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The Homestead Act was passed by congress in 1862. It gave citizens (or
intended citizens) willing to work the land for 5 years the title to 180
acres. This is an example of a final homestead certificate from Elbert
County. Pete Sanchez Papers, LHC.
The Tyson Family homesteaded about 3 miles south of Castle Rock. They
were killed in a flash flood of West Plum Creek in 1864. Douglas County History Research Center #95060
The Twenty Mile house provided a respite for travelers on the Cherokee
Trail. It was built in 1864. Douglas County History Research Center #92011
The Oaklands
School was established in 1866. The building is currently located
at South Elementary School in Castle Rock.
Drawing by Mary Cornish, LHC
Benjamin Quick was an early settler of the area around Perry Park in the
south central portion of Douglas County. From Portrait and Biographical
Record of Denver and Vicinity (in LHC).
George Manhart's store provided supplies and mail to the early town of
Round Corral (later called Sedalia.) Douglas County History Research Center #687.567
William Henry Jackson was the photographer with the Hayden Survey to study
the western area of the United States. This photo was originally a plate
glass negative of an area in Perry Park. Image courtesy of the Western
History Department, Denver Public Library
Douglas County's first courthouse in Castle Rock still stands on 4th Street.
It is sometimes known as the Cantril Courthouse after William Cantril
who was the contractor that built it. LHC #678.03.
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1862
|
| |
| * May 22 -
Russellville Post Office opened. (Bauer,
Post Offices, p.126) |
| * September 8 - Russellville
Post Office moves to Franktown (Bauer,
Post Offices, p.126) |
| * December 20 - Bennet Springs Post
Office opens (Bauer, Post Offices,
p.19) |
| * First building erected in the present
town of Parker -- the Pine Grove post office. |
| * The first county commissioners elected
in Douglas County. They are John L. Boggs, Sylvester Richardson, and
Joseph Hipley. The first sheriff is Charles Parkinson; clerk and recorder,
J.F. Gardner; treasurer, Noel Webber. (Hall
Vol. III, p.333) |
|
* D.C. Oakes opens a sawmill at Huntsville
(possibly in conjunction with the one in Bennett Springs/Oakesville.)
(Scott)
|
| * United States Government passes
the Homestead Act to encourage settlement in the West. (Homestead
act website) |
|
1863
|
| |
| * April 7 - Bear Cañon Post Office
established (Bauer, Post Offices,
p.17) |
| * April 7 - Keystone Post Office opens
(Bauer, Post Offices, p.82) |
| * Fire at Frankstown destroys county
records. The county seat is temporarily relocated to J. F. Gardner's
California Ranch, which was owned by Charles Parkhurst. (Weir
p.184, Bull) |
| * Keystone Ranch post office established. |
| * Telegraph line links Denver with
East; ten words to New York cost $9.10. (CSA) |
|
1864
|
| |
| * Town of New Memphis is founded two
miles north of Castle Rock, by a land company from Memphis Tennessee.
(Weir p.185) |
* Heavy rain over the upper basin
of Cherry Creek caused 19 deaths along Cherry Creek and the South
Platte River in Denver.
(Weather) |
|
* 20 Mile-House built near Pine Grove
Post office, present day Parker, at the intersection of the Smoky
Hill Trail and the Cherokee Trail.
|
| * The massacre of the Hungate Family
in Douglas County sparks increased tension between settlers and Native
Americans. This tension culminated in Col. John Chivington's Sand
Creek Massacre north of Fort Lyon on the Arkansas River. (Douglas
County News-Press 6/5/1984) |
| * Conrad Moschel is murdered by Native
Americans near the George Engl Ranch. His epitaph is carved into the
nearby bluffs, and becomes a marker for travelers. (Appleby
p.57) |
|
1865
|
| |
| * Town of Round Corral
is founded by John H. Craig (later becomes Sedalia) (Weir
p.184) |
| * March 27 - Spring
Valley Post Office established. (Bauer,
Post Offices, p.135) |
| *
September 1 - Franktown |
and
Sedalia school districts organized. (Marr
p.35) |
|
| * Douglas County has three school
districts with a total enrollment of 70 students. (Weir
p.185) |
| * United States Civil War ends. |
|
1866
|
| |
| * President Andrew Johnson vetoes
bill for Colorado Statehood. Among his reasons are the Sand Creek
Massacre, the doubtful legality of the proposed state's constitution,
and the shrinking population caused by lessening of gold strikes.
(Encyclopedia p. 92) |
| * Oaklands School opens (Cornish) |
| * J. F. Gardner buys California Ranch
from Parkhurst. (Bull) |
|
1867
|
| |
| * David Gregory, the first homesteader
on Highlands Ranch property, filed for 80 acres. Between 1867 and
1910, 189 filings were made within the ranch. |
|
1868
|
| |
| * Glen Grove School founded. (Marr
p.201) |
| * Fort constructed on Benjamin Quick's
property to protect against "indian raids." A raid occurs the following
week. (Webb p.11) |
| * Pine Grove/Parker School opens
(Our Heritage p. 375) |
|
1869
|
| |
| * John H. Craig sells town site of
Sedalia to Jonathan House (Appleby
p.163 ) |
| * Jeremiah Gould stakes claim at present
site of Castle Rock (Appleby p.8) |
|
1870
|
| |
| * Kansas Pacific Railroad completes
first rail line in Douglas County near present day Limon, linking
Denver to Kansas City. (Weir p.184) |
| * Pine Grove Post Office opens (Bauer) |
| * 20 Mile-House nearly burns down
near Parker. |
| * Spring Valley Cemetery founded.
(Appleby p.191) |
| * First burial in the Franktown Cemetery
(Appleby p. 57) |
|
1871
|
| |
| * Colorado Springs is founded by General
William J. Palmer. Denver and Rio Grande Railroad is built southward
from Denver by Palmer, bringing the railroad through Douglas County.
(CSA) (Encyclopedia
p.93) |
| * April 5 - Original Castle Rock Post
Office opens at site of Douglas, south of Town of Castle Rock. (Bauer,
Post Offices, p.31) |
| * December - Town of Huntsville moved
to Larkspur. The name Larkspur was chosen by Governor Hunt's wife,
Elizabeth. (Larkspur p. 1) |
| * September 6 - Round Corral becomes
Plum after Denver and Rio Grande names their station "Plum Station."
(Weir p.184) (Machann
p.2) |
| * Lake Gulch school district formed.
(Doepke Family papers) |
| * Hayden Expedition passes through
Douglas County. William Henry Jackson takes earliest photographs of
the area. |
|
1872
|
| |
| * January 8 - New Memphis Post Office
opens (Bauer, Post Offices,
p.105) |
| * February 12 - Frost's Ranch Post
Office changed to Rock Ridge (Bauer,
Post Offices, p.123) |
| * April 8 - Sedalia Post Office opens.
The name Sedalia was chosen by Henry M. Clay, a prominent landowner,
who came from Sedalia, Missouri. (Bauer,
Post Offices, p.130) |
| * Silas Madge, "the father of the
lavastone industry," starts work in the Madge Quarry south of Castle
Rock. Douglas Quarry established. National Land and Improvement Company
acquires townsite of Douglas. |
| * Missouri industrialist and railroad
owner John D. Perry purchases several homesteads to make a ranch at
"Pleasant" Park. (Weir p. 9). |
| * Lone Tree school built. (Marr
p.214) |
| * Community church built a Bear Canon,
it will later become St. Philip in the Field Episcopal Church. |
|
1873
|
| |
| * June 3 - Greenland Post Office opens
(Bauer, Post Offices Supplement
p.2) |
| * First Allison School (wood frame)
constructed. (Miller p. 65) |
|
1874
|
| |
| * January 30 - Acequia Post Office
opens (Bauer, Post Offices,
p.9) |
| * May 18 - Castle Rock Post Office
changes name to Douglas and New Memphis Post Office moves to new Town
of Castle Rock (Bauer, Post
Offices, p.46) |
| * February - Douglas County borders
redrawn by the territorial legislature, eastern section becomes Elbert
County. |
| * April 25 - Town of Castle Rock founded
and named county seat, survey by J. D. McIntyre. 2 story wooden courthouse
built in Castle Rock. (Appleby
p.18) |
| * Jarre Creek school (District 5)
built. (Our Heritage p.381) |
| July 1 - Denver South Park and Pacific Railway opens
for business up the Platte Canyon in Douglas County. (Post
p.127) |
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