Kathy Jordan's history of Grand Junction and Mesa County

Grand Junction History by Kathy Jordan

Dear Readers:

Kathy Jordan retired from The Daily Sentinel in 2004 after 32 years. In May of 2008 Laurena Davis, managing editor at the Sentinel, asked her if I would be interested in writing a history column for the paper since she had become interested in area history and was a member of several historical groups.

On one hand, she said later, she wasn’t sure that I wanted to commit to some form of work. Then something chimed in and she realized what a great opportunity to share the history of our area.

As a board member of Friends of The Grand Junction Depot and the Grand Junction Historic Preservation Board, she had learned the value of history - after all, if you don’t share it, it is soon forgotten. Because of the research done by a friend of hers, Marie Tipping, and her husband, Teddy Jordan, she could write these columns to share.

Kathy passed away unexpectedly May 1, 2013. Her husband and friends have brought this archive together to share on Kathy's web site to enjoy and perhaps learn a bit about Mesa County and Western Colorado.

Early day Grand Valley school resisted consolidation	Art Center started with fund drives in the 1950s
Botanical Gardens started with dedicated group in the mid ‘80s	Cheney Reservoir, planned since 1887, a birdwatching oasis
Charlie Glass was a dandy cowpuncher - Part 1 Grazing disputes go to lethal extremes for sheepmen, ranchers - Part 2 Rumors murmured after fatal accident of cowboy Charlie Glass - Part 3	Food, drink among things once available in Cisco - Part 1 'Uranium King' Charlie Steen started out in Cisco tarpaper shack - Part 2
Depot open for National Train Day	Residents had ‘foresight’ to save downtown in the era of strip malls
Green River Friendship Cruise a 50-plus year tradition	Fruita Museum building embedded in with fossils
Land grab may have been mistake, or claim jumping	Odds and Ends
Midcentury doctors founded walk-in clinic post-hospital care	Digging proves Pabor’s 1883 Seventh Street home still standing
Fruita first to get safe drinking water	Petty disputes led to Plateau City on Grand Mesa
Unearthed headstone leads columnist on trail of history mystery	Quonset huts first housed WWII soldiers, then civilians
Lincoln Park campground drew auto travelers in ‘20s, ‘30s	1972 nuclear tests on Glade Park shook up earth, residents
Historic GJ chapel due for improvements after listing Handy Chapel to get a hand from HistoriCorps volunteers Pioneer black church needs donations for matching grant	West Valley Horsethief Ranch nearly self sufficient in1890s - Part 1 Life at Horsethief Canyon Ranch had its difficult times - Part 2
Little Italy a lively place in southwest downtown Part I Italian mason was an Artist with local stone - Part 2	Shade trees were a priority for Junction town founder
1930s-era Grand Junction boasted four movie theaters - Part 1 Air conditioning at Movies worth admission - Part 2	Whitewater was a green oasis in late 1800s
Wild West settlers still wanted their opera, theater World Class Talent Graced Stage	Hotel Colorado opening in 1893 an opulent event Fleming Glenwood’s Hotel Colorado hosted presidents, celebrities and gangsters
Presbyterian Church plagued by fires over the years	Little Italy filled with the aroma of baking bread
Calamity Camp at historical epicenter of uranium mining	What’s in a name? Curious town titles explained
Neither press problems nor fire stopped Sentinel since 1893	Clifton Christian Church
May/December romance, mysterious death raises suspicion - Part 1 Love triangle murder trial was standing room only - Part 2	More to Meeker Massacre than historical stereotypes
Post offices historically nucleus of town’s communication	World-class talent graced GJ stage in 1892 opera house
Fence-hopping WWII soldiers danced the night away at YMCA	Grand Junction Eagles semi-pro baseball team a big hit
Notion of tunnel under Divide predates reality by 100-plus years - Part 1 Eisenhower Tunnel a moving target during construction - Part 2	Deadly confrontation in Utah took place shortly before GJ incorporated
‘Fotografer’ Frank Dean preserved images of early Grand Junction life Parks Receive Preservation Awards Ross Cemetery	Early GJ settler, born a slave, was noted orchardist - Part 1 Separate hotel rooms, racial stereotypes faint mid-century GJ past - Part 2 Hines family goes back eight generations in Grand Junction - Part 3
David Sundal was devoted to keeping GJ history alive	Grand Junction’s earliest known veteran laid to rest on Presidents Day
Female engineer broke tunnel taboo in 1972	Cross-country cyclists got the royal treatment
Buffalo Bill and his Wild West show rolled into town in 1908	Ex-showgirl built crazy collection of rental cabins
Engineering marvel San Miguel and Dolores Rivers Canyon Hanging Flume to be reconstructed	Deadly confrontation in Utah took place shortly before GJ incorporated

Artillery exploded for four hours in 1943 rail car mishap
Handy Chapel	Petty disputes led to Plateau City on Grand Mesa
Sugar Beet Factory	S&M Supply
Ex-showgirl built crazy collection of rental cabins	Perry's Auction
Fall Creek Ranch	Gordon Ferry and Toll Road
Rock Wood Lumber Camp	Hines family goes back eight generations in Grand Junction
Grand Junction’s earliest known veteran laid to rest on Presidents Day	Carpenter
The Valley Curtain by Christo	St. Regis Fire Stirs Memories
Female engineer broke tunnel taboo in 1972	LaCourt Had Shining Moments - Part 1 LaCourt - Part 2
Cross-country cyclists got the royal treatment	Grand Junction Elks Lodge
Los Colonias' Agriculture Roots	Early Day Cemeteries Proved Profitable
First Methodist Episcopal Church	Bill Robinson's Legacy
Present-Day Cameo No Reflection of Past Era	Drapela Flying School - Part 1 Drapela Flying School - Part 2
I-70 Roller Dam Unique to U.S.	Lincoln Park Light Caper Goes Unsolved
Did Wild Bunch rob parachute train or were authorities fooled?	Ice Houses Harken Back to Early Transportation Needs
Rare Tornado Causes Little Damage, Makes History	Sunny Knoll Hosted Horse Elite
Dance Hall Catered to Families	Pioneer Fashioned Home from Glade Park Cave
Walker Field Tower was Only “Skyscraper” for Many Years	Walker Field Built for Class
Trumbo Favorite Son…or Parriah?	Christmas
GJ’s First Newspaper Treasure Trove of Bits and Pieces	Canning Factory One of Area’s Largest Employers
Lawless Tent Town Made Success of Emma’s Saloon	Fairmount Community had own Town Hall
Fruita Ruins Reminder of Quaker Garmesa Settlement	OM Cemetery Centerpiece of Remembrance
Why and how towns, streets and formations got their names	Veteran’s Hospital - Proud Legacy of Service
Potter's Field	John Otto’s Marriage Ill-Fated for Reclusive Pioneer
Murder or Suicide? Mystery Remains a Haunting Question	Moyer Was Noted Builder, Philanthropist – a Rags to Riches to Rags Story
Lumsden Made His Mark in Early Construction in GJ	Lucy Ela Shined as Birder, Local Activist
“Pretty Good Place to Live” Made Better thru the Decades	Cattlewoman was Respected in Rugged Utah
Christmas Fairy Made Holidays Happy for Depression Children	Ups and Downs, Battlement Mesa has Earned Name

This website, and its contents, are the property of Kathy Jordan; all columns were previously published
in the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. All rights reserved.
This web site is for recreational use only and is not meant to be a definitive source of complete information.
©2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and pretty much all of the 21st Century.
If you link to this site, please let us know, thank you.

Thanks to TCS Marketing for the web site.