotopaxi   Coaldale   Howard   Swissvale   Wellsville

2023 SPRING NEWSLETTER

We enjoyed seeing so many of you at our Annual Meeting on April 1 at the Coaldale Community Building.  It is always fun to get together with other history lovers and community members who want to learn more about our area.  If you were unable to attend, you missed a great program about the history of Cotopaxi and the old general store which until recently was owned by the Mullins family.  We are anticipating a lot of adventures and discoveries now that WFHS has taken on the preservation of that property, and we look forward to an expanded presence in the Cotopaxi area.  The Annual Meeting also featured a bake sale as the first of our fundraising efforts to maintain the Cotopaxi-Mullins History Center, including property taxes and utilities – most of us took home a fine sampling of yummy treats!

              SUMMER PROGRAMS AND EVENTS ON TAP:

• “Look Back into History” – open house events at the History Center in Howard (0070 Co. Rd. 56) from 1-3 p.m. on the last Sunday of the month beginning in May (5/28, 6/25, 7/30, 8/27 and 9/24) featuring special themes and items from our collection and files
• June 24 – Badger Creek Ranch tour and program featuring the historic IM Ranch property, native American hunting sites, and wonderful scenery in the northwest corner of western Fremont County. We are so excited to offer this totally new program!
• July 2 – vintage car show around the historic Howard town square, in conjunction with Howard Community Center’s annual Independence Day celebration
• September 23 – Amy Homestead tour (Co. Rd. 4/Howard Creek Rd. in Howard), an all-day open house event featuring historic ranch house and outbuildings, as well as heritage apple orchard, cider press and other activities for the whole family

We also plan to have an information table at the Coaldale Market on Wednesday afternoons throughout the summer, so we hope to catch some of you there, too.

              VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:  If you have some extra time and are looking for ways to get involved, we can use your expertise and assistance in any of the following areas:

• Help set up displays at the History Center in Howard
• Assist at the information table at some of the Coaldale Market days
• Trim weeds and/or water perennials/shrubs occasionally at either of our History Centers (Howard or Cotopaxi)
• Assist with clean-up and maintenance projects at the Cotopaxi-Mullins History Center
• Provide baked goods for occasional bake sales

We always have a great time and learn so much when history lovers get together, so please contact one of the Board members below and let us know how you’d like to get involved.  We look forward to seeing you at upcoming events!

WESTERN FREMONT HISTORIC SOCIETY

P.O. Box 181, Howard, CO  81233

Parkdale   Texas Creek   Cotopaxi   Coaldale   Howard   Swissvale   Wellsville

2023 JANUARY NEWSLETTER

Dear Members and Friends of WFHS,

A new year is dawning and the Board of Directors of WFHS is looking forward to more adventures as we explore local history together.  Many of you had the opportunity to enjoy a variety of rotating displays at our History Center in Howard over the past year.  We will continue to experiment with new ways to utilize that beautifully restored building this year.  

Our newest project is the former Mullins general store property on Plum Street in Cotopaxi which was donated to WFHS by the Estate of Glenn Mullins. We are in the process of converting that property into the Mullins-Cotopaxi History Center.  What a gift to the community, and what a challenge for our little society!  Our heads are spinning with all the ideas for potential uses of that building, but with a lot of volunteer help, elbow grease and the assistance of Cotopaxi High School students, we hope the building will be presentable for public viewing in the near future.  If you happen to have, or know the whereabouts of, any old pictures of Plum Street, the general store or railroad depot, we’d love to hear from you. 

In the meantime, we are planning our programs and events for 2023, including our Annual Meeting in the spring, events at the Howard History Center, and our popular programs and tours of historic locations in the area.  Enclosed is our annual membership form and a self-addressed envelope. Your annual dues enable us to pay our basic expenses, such as real estate taxes and insurance on the Howard History Center as well as the new Mullins-Cotopaxi History Center, liability insurance, website maintenance, printing and postage, as well as incidental costs for producing programs and tours. We appreciate your ongoing financial support; special thanks to those of you who also donated to WFHS through the Colorado Gives campaign that wrapped up in December!  WFHS is an IRS Code 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so every donation matters.  

Please check our website for fun historic facts, follow us on Facebook, and watch for email newsletters and program reminders. Feel free to contact any of the Board members listed below if you have questions or suggestions for programs, would like to volunteer, or need additional information.  Also, if you are aware of anyone (an individual or perhaps an estate) that has photos or other historic items of local interest to donate, please let us know.  You can also reach out via email at wfhsinfo@westfremonthistory.com.  

Thank you for your ongoing interest and support, and special thanks to all who have volunteered their time or allowed us to borrow items from their personal collections for special events at the Howard History Center. We look forward to seeing you at programs and events this year!

2022 SUMMER NEWSLETTER

 Here is what we have in store for our history loving friends this season: 

Access Sundays – This year we are focusing on our monthly “Access Sundays” at the History Center in Howard.  We invite everyone to stop by and enjoy informative displays and special presentations on the last Sunday of each month during the summer and early fall.  In May, we shared an array of vintage toys, while June’s special feature was souvenirs and artifacts collected by Kris Shurr during her military service abroad.  Upcoming features will include:

• July 31, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. – books by local cowboy/historian/author Paul Huntley who rode the range in western Fremont County in the first half of the 20th century
• August 28, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. – antique tools and farm implements (Bring your treasures/stories!)

Historic pictures/documents/artifacts wanted!  If your family, friends or neighbors happen to be sorting old documents, pictures of the local area, etc., please don’t send those items to the dump or let them leave the area without contacting WFHS.  We don’t have a lot of space, but we are keenly interested in preserving local history and would love for those items to stay in western Fremont County.  Contact one of the Board members below regarding any pictures, letters, documents, etc. that should be preserved.  We would love to hear from you!

Events and Tours –

• July 4, 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. – WFHS commemorated our nation’s birthday with our friends and neighbors at Howard Hall. Open House at our History center featured a special program regarding flag etiquette as well as displays of military memorabilia from local collections.
• September 24 – Watch for details about a tour of the historic Amy Homestead on County Road 4 in Howard, featuring the original house, outbuildings, orchard, and a variety of vintage farm equipment,

Mullins property update –The family of Glenn Mullins recently donated the building that formerly housed the general store on Plum Street in Cotopaxi to WFHS.  This building once was the community hub in Cotopaxi, housing the Post Office as well as the general store; we hope to preserve the building and eventually include historic displays and local artifacts for the public to enjoy.  We anticipate a lot of planning, fundraising and elbow grease will be required.  Stay tuned for ways you can become involved in our latest preservation venture!

WFHS Board of Directors

Craig Leitner, President (719) 207-0015                                            Kris Shurr, VP/Membership (719) 942-3653

Barbara Snyder, Secretary (719) 539-3956                                       Cinde McPhail, Treasurer (719) 942-4521

Betsy Denney, Historian/Programs (719) 942-3679                        Shari Mohr, Community Outreach (719-942-3355)

Casey Hildebrand, Bldg. Maintenance (720) 412-4001                   Debbie Hildebrand, Event Coord. (303) 506-4399

Board of Directors Betsy Denney Craig Leitner Mark Minor Shari Mohr Kris Shurr Barbara Snyder

2020 SPRING NEWSLETTER

Dear Friends, 

                We hope this finds you safe and well during these very uncertain times.  During this period of “social distancing” and “shelter in place”, our Board is just as frustrated and bewildered as everyone else as we try to navigate the current reality.  We decided to cancel our Annual Meeting in March as well as most in-person Board meetings in the meantime, and the programs or tours we had planned for this summer are currently on hold.  We appointed two new Board members, Casey and Debbie Hildebrand, to serve until they are officially elected at our next annual meeting.  So although our programs and tours have been suspended for the time being, we are still active and we want to keep in touch with all of you.

Now for some much needed positive news:  We have completed the necessary contract requirements with the State Historic Fund and the contractor will begin work on the preservation of our historic church/history center in Howard in June!  Completing all of the necessary research, applying for grants, raising matching funds for our portion of the cost, and complying with all the bureaucratic “red tape” has taken many years and lots of patience, but we are finally about to see some results on the ground.  In coming months, you will notice a lot of activity at the building, beginning with removal of the windows for restoration off-site, plus repairs on the siding and trim, foundation, and front porch/stairs, as well as a much-needed fresh coat of paint.  The contractor hopes to complete all the work by the end of the summer, and we look forward to the time we can host an open house to share the results with all of you.  Thanks again to those of you who donated money for this preservation project, and especially for your patience as we worked through the lengthy process involved in obtaining the grant money from the State Historic Fund to allow the project to move forward.

Also, we want to thank those of you who paid your annual dues before this pandemic became our new reality.  Several of our major expenses, such as taxes and insurance on the historic church building/history center, will still be incurred, so we appreciate your loyalty and support during this unprecedented time.

In the meantime, you can get your “history fix” by checking our website listed above for pictures/updates on the preservation project, as well as photos of past tours and events which are now available there.  We look forward to the time when once again we can welcome all of you history lovers to join in our various projects and programs.  Please feel free to call any of the Board members listed below with any questions and comments.  In the meantime, STAY SAFE  – WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU SOON!

Board of Directors Betsy Denney Craig Leitner Mark Minor Shari Mohr Kris Shurr Barbara Snyder

2019 Summer Newsletter

Summer has arrived (at least on the calendar!) and the WFHS board has some great events planned:

JULY 4 – 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. –  Open house at the WFHS History Center (our historic church building located across the road from Howard Hall), with special presentations by our local “historic paint sleuth” and newest WFHS board member, Mark Minor, at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.  Mark will explain the process used to determine the original paint colors of historic buildings, including a chance to examine paint samples through the microscope.  (We have a good source of old paint right on our history center!)  In addition, we will be showcasing items pertaining to local Grange activities from Howard, Coaldale and Hillside Grange groups.  Ellen Hopkins, our preservation project coordinator, will also provide an update on the State Historic Fund grant funding which is now in process, after years of effort!

AUGUST 17 – 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. – program/tour featuring history of western Fremont County schools.  We’ll begin with an overview presentation at Cotopaxi School, and proceed up the valley to Coaldale and Howard, with information regarding location and history of the various schools that served those communities over the years.  Watch for further details on our website and flyers.

OCTOBER 12 – 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. – cemetery tours at Coaldale and Howard.  Cemetery tours are always popular as we visit the graves and knit together stories of early settlers and events in western Fremont County.  We will also attempt to assist anyone who is looking for information on relatives or other figures from the past associated with these cemeteries.    More details will be forthcoming early in the fall.

This spring, through the tireless efforts of Howard resident and website guru, Tom Kainz, we unveiled a new and improved website which is now more informative and user friendly than ever.  Please check it out at westfremonthistory.com.  Information regarding our upcoming events as well as publications and tour books available for purchase is on the website, along with a new “historic fun fact” every month.  You can also find information on Facebook, or feel free to contact one of our board members with any questions or comments.

Your support makes these programs and events possible.  As always, we welcome volunteers who enjoy history to join in our various projects and programs. THANK YOU AGAIN, and we look forward to sharing local history with you in the coming months.

WFHS Board of Directors

Betsy Denney  (719) 942-3679                                                   Craig Leitner (719) 207-0015

Mark Minor (719) 207-0921                                                       Shari Mohr  (719) 942-3355

Kris Shurr (719) 942-3653                                                            Barbara Snyder (719) 539-3956