Boggsville

Boggsville was the first permanent settlement in southeastern Colorado. It was founded in 1866 near the confluence of the Arkansas and Purgatoire Rivers. Its residents pioneered irrigation and large-scale farming and ranching in the Arkansas Valley. In the 1870s, the railroad arrived a few miles away in neighboring Las Animas. After a restoration effort in the 1990s, Boggsville is now a History Museum. It has been named a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Origins

Thomas Boggs moved west in the 1840s. He was the son of Missouri’s fifth governor, Lilburn W. Boggs. Thomas first arrived in the Arkansas Valley in 1844 to work for William Bent at Bent’s Old Fort. Two years later, Thomas married Rumalda Luna Bent of the Bent family. Her stepfather had served as the first territorial governor of New Mexico, and her aunt was married to Kit Carson, the famous mountain man.

The Boggs and Carson families established a ranch east of Taos, New Mexico.

After several years in Taos, Boggs started working with landowner Lucien Maxwell in the mid-1850s. Maxwell controlled a land grant of 1.7 million acres on the border between New Mexico and Colorado. Together they owned herds of cattle and sheep, which Boggs brought to the Arkansas Valley for pasture in the summers.

Boggs decided the Arkansas Valley had a good location and climate for settlement. Through his wife, he could get a 2,040-acre land grant. This land was part of the larger Vigil and St. Vrain Land Grant. His property lay about three miles south of the confluence of the Arkansas and Purgatoire Rivers. The Purgatoire ran through the middle of the plot. In 1866 Boggs built a large adobe house on the land and moved there with his family.

Growing Town

New residents arrived at Boggsville in 1867, when Fort Lyon was moved nearby. Fort Lyon needed produce and livestock. To keep Fort Lyon supplied, Boggsville soon developed the first large-scale farming and ranching operations in southeastern Colorado.

Businessman and rancher John W. Prowers moved to Boggsville in 1867. He planned to do business with the relocated Fort Lyon. He was married to a Cheyenne woman named Amache. They had lived at Bent’s Fort and had also managed a stagecoach station in a small town.

Prowers built a huge two-story, U-shaped house that served as the town center of Boggsville. It provided the Prowers family with living quarters, but it also served at various times as stagecoach station, school, and political office. In addition, Prowers opened a general store in the house with his brother-in-law, John Hough, in 1867.

Boggsville’s most famous resident was Kit Carson, who settled there in December 1867. Carson’s wife wanted to be near her niece, Rumalda Luna Bent Boggs. Carson’s family settled into a small house near Boggs’s home. In early 1868, Carson traveled to Washington, DC, to help negotiate a treaty with the Ute Indians. By April, when he returned to Boggsville, he was seriously ill. He was moved to Fort Lyon, where he died in May 1868. His body was brought back to Boggsville and buried next to his wife, who had died a month earlier. The Carsons were later reburied in Taos, New Mexico. Boggs was named the executor of Carson’s will and their children became part of the Boggs family.

County Seat

In 1867 Boggsville began to develop irrigation and large-scale agriculture and ranching. Residents dug an irrigation canal called the Tarbox Ditch, which was seven miles long and irrigated more than 1,000 acres. The ditch irrigated the Boggs, Prowers, and Robert Bent farms. The project was the first large-scale agriculture in the region. Fort Lyon would buy nearly everything the farmers at Boggsville could produce.

Boggs and Prowers also pioneered large-scale ranching in southeastern Colorado. They raised horses, cattle, and sheep. Prowers crossbred his cattle to produce stock that could survive harsh climates. His herd started small in the 1860s, but eventually grew to about 10,000 head of cattle by the 1880s. The area’s sheep numbered about 17,000 in the mid-1870s.

Boggsville became more important after 1870 as it developed into a town. Boggs became the town’s first sheriff in 1870. He was elected to the territorial legislature the following year. Boggsville became the county seat in 1870. It served as the government center for an area about six times larger than present-day Bent County. The county offices were in the Prowers House. A public school district was organized the same year, and the first public school in southeastern Colorado opened just north of the Prowers House.

From Town to Ranch

The railroad came to the Arkansas Valley in the early 1870s, but it did not come to Boggsville. The Kansas Pacific Railroad was laid a few miles north of Boggsville Without the railroad, Boggsville could not continue as a town of its own. The town of Las Animas was established where the railroad ran, and residents voted to move the county seat from Boggsville to Las Animas. That year John Prowers moved to Las Animas, where he built a new house and opened a general store. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad arrived in Las Animas two years later.

Thomas Boggs remained in Boggsville until 1877, when he moved to New Mexico. In 1883 he sold the ranch to John Lee for $1,200. Four years later, John Lee sold the land to James Lee, a bachelor and gentleman farmer from Boston, for $13,000. James Lee enlarged the farm to about 3,000 acres, on which he raised 800 cattle and 1,000 horses. Lee called his farm San Patricio Ranch and often held social gatherings there for friends from Las Animas.

Lee returned to Boston in 1898 and the Boggsville site passed through many hands. Lee’s family leased it out to local farmers until 1926 when it was sold. Various renters occupied the Boggsville buildings over the years. The Prowers House remained occupied until the 1950s, the Boggs House until the 1970s.

Historic Site

By the 1980s, the original Boggs and Prowers houses were still standing at the Boggsville site. Both houses were deteriorating. Neither house had been occupied for years. They stood in the middle of the Page family’s 569-acre farm, with the area around them used for grazing and farming. The Prowers House was in danger of crumbling. Only one section of the original U-shaped building remained, and many walls were leaning or had already collapsed. The Boggs House was in better condition but still needed reinforcement and restoration in order to survive.

In 1985 the Pages donated 110 acres of the Boggsville site to the Pioneer Historical Society of Bent County. Using a grant from the State Historical Fund, the Pioneer Historical Society restored the Boggs and Prowers Houses and opened them to the public as an interpretive museum.

The Historic Boggsville site operated until the early 2000s but faced budget shortfalls. In the fall of 2014, the National Trust for Historical Preservation named Boggsville a National Treasure and helped the Pioneer Historical Society make the site sustainable into the future. In 2015 Boggsville received a Partners in the Outdoors grant from Colorado Parks and Wildlife to add new signs and landscape improvements. The site was also the subject of an episode of Colorado Experience that premiered on Rocky Mountain PBS. People can visit the Boggsville Historic Site to learn about how people lived in Colorado in the 1860s.

Boggsville was the first settlement in southeastern Colorado. It was founded in 1866 near the Arkansas and Purgatoire Rivers. Its residents started farming and ranching in the Arkansas Valley. After restoration in the 1990s, Boggsville became a History Museum. People can visit the site to learn about how people lived in Colorado during the 1860s.

Town Origins

Thomas Boggs moved west in the 1840s. He was the son of Missouri’s fifth governor, Lilburn W. Boggs. Thomas first arrived in the Arkansas Valley in 1844 to work for William Bent at Bent’s Old Fort. Two years later, Thomas married Rumalda Luna Bent of the Bent family. Her stepfather had served as the first territorial governor of New Mexico. Her aunt was married to Kit Carson, the famous mountain man.

The Boggs and Carson families established ranches together near Taos, New Mexico.

After several years, Boggs started working with landowner Lucien Maxwell. Maxwell had a land grant of 1.7 million acres on the border between New Mexico and Colorado. Together they owned herds of cattle and sheep. Boggs brought the herds to the Arkansas Valley to pasture in the summers.

Boggs decided the Arkansas Valley had a good location and climate for settlement. Through his wife, he could get a 2,040-acre land grant. The property lay about three miles south of the confluence of the Arkansas and Purgatoire Rivers. The Purgatoire ran through the middle of the property. In 1866 Boggs built a large adobe house on his land and moved there with his family.

Growing Town

The government moved Fort Lyon near to Boggsville in 1867. Fort Lyon needed produce and livestock. People moved to Boggsville to make a living at the Fort. Boggsville soon developed the first large-scale farming and ranching operations in southeastern Colorado.

Businessman and rancher John W. Prowers moved to Boggsville in 1867. Like others, he planned to do business with the relocated Fort Lyon. He was married to a Cheyenne woman named Amache. They had lived at Bent’s New Fort and had later managed a stagecoach station.

Prowers built a huge two-story, U-shaped house that served as the town center in Boggsville. It provided the Prowers family with living quarters. It also served as a stagecoach station, school, and political office. Prowers opened a general store with his brother-in-law, John Hough, in 1867.

Boggsville’s most famous resident was Kit Carson, who settled there in December 1867. His wife wanted to be near her niece, Rumalda Luna Bent Boggs. Carson’s family settled into a small house near Boggs’s home. In early 1868, Carson traveled to Washington, DC, to help negotiate a treaty with the Ute Indians. When he returned to Boggsville, he was seriously ill. He was taken to Bents Fort where he died in May 1868. His body was brought back to Boggsville and buried next to his wife, who had died a month earlier. The Carsons were later reburied in Taos, New Mexico. Boggs was named the executor of Carson’s will and their children became part of Boggs’s family.

County Seat

In 1867 Boggsville began to develop irrigation and large-scale farming and ranching. Residents dug an irrigation canal called the Tarbox Ditch. It was seven miles long and irrigated 1,000 acres. The project was the first large-scale agriculture in the region. Fort Lyon would buy nearly everything the farmers at Boggsville could produce.

Boggs and Prowers also pioneered large-scale ranching. They raised horses, cattle, and sheep. Prowers crossbred his cattle to produce stock that could survive harsh climates. His herd grew to about 10,000 head of cattle by the 1880s. The area’s sheep numbered about 17,000 in the mid-1870s.

Boggsville developed into a town in 1870. Boggs became the town’s first sheriff in 1870. He was elected to the territorial legislature the following year. Boggsville became the county seat in 1870. The county offices were in the Prowers House. A public school district was organized the same year. The first public school in southeast Colorado opened just north of the Prowers House.

From Town to Ranch

The railroad came to the Arkansas Valley in the early 1870s, but it did not come to Boggsville. The Kansas Pacific Railroad was put in a few miles north of Boggsville. Without the railroad, Boggsville could not continue as a town of its own. The town of Las Animas was established where the railroad ran. The county seat was moved from Boggsville to Las Animas. John Prowers moved to Las Animas, where he built a new house and opened a general store. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad arrived in Las Animas two years later.

Thomas Boggs remained in Boggsville until 1877, when he moved to New Mexico. In 1883 he sold the ranch to John Lee for $1,200. Four years later, John Lee sold the land to James Lee, a gentleman farmer from Boston, for $13,000. James Lee enlarged the farm to about 3,000 acres and raised 800 cattle and 1,000 horses. Lee named the property the San Patricio Ranch. He often held social gatherings there for friends from Las Animas.

Lee returned to Boston in 1898. Lee’s family leased the ranch out to local farmers until 1926. Various renters occupied the Boggsville buildings over the years. The Prowers House remained occupied until the 1950s, the Boggs House until the 1970s.

Historic Site

In the 1980s, the original Boggs and Prowers houses were still standing at the Boggsville site. They stood in the middle of the Page family’s farm, with the area around them used for grazing and farming. Both houses were deteriorating. The Prowers House was in danger of crumbling. Only one section of the original U-shaped building remained, and many walls were leaning or had already collapsed. The Boggs House was in better condition but still needed restoration.

In 1985 the Pages donated 110 acres of the Boggsville site to the Pioneer Historical Society of Bent County. Using a grant from the State Historical Fund, the Pioneer Historical Society restored the Boggs and Prowers Houses and opened them to the public as a History Museum.

In the fall of 2014, the National Trust for Historical Preservation named Boggsville a National Treasure. In 2015 Boggsville received a Partners in the Outdoors grant from Colorado Parks and Wildlife to add new signs and landscape improvements. The site was the subject of an episode of Colorado Experience that premiered on Rocky Mountain PBS. People can visit the Boggsville Historic Site to learn about how people lived in Colorado in the 1860s.

Boggsville was the first town in southeastern Colorado. Its residents started farming and ranching in the Arkansas Valley. Boggsville now is living history museum. People can visit Boggsville to learn about life in Colorado in the 1860s.

Town Origins

Thomas Boggs moved west in the 1850s. He was the son of Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs. Thomas first arrived in the Arkansas Valley in 1844. He worked for William Bent at Bent’s Old Fort. Two years later, Thomas married Rumalda Luna Bent of the Bent family. Her aunt was married to Kit Carson, the famous mountain man.

The Boggs and Carson families built a ranch near Taos, New Mexico. Boggs started working with Lucien Maxwell. Maxwell had a land grant of 1.7 million acres in New Mexico and Colorado. They had herds of cattle and sheep.

Boggs thought the Arkansas Valley would be a good place to start a new ranch. Through his wife, he could get a 2,040-acre land grant. The property was near the Arkansas and Purgatoire Rivers. The Purgatoire ran through the middle of the plot. In 1866 Boggs built a large adobe house and moved there with his family. He named the place Boggsville.

Growing Town

The government moved Fort Lyon close to Boggsville. Fort Lyon needed produce and livestock. People started to move to Boggsville to find work at the Fort. They began the first large farming and ranching operations in southeastern Colorado.

Businessman John W. Prowers moved to Boggsville in 1867. Like others, he planned to do business at Fort Lyon. He was married to a Cheyenne woman named Amache. They had lived at Bent’s Fort and had managed a stagecoach station.

Prowers built a huge two-story, U-shaped house. It served as the town center in Boggsville. It also was the stagecoach station, school, government offices, and general store.

Kit Carson, the famous mountain man, moved to Boggsville. His wife wanted to be near her niece. They settled into a small house near the Boggs’s home. In 1868 Carson became ill and died. He was buried in Boggsville next to his wife, who had died a month earlier.

Their children became part of the Boggs family.

County Seat

In 1867 the people in Boggsville built an irrigation system to water their crops. Residents dug a canal called the Tarbox Ditch. It was seven miles long and could irrigate 1,000 acres. This allowed them to produce crops on the dry land. Fort Lyon bought what the farmers at Boggsville produced.

Boggs and Prowers also started ranching in southeastern Colorado. They raised horses, cattle, and sheep. Prowers had 10,000 head of cattle by the 1880s. The area also had 17,000 sheep by 1875.

By 1870 Boggsville had become a town. Boggs was the town’s first sheriff. He was elected to the Territorial Legislature. Boggsville became the county seat in 1870. The county offices were in the Prowers House. A public school was started. It was the first public school in southeast Colorado.

From Town to Ranch

The railroad came to the Arkansas Valley in the early 1870s. But it did not come to Boggsville. The railroad was built a few miles north of Boggsville. Without the railroad, Boggsville could not continue as a town.

The town of Las Animas was started near the railroad. The county seat was changed to Las Animas. John Prowers moved to Las Animas. He built a new house and opened a general store.

Thomas Boggs stayed in Boggsville until 1877, then he moved to New Mexico. In 1883 he sold the ranch. Four years later, the ranch was sold again to James Lee. He enlarged the farm to about 3,000 acres. He raised 800 cattle and 1,000 horses. Lee named it San Patricio Ranch.

Lee sold the ranch in 1898. Lee’s family leased it out to local farmers until 1926. Various renters lived in the Boggsville buildings. People lived in the Prowers House until the 1950s. The Boggs House was occupied until the 1970s.

Historic Site

By the 1980s, the Boggs and Prowers houses were in bad shape. No one had lived in them for years. The Prowers House was crumbling. The walls were leaning and some had collapsed. The Boggs House was in better condition but still needed to be fixed up. They were in the middle of the Page family’s farm.

In 1985 the Page family gave the Boggsville site to the Pioneer Historical Society of Bent County. The Pioneer Historical Society fixed up the houses. They opened them as the Boggsville History Museum.

In the fall of 2014, the National Trust for Historical Preservation named Boggsville a National Treasure. In 2015 Boggsville Historical added new signs and made improvements. People can visit Boggsville to learn about how people lived in Colorado in the 1860s.