These locations are on private property. Seek permission of the owners prior to intruding on the land or investigating the structures.

Story by Gary Minke-October 1997 Newsletter
Photos provided/taken by Herman Chapman-2002

This section is five years in the making!

You may have likely wondered about the remnants of old log buildings such as those off Chief Trail jokingly labeled "Hilton" and "Holiday Inn".  Well, there is a lot of interesting history about those old structures.

Remains of the old house and barn at the foot of the prominent granite outcrop (Robbers Roost) were on the homestead of Joe Merrick, a 6' 6" Finnish carpenter who constructed the buildings after World War I.

According to the Homestead Act of 1916-1919, a man 21 years or older could obtain up to 640 acres of land provided he fenced the property and lived on the land for at least two years.  Even back in the early part of the 20th century it was difficult to make a living by farming and raising cattle in the Indian Mountain area.  You had to have a good flowing spring or adequate water well just to make a go of it.  Joe Merrick did construction work on the side and is best remembered for Merrick's addition in Fairplay.  Joe left the area in 1939 and the old homestead a the northwest end of Filing 26 was abandoned.

The old buildings along Chief Trail near Arrowhead Drive were on a sheep ranch owned by Bob Burns.  His son-in-law, Mr. Childers, and his grandson, Ike, lived in the cabin now labeled "Hilton".  Old man Childers was quite a drinker and suffered from spells of "visions".  When Ike was 19 he found his dad had hanged himself with a bed sheet from the ridgepole of the cabin during one of his spells.  Burns moved out in 1928 or '29 and his land was purchased by the Slaters who owned the land now known as Sportsmens Ranch.  The Slaters soon sold out to Swift Packing Company.

A little farther up Chief Trail, also on the right, is the old Baker cabin.  In 1919, Bill Baker was a World Champion Rodeo Rider.  Bill moved away in the late 1920s.

From Chief Trail, the tour continues on Kodiak to Cheyenne Road.  Beyond the cul-de-sac is a lovely box canyon with granite outcrops on the left and a wooded slope on the right.  The five old buildings and corral at the end of the grassy path were on the 320-acre Smith Homestead.  Jim "Red" Smith and his colorful wife, Beatrice, farmed and ranched there.  Beatrice drove around in a Model T Ford with a pair of six shooters strapped to her waist.  When the Model T got seriously stuck in the mud down Indian Gulch, it was abandoned.  During the Great Depression, the Smiths sold their land to the Swift Packing Company.

Off Longbow Drive beside Chippewa Road is the unmarked Potentilla Grove.  Some construction material is presently stacked there below the big granite outcrop.  This is the site of the Orison Homestead that burned in 1926.  Ms. Orison was single and employed as a school teacher down in the Elkhorn.  She hired the Gregg brothers to plow a potato field for her in May of 1924.  It was a cold and windy day and David Gregg built a fire to warm himself during breaks from the plowing.  The wind sent the fire out of control and it burned many acres of land just south of Indian Mountain before being extinguished.  As far as we know, this was the last major forest fire in Indian Mountain.  Schoolmarm Orison moved away after another mishap burned her cabin to the ground in 1926.

One of the more notorious characters in the Indian Mountain area homesteaded in the valley along Ouray Trail opposite the entrance to Ute Trail.  He was Wilbur Draper, alias "Dusty" Rhodes.  The fellow was reported to be a car thief and deer poacher.  According to rumor, Dusty would appropriate cars in Denver and repaint them on his homestead.  After altering the serial number, he would sell the car.  One Denver man heard about these "hot" cars and came up to check on whether his stolen car could be there.  "Dusty" offered to help by driving the fellow around in his very own repainted car to search in vain.  Draper had a beloved dog named Skinny. 

A local game warden heard that Wilbur was poaching deer out of season and paid a visit to his homestead.  After denying any such illegal activity to the game warden, Wilbur had some fast talking to do when Skinny crawled out from under the bed with part of a deer leg in her mouth.  Skinny's grave can stillbe found, marked with a tin plate on a rock beside Ouray Trail just before the entrance to Winona Street.  Wilbur got the dog in 1912 when he was a lad of 13.  He buried old Skinny in 1923.  All that remains of the homestead, once littered with old car parts, are a couple of rotted sheds on the hillside across the valley.

The old corral, barn, and spring house on Kiowa Street were part of the Wilson Ranch.  Some of the stone chimney remains where the main house once stood.  According to our source, Jim Gardener, the ranch was abandoned before 1920.  His father visited the place in 1921 and found no house there.  Possibly the house was dismantled for reusable wood.

The Gregg Homesteads on both sides of Haida Road have several houses, a barn, and outhouses reamaining.  David and Moshe Gregg homesteaded side by side, raising goats and some cattle.  David stayed from 1920 until 1928, while his brother, Moshe, was still around during the early 1950s.

Jim Gardener was unsuccessful in uncovering much history concerning the homestead along Arrowhead Drive at Arrow Court.  He believes it was in some way associated with the Smith family who homesteaded in the box canyon beyond Cheyenne Road.

We thank Bill Haines for setting up the interesting series of Indian Mountain history.

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