%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Cottonwood Trees http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cottonwood-trees <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Cottonwood Trees</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--3517--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--3517.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/plains-cottonwood"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Populus_deltoides_monilifera_USDA_0.jpg?itok=eoUdN_BP" width="1090" height="656" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/plains-cottonwood" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden"> Plains Cottonwood</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides monolifera), seen here along the <a href="/article/arkansas-river"><strong>Arkansas River</strong></a> in southern Colorado, is among the most important tree species in Colorado. Historically, it provided food, shelter, timber, medicine, and forage for Indigenous people, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/terminology-latino-experience-colorado"><strong>Hispanos</strong></a>, and American immigrants alike. </p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2021-01-29T17:18:28-07:00" title="Friday, January 29, 2021 - 17:18" class="datetime">Fri, 01/29/2021 - 17:18</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cottonwood-trees" data-a2a-title="Cottonwood Trees"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fcottonwood-trees&amp;title=Cottonwood%20Trees"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>One of the most ecologically and culturally significant trees in Colorado, the plains cottonwood (<em>Populus deltoides monilifera</em>) thrives near rivers and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wetlands-and-riparian-areas"><strong>riparian</strong></a> areas throughout the state. It is one of the only tree species to grow on Colorado’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado%E2%80%99s-great-plains"><strong>Great Plains</strong></a>, which made it an important source of forage, fuel, timber, and medicine for Indigenous people, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/terminology-latino-experience-colorado"><strong>Hispanos</strong></a>, and white immigrants. The cottonwood gets its name from the millions of cotton-like seeds that female trees release each spring.</p> <h2>Description</h2> <p>Cottonwoods are tall, deciduous trees commonly found along riverbanks and other high-moisture areas, with broad leaves and dark gray bark. They thrive at altitudes of 3,500 to 6,500 feet and reach a maximum height of around 190 feet.</p> <p>Seeding and sprouting are the cottonwood’s two major avenues of reproduction. Cottonwoods are dioecious, meaning individual trees are either male or female. Females grow necklace-like strings of seedpods that release millions of white, cottony seeds into the air, typically in June. Males grow purple flowers. Like their mountain-dwelling cousins the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/aspen-trees"><strong>aspen</strong></a>, cottonwoods are members of the poplar family, but unlike the aspen, cottonwoods do not produce clone trees from a single root system. However, like other poplars, cottonwoods will readily resprout if broken or cut down—a trait that has coevolved with breaking and browsing animals such as <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/beaver"><strong>beaver</strong></a>, <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/bison"><strong>bison</strong></a>, and <strong>horses</strong>.</p> <p>Cottonwoods live just over 100 years—a fairly short lifespan for a tree. Sometimes large branches and the inner core of the tree will die before the rest of it, contributing to its common half-dead appearance. Cottonwoods in this condition represent a hazard, as branches can break and fall at any moment.</p> <h2>Ecology</h2> <p>As the vertical sentinels of the largely horizontal plains, cottonwoods provide habitat and food for many animals, from bison to birds, squirrels, and ponies. Eagles, blue jays, magpies, and woodpeckers are among the avian species that find respite in the cottonwood’s branches. Beaver stimulate cottonwood growth by gnawing down trunks, and bison, horses, and ponies eat the tree’s bark. Smaller trees, including willow and box elder, and shrubs thrive in the shade produced by the cottonwood.</p> <h2>Indigenous Culture</h2> <p>Indigenous people who lived on the plains and in the southwest part of the state—including the <strong>Apache</strong>, <strong>Arapaho</strong>, <strong>Cheyenne</strong>, <strong>Comanche</strong>, and <strong>Navajo</strong>—revered the cottonwood as a source of medicine and for its many practical uses, especially forage and food for horses. Sun Dance artifacts were carved from cottonwood. Perhaps the most famous grove of cottonwoods in the state was the Big Timbers, a thick stand along the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/arkansas-river"><strong>Arkansas River</strong></a> in southeast Colorado. In the early 1800s, the Cheyenne and Arapaho fought the Comanche and Kiowa for control of the sacred grove, with all four nations brokering a peace in 1840. Meanwhile, an old, thick cottonwood along the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cache-la-poudre-river"><strong>Cache la Poudre River</strong></a> near present-day <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/fort-collins"><strong>Fort Collins</strong></a> served as a Council Tree, a meeting spot for a local band of Arapaho led by <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/teenokuhu-friday"><strong>Teenokuhu</strong> <strong>(Friday)</strong></a>.</p> <p>In one Arapaho story, a girl named Sapana climbs a tall cottonwood into the sky itself, where she is then put to work skinning bison hides by an old man who takes the form of a porcupine. The girl is helped back to earth by a buzzard and a hawk. In return for their help, the Arapaho always left at least one bison carcass for the buzzards and hawks after their hunts.</p> <h2>Hispano Culture</h2> <p>Cottonwood trees were also a prominent part of early Hispano culture. In southern Colorado’s <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/hispano-settlement-purgatoire-valley"><strong>Purgatoire</strong></a> valley, members of the Catholic Penitente Brotherhood carved <em>santos</em>, or holy images, into cottonwood roots and trunks. In the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-luis-valley"><strong>San Luis Valley</strong></a>, where permanent Hispano settlements began in the 1850s, cottonwood beams supported adobe buildings, including the many <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/search/google/iglesia"><strong><em>iglesias</em> and <em>capillas</em></strong></a>—churches and chapels—established across the valley. The town and <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/alamosa-county"><strong>county</strong></a> of <strong>Alamosa</strong> were named after the Spanish word for cottonwood grove.</p> <h2>American Culture</h2> <p>In 1807 American explorer <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/zebulon-montgomery-pike"><strong>Zebulon Pike</strong></a> built his <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pike%E2%80%99s-stockade"><strong>stockade</strong></a> in the San Luis Valley out of cottonwood logs. Other whites quickly realized the importance of cottonwoods when they began crossing the plains to Colorado during the <a href="/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>Gold Rush of 1858–59</strong></a>. In addition to being the only fuel aside from bison droppings, cottonwoods provided shelter and food for draft animals and acted as guideposts for immigrant parties who needed to stick to the river paths, lest they become lost in the monotonous landscape of the plains. When immigrants reached the area of present-day <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>, they found building materials scarce; as such, the first house in what became Denver City, on today’s <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/larimer-square"><strong>Larimer Street</strong></a>, was built of “round cottonwood logs” and “roofed with earth.”</p> <p>One of the first editions of the <strong><em>Rocky Mountain News</em></strong>, printed on May 14, 1859, reflects white immigrants’ views of the cottonwood as part of the strikingly beautiful scenery of springtime along the eastern slope of the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/rocky-mountains"><strong>Rocky Mountains</strong></a>:</p> <p style="margin-left:.5in;">The prairies are putting on their robes of green and the bright verdure of the cottonwood and alder contrasts beautifully with the dark sombre [<em>sic</em>] hue of the evergreen forests.</p> <p>White immigrants’ consumption of cottonwood groves only increased as more Americans traveled west over the ensuing decades. The depletion of this important resource, as well as the simultaneous and related decline of the bison, contributed to starving conditions among many Indigenous bands in the mid- to late nineteenth century.</p> <h2>Threats</h2> <p>Since they are water-loving trees, cottonwoods are especially susceptible to drought. Millions died during the 1930s drought that contributed to the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/dust-bowl"><strong>Dust Bowl</strong></a>, and many more could be lost in the twenty-first century as a warming <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-climate"><strong>climate</strong></a> increases drought frequency and length. In addition, dams built since the beginning of the twentieth century have lowered flow rates in the <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/south-platte-river"><strong>South Platte</strong></a>, Arkansas, and other rivers, leading to a decline in cottonwood reproduction.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cottonwood" hreflang="en">cottonwood</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cottonwoods" hreflang="en">cottonwoods</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cottonwood-trees" hreflang="en">cottonwood trees</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/alamosa" hreflang="en">alamosa</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/alamosa-county" hreflang="en">alamosa county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/hispano" hreflang="en">hispano</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/iglesia" hreflang="en">iglesia</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/capilla" hreflang="en">capilla</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/zebulon-pike" hreflang="en">zebulon pike</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/ecology" hreflang="en">ecology</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/riparian" hreflang="en">riparian</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/rivers" hreflang="en">rivers</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/beaver" hreflang="en">beaver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/horses" hreflang="en">horses</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/comanche" hreflang="en">comanche</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/apache" hreflang="en">apache</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cheyenne" hreflang="en">cheyenne</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/arapaho" hreflang="en">arapaho</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/navajo" hreflang="en">navajo</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/san-luis-valley" hreflang="en">San Luis Valley</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/arkansas-river" hreflang="en">Arkansas River</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/south-platte-river" hreflang="en">south platte river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cache-la-poudre-river" hreflang="en">cache la poudre river</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/council-tree" hreflang="en">council tree</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/fort-collins" hreflang="en">fort collins</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/chief-friday" hreflang="en">chief friday</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Michael Burman and Larry Larson, “<a href="https://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/pub/em-8800-cottonwood-establishment-survival-stand-characteristics">Cottonwood: Establishment, Survival and Stand Characteristics</a>,” Oregon State University Extension, March 2002.</p> <p>Colorado State Forest Service, “<a href="https://csfs.colostate.edu/colorado-trees/colorados-major-tree-species/#1466529004857-b98c0fa7-79c5">Plains Cottonwood</a>,” Colorado State University, n.d.</p> <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=RMW18600215.2.18&amp;srpos=11&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-cottonwood-------0-----">First House</a>,” <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, February 15, 1860.</p> <p>Pekka Hämäläinen, <em>The Comanche Empire </em>(New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009).</p> <p>Indigenouspeople.net, “<a href="http://www.indigenouspeople.net/heron.htm">The Girl Who Climbed to the Sky</a>,” n.d.</p> <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=RMW18590514.2.51&amp;srpos=3&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-cottonwood-------0-----">Local Items</a>,” <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>, May 14, 1859.</p> <p>Native Languages, “<a href="http://www.native-languages.org/legends-cottonwood.htm#:~:text=The%20cottonwood%20tree%20was%20sacred,cottonwood%20boughs%20in%20funeral%20rituals.">Native American Cottonwood Tree Mythology</a>,” n.d.</p> <p>Joe H. Offer, “<a href="https://wou.edu/geography/files/2015/05/Offer2014CapstoneFinal.pdf">Relating Upriver Dam Creation to the Regeneration of Cottonwoods (<em>Populus deltoids </em>Subsp. <em>monilifera</em>) Within the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument</a>,” Capstone, Western Oregon University, 2014.</p> <p>S. K. Wier, “<a href="http://www.westernexplorers.us/PlainsCottonwood.pdf">Plains Cottonwood</a>,” Western Explorers, 2014.</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Colorado State Forest Service, “<a href="https://csfs.colostate.edu/colorado-forests/">Colorado Forests</a>,” Colorado State University.</p> <p>Colorado State Forest Service, “<a href="https://csfs.colostate.edu/media/sites/22/2015/06/Cottonwood_Management_QuickGuide_26June2015.pdf">Cottonwood Management</a>,” Colorado State University, 2015.</p> <p>George L. Trager, “<a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/463823?journalCode=ijal">’Cottonwood Tree,’ A South-Western Linguistic Trait</a>,” <em>International Journal of American Linguistics</em> 9, no. 2, 1938.</p> <p>William A. Weber and Ronald C. Whitman, <em>Colorado Flora: Eastern Slope</em>, 4th ed. (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2012).</p> <p>William A. Weber and Ronald C. Whitman, <em>Colorado Flora: Western Slope</em>, 4th ed. (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2012).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Sat, 30 Jan 2021 00:18:28 +0000 yongli 3515 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org “Great American Desert” http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/great-american-desert <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">“Great American Desert”</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-09-30T09:37:31-06:00" title="Friday, September 30, 2016 - 09:37" class="datetime">Fri, 09/30/2016 - 09:37</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/great-american-desert" data-a2a-title="“Great American Desert”"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fgreat-american-desert&amp;title=%E2%80%9CGreat%20American%20Desert%E2%80%9D"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Early nineteenth century Army explorers <a href="/article/zebulon-montgomery-pike"><strong>Zebulon Pike</strong></a> and <strong><a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/stephen-h-long">Stephen H. Long</a> </strong>conceptualized the <a href="/article/colorado%E2%80%99s-great-plains"><strong>Great Plains</strong></a> east of the <a href="/article/rocky-mountains"><strong>Rocky Mountains</strong></a> as the “Great American Desert.” Long’s report called it “unfit for cultivation,” while Pike compared it to “the sandy deserts of Africa.” The myth of the Great American Desert deterred the settlement of the Great Plains, as migrants heading west typically passed through the uninviting region as quickly as possible. The myth also intensified antebellum sectional politics, as the North and the South struggled over congressional representation by seeking to control the admission of new states, such as Colorado, into the Union.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Birth of a Myth</h2>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Edwin James</strong>, chronicler of Long’s 1820 expedition, established the image of the Great American Desert when he described the Great Plains as “uninhabitable by a people depending upon agriculture for their subsistence.” An 1823 map produced by Long labeled the region the Great American Desert, which permanently fixed the term in the minds of westward migrants, eastern and western boosters, and politicians.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Geographies published in New England from 1820 to 1835 perpetuated the myth. Elite New Englanders, fearing that new western states would diminish northeastern political power, pointed to the foreboding description of the area as a reason for halting westward expansion. During the middle third of the nineteenth century, the desert myth held little appeal among southerners or citizens in the interior, especially on the frontier and eastern margins of the Great Plains. The <strong>Mormons</strong> were an exception: from 1855 onward, the Great American Desert had become an invented tradition for a majority of their faithful. From the pulpit, Mormon leaders transformed the Mormon’s relatively easy crossing of the Great Plains into a neo-Mosaic traverse of an American Sinai. The Mormons’ crossing of the Great American Desert east of the Rockies proved to be the crucible of the Latter-day Saints, proof that Mormons were God’s chosen people.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Dispelling and Embracing the Myth</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>By the mid-nineteenth century, Great Plains boosters, writers for railroads, and chambers of commerce in Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas began publishing hundreds of pamphlets and books promoting the region. The 1890s discovery of the <strong>Ogallala Aquifer, </strong>one of the world’s largest freshwater aquifers, further eroded the desert myth.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition, the late nineteenth century brought higher-than-average rainfall to the Great Plains. Multiple theories emerged to explain the increased precipitation. Some attributed it to <strong>Manifest Destiny</strong>—a reward from a benevolent God for settling a promised land. Others held that “rain followed the plow”—that is, plowing the soil and planting trees brought desirable climatic changes. In promoting the Great Plains, boosters touted the “conquest” of the Great American Desert and challenged potential migrants to go west and further the change. The boosters, local historians, and Great Plains newspaper editors of the period between 1870 and 1900 effectively erased the memory of the arid land encountered by the pioneers.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After 1880, Great Plains pioneers adopted the New England boosters’ concept of the desert in interviews for state historical societies and local history publications. Predominantly Midwesterners who had not read about the Great American Desert during the 1850s and 1860s, these pioneers nonetheless talked themselves into believing that they had either conquered or disproved the existence of a desert. In effect, by claiming to have conquered it, the pioneers revived the concept of the Great American Desert; thus, the romantic Great Plains historians, drawing confidently and uncritically from the pioneers’ embellished accounts, further propagated the concept in their work between 1885 and 1910.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In <em>The Great Plains</em> (1931), Walter Prescott Webb cites references to the Great American Desert in school geography texts from the 1840s and 1850s to argue that the idea of a Great American Desert did exist in the American mind from 1820 to 1870. Webb maintained that the idea was at the height of its popularity in the 1850s and that it halted the expansion of the American frontier. The nation’s textbooks and students followed Webb’s interpretation for decades. However, with the exception of the Mormons after 1855 and a well-educated minority in the northeast before 1855, practically nobody between 1820 and 1870 believed in the existence of a desert west of the Missouri River. Ironically, the only period that such a belief existed consensually in the American mind was between 1920 to 1970—courtesy of Webb.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>But while eastern Colorado is not technically a desert, it is prone to harsh droughts, such as the one during the 1930s that helped cause the <a href="/article/dust-bowl"><strong>Dust Bowl</strong></a>. More recently, recurring droughts in the 2010s have brought back some of the Dust Bowl–like conditions in parts of southeastern Colorado. Given the realities of episodic but searing drought and the difficulties humans have faced in forcing this semi-arid region to bloom, Pike, Long and their disciples perhaps chose an apt metaphor in comparing the region to a desert.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Adapted from Martyn J. Bowden, “Great American Desert,” <em>Encyclopedia of the Great Plains</em>, ed. David J. Wishart (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2004).</strong></p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/great-american-desert" hreflang="en">great american desert</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/stephen-h-long-0" hreflang="en">stephen h long</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/great-plains" hreflang="en">Great Plains</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/zebulon-pike" hreflang="en">zebulon pike</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/farming" hreflang="en">farming</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/agriculture" hreflang="en">agriculture</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/explorers" hreflang="en">explorers</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/myths" hreflang="en">myths</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Joey Bunch, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2014/04/05/for-southeast-colorado-a-new-dust-bowl-is-blowing-in/">For Southeast Colorado, a New Dust Bowl is Blowing In</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, April 5, 2014.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>George J. Goodman and Cheryl A. Lawson, eds., <em>Retracing Major Stephen H. Long’s 1820 Expedition: The Itinerary and Botany</em>, The American Exploration and Travel Series (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1995).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Edwin James, <em>Account of an Expedition From Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains</em>, ed. Edwin James, vol. 2, <em>March of America Facsimiles Series, no. 65</em> (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Microfilms, 1966).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jesse Paul, “<a href="https://www.denverpost.com/2016/04/08/drought-returns-to-southeast-colorado-counties-abnormal-dryness-spreads/">Drought Returns to Southeast Colorado Counties, Abnormal Dryness Spreads</a>,” <em>The Denver Post</em>, April 8, 2016.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Phil Carson, <em>Among the Eternal Snows: The First Recorded Ascent of Pike’s Peak, July 13–15, 1820 </em>(N.P.: First Ascent Press, 1995).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Howard Ensign Edwards, <em>The Natural History of the Long Expedition to the Rocky Mountains</em> (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jean Gray, <em>Homesteading Haxtun and the High Plains: Northeastern Colorado History </em>(Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2013).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Kenneth Haltman, <em>Looking Close and Seeing Far: Samuel Seymour, Titian Ramsay Peale, and the Art of the Long Expedition, 1818–1823</em> (University Park: Pennsylvania State University, 2008).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Robert Lawrence, <em>Ethnology and Empire: Languages, Literature, and the Making of the North American Borderlands</em> (New York: New York University Press, 2015).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Elliott West, <em>The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado </em>(Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1998).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Donald A. Wilhite, “<a href="http://plainshumanities.unl.edu/encyclopedia/doc/egp.wat.008.xml">Drought</a>,” <em>Encyclopedia of the Great Plains</em>, ed. David J. Wishart (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2011).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-4th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-4th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-4th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-4th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-4th-grade"><p>Explorers Zebulon Pike and Stephen H. Long thought of the Great Plains east of the Rocky Mountains as the “Great American Desert.” Pike compared it to “the sandy deserts of Africa.” The myth of the Great American Desert deterred settlement of the Great Plains. Migrants heading west passed through the region as quickly as possible.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Birth of a Myth</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Edwin James, chronicler of Long’s 1820 expedition, created the image of the Great American Desert.  An 1823 map made by Long labeled the region the Great American Desert. This fixed the term in the minds of westward migrants and politicians.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Geographies published in New England from 1820 to 1835 continued the myth. New Englanders feared new western states would take away from their political power. They pointed to the description of the area as a reason for halting westward expansion.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Dispelling and Embracing the Myth</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>By the mid-nineteenth century, Great Plains boosters began publishing pamphlets and books promoting the region. The 1890s discovery of the Ogallala Aquifer further destroyed the desert myth.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The late nineteenth century brought higher-than-average rainfall to the Great Plains. There were several theories about the increase. Some thought was a reward from God for settling a promised land. Others held that “rain followed the plow.” That is, plowing the soil and planting trees brought climate changes. Boosters challenged migrants to go west and further the change. Between 1870 and 1900, the boosters erased the memory of the dry land.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In The Great Plains (1931), Walter Prescott Webb cites references to the Great American Desert in school geography texts from the 1840s and 1850s. He said that the idea of a Great American Desert did exist in the American mind from 1820 to 1870. Webb said the idea was its height in the 1850s. It halted the growth of the American frontier. The nation’s students followed Webb’s opinion for decades. However, the only time the idea was widely believed was between 1920 and 1970—because of Webb.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Eastern Colorado is not a desert. It is prone to droughts. Given the realities of drought, Pike and Long might have rightly compared the region to a desert.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-8th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-8th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-8th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-8th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-8th-grade"><p>Army explorers Zebulon Pike and Stephen H. Long thought of the Great Plains east of the Rocky Mountains as the “Great American Desert.” Long’s report called it “unfit for cultivation.” Pike compared it to “the sandy deserts of Africa.” The myth of the Great American Desert deterred settlement of the Great Plains. Migrants heading west passed through the region as quickly as possible.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Birth of a Myth</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Edwin James, chronicler of Long’s 1820 expedition, created the image of the Great American Desert. He described the Great Plains as “uninhabitable...” An 1823 map created by Long labeled the region the Great American Desert. This fixed the term in the minds of westward migrants and politicians.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Geographies published in New England from 1820 to 1835 continued the myth. New Englanders feared new western states would diminish their political power. They pointed to the description of the area as a reason for halting westward expansion. The desert myth held little appeal among southerners or citizens in the interior. The Mormons were an exception. From 1855 on, the Great American Desert had become an invented tradition for their faithful.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Dispelling and Embracing the Myth</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>By the mid-nineteenth century, Great Plains boosters in Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas began publishing pamphlets and books promoting the region. The 1890s discovery of the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world’s largest freshwater aquifers, further destroyed the desert myth.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The late nineteenth century brought higher-than-average rainfall to the Great Plains. Multiple theories emerged to explain the increase. Some thought it was Manifest Destiny—a reward from God for settling a promised land. Others held that “rain followed the plow.” That is, plowing the soil and planting trees brought desirable climate changes. Boosters challenged migrants to go west and further the change. The boosters, local historians, and Great Plains newspaper editors between 1870 and 1900 erased the memory of the arid land.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In The Great Plains (1931), Walter Prescott Webb cites references to the Great American Desert in school geography texts from the 1840s and 1850s. He argued that the idea of a Great American Desert did exist in the American mind from 1820 to 1870. Webb said the idea was at the height of its acceptance in the 1850s. It halted the growth of the American frontier. The nation’s textbooks and students followed Webb’s opinion for decades. However, the only time the idea was widely believed was between 1920 to 1970—because of Webb.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Eastern Colorado is not a desert. However, it is prone to droughts, such as the one during the 1930s that helped cause the Dust Bowl. Droughts in the 2010s have brought back some of the Dust Bowl–like conditions in parts of southeastern Colorado. Given the realities of drought, Pike and Long might have rightly compared the region to a desert.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-10th-grade--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-10th-grade.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-10th-grade.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-10th-grade field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-field-10th-grade"><p>Early nineteenth-century Army explorers Zebulon Pike and Stephen H. Long thought of the Great Plains east of the Rocky Mountains as the “Great American Desert.” Long’s report called it “unfit for cultivation.” Pike compared it to “the sandy deserts of Africa.” The myth of the Great American Desert deterred the settlement of the Great Plains. Migrants heading west passed through the region as quickly as possible.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Birth of a Myth</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Edwin James, chronicler of Long’s 1820 expedition, established the image of the Great American Desert. He described the Great Plains as “uninhabitable by a people depending upon agriculture for their subsistence.” An 1823 map produced by Long labeled the region the Great American Desert. This fixed the term in the minds of westward migrants and politicians.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Geographies published in New England from 1820 to 1835 continued the myth. New Englanders feared that new western states would diminish northeastern political power. They pointed to the description of the area as a reason for halting westward expansion. The desert myth held little appeal among southerners or citizens in the interior. The Mormons were an exception. From 1855 on, the Great American Desert had become an invented tradition for their faithful. From the pulpit, Mormon leaders turned the Mormon’s relatively easy crossing of the Great Plains into a neo-Mosaic traverse of an American Sinai.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Dispelling and Embracing the Myth</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>By the mid-nineteenth century, Great Plains boosters and chambers of commerce in Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas began publishing hundreds of pamphlets and books promoting the region. The 1890s discovery of the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the world’s largest freshwater aquifers, further destroyed the desert myth.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In addition, the late nineteenth century brought higher-than-average rainfall to the Great Plains. Multiple theories emerged to explain the increased rainfall. Some thought it was Manifest Destiny—a reward from God for settling a promised land. Others held that “rain followed the plow.” That is, plowing the soil and planting trees brought desirable climatic changes. Boosters touted the “conquest” of the Great American Desert. They challenged migrants to go west and further the change. The boosters, local historians, and Great Plains newspaper editors between 1870 and 1900 erased the memory of the arid land.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In The Great Plains (1931), Walter Prescott Webb cites references to the Great American Desert in school geography texts from the 1840s and 1850s to argue that the idea of a Great American Desert did exist in the American mind from 1820 to 1870. Webb maintained that the idea was at the height of its acceptance in the 1850s. It halted the expansion of the American frontier. The nation’s textbooks and students followed Webb’s opinion for decades. However, with the exception of the Mormons after 1855 and a well-educated minority in the northeast before 1855, practically nobody between 1820 and 1870 believed in the existence of a desert west of the Missouri River. The only period that such a belief existed in the American mind was between 1920 to 1970—courtesy of Webb.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>But while eastern Colorado is not a desert, it is prone to harsh droughts, such as the one during the 1930s that helped cause the Dust Bowl. Recurring droughts in the 2010s have brought back some of the Dust Bowl–like conditions in parts of southeastern Colorado. Given the realities of drought and the difficulties humans have faced in forcing this semi-arid region to bloom, Pike, Long and their disciples perhaps chose an appropriate metaphor in comparing the region to a desert.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 30 Sep 2016 15:37:31 +0000 yongli 1900 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Pikes Peak http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pikes-peak <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Pikes Peak</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1501--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1501.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/pikes-peak-garden-gods"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Pikes-Peak_0.jpg?itok=EwOkiSc_" width="1000" height="750" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/pikes-peak-garden-gods" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Pikes Peak from Garden of the Gods</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Pikes Peak, which features a paved highway, cog railway, and donut shop, is just one of many famous places in Colorado that have been made through interactions of land, labor, and leisure.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1500--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1500.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/zebulon-pike"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/ZebulonPikeByPeale%5B1%5D_0.jpg?itok=87tyTZQB" width="285" height="318" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/zebulon-pike" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Zebulon Pike</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Portrait of Zebulon Pike, the military explorer who attempted to climb Pikes Peak during his expedition of 1806-7.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1502--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1502.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/pikes-peak-colorado-city"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/20100002_0.jpg?itok=KS6zHY8e" width="1000" height="793" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/pikes-peak-colorado-city" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Pikes Peak from Colorado City</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Montage of Pikes Peak from Colorado City, showing what is likely Fountain Creek.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> <button class="carousel-control-prev" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="prev"> <span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Previous</span> </button> <button class="carousel-control-next" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="next"> <span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Next</span> </button> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-06-24T10:46:59-06:00" title="Friday, June 24, 2016 - 10:46" class="datetime">Fri, 06/24/2016 - 10:46</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pikes-peak" data-a2a-title="Pikes Peak"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fpikes-peak&amp;title=Pikes%20Peak"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>At the southern tip of Colorado’s <a href="/article/front-range"><strong>Front Range</strong></a>, just west of the city of <a href="/article/colorado-springs"><strong>Colorado Springs</strong></a>, Pikes Peak is the most famous mountain in the state. The <a href="/article/fourteeners"><strong>Fourteener</strong></a> is one of the most important peaks in Colorado history and plays an essential role in the state’s tourism industry.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Standing 14,115 feet, Pikes Peak was formed by the geologic event known as the Laramide Orogeny, which shaped most of the Rocky Mountains. Pikes Peak is estimated to have emerged about 50 million years ago. The mountain was formed through years of erosion of molten rock; however, it is not considered a volcano. Pikes Peak is located in the Pike National Forest, but the toll road to the summit is operated by the city of Colorado Springs.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>History</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Recent <a href="/article/radiocarbon-dating-0"><strong>radiocarbon dating</strong></a> indicates that<a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/clovis"><strong> Clovis</strong></a> people were the first to inhabit the area, roughly around 11,000 BC. More recently, <a href="/article/northern-ute-people-uintah-and-ouray-reservation"><strong>Utes</strong></a>, <strong>Comanches</strong>, <strong>Arapahos</strong>, and <strong>Cheyennes</strong> also frequented the area. Utes traveled between their winter and summer camps over the fault between Pikes Peak and the Rampart Range, also known as Ute Pass and the path of modern US Highway 24. The Utes knew the mountain as <em>Tava</em>, "Sun Mountain," and the band of Utes that lived in the region called themselves <em>Tabeguache</em>, "the people of Sun Mountain." The Arapaho, too, had their own name for the peak, calling it <em>heey-otoyoo</em><em>’</em>, which means "long mountain."</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Following the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Pikes Peak became part of the United States. In 1806, Lieutenant <a href="/article/zebulon-montgomery-pike"><strong>Zebulon Montgomery Pike</strong></a>, after whom the peak is named, was sent on an expedition to locate the headwaters of the Arkansas and Red Rivers. The expedition also aimed to explore the new territory and its natural resources, as well as establish friendly relations with Native American nations. On November 15 he spotted the magnificent peak and referred to it as “the Grand Peak.” Hoping to get a better view of the surrounding terrain and watersheds, Pike and several of his men tried to climb the mountain on November 26. However, Pike had underestimated its size, and due to the lack of proper gear and to treacherous weather conditions, the climb was unsuccessful. Nevertheless, he and his comrades were the first recorded explorers to attempt an ascent of the mountain. “The Grand Peak now appeared at the distance of 15 or 16 miles from us,” Pike wrote in his journal, “and as high again as what we had ascended, and would have taken a whole day’s march to have arrived at its base, when I believe no human being could have ascended to its pinical [<em>sic</em>].”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Dr. Edwin James made the first recorded summit of Pikes Peak in June 1820. James was part of Major <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/stephen-h-long"><strong>Stephen Long</strong></a>’s expedition, and when the party reached the base of Pikes Peak, James had to convince a tired Long to allow him to climb the massive mountain and record his findings.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Before being officially recognized as Pikes Peak, the mountain had two names—Pikes Peak and James Peak—used interchangeably for almost forty years. Official approval came when US Army explorer <a href="/article/john-c-fr%C3%A9mont"><strong>John C. Frémont</strong></a> referred to the mountain as Pikes Peak in sketches on maps he published prior to the California Gold Rush.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Pikes Peak was also a symbol for emigrants coming west during the <a href="/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>Colorado Gold Rush of 1858–59</strong></a>. Beginning in 1858, prospectors from all over the United States migrated to the region, hoping to strike it rich. Emigrants crossing the plains took heart when they saw Pikes Peak on the horizon, as the landmark was a sign that their arduous journey was nearing an end. Some of the argonauts’ wagons sported the phrase “Pikes Peak or Bust.” The slogan was something of a misnomer, since most of the diggings at the time lay considerably to the north. But once coined, the motto stuck, demonstrating the importance of the mountain to the region’s image.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Tourism</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Sometimes called “America’s Mountain,” Pikes Peak has been an icon of the dramatic scenery in Colorado and the American West. It has inspired literature and countless paintings, pamphlets, photographs, and souvenirs. It became a leisure destination for thousands each year. One particularly influential visitor was <strong>Katharine Lee Bates</strong>. After ascending Pikes Peak in 1893, the poet and Wellesley College professor was inspired to compose the lines that later became the lyrics to “America the Beautiful.” Bates’s poem encapsulated the industrializing nation’s nostalgic attitude toward nature and, once set to composer Samuel Ward’s melody, helped make spectacular western scenery a cornerstone of American patriotism. Pike’s Peak is America’s “purple mountain majesties.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Manipulation of its natural landscape made Pikes Peak a focal point for tourism. In 1888 the Cascade to Pikes Peak Wagon Road was completed, <span style="color:rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12.8px">offering </span><span style="color:rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:12.8px">carriage rides to the summit for those who did not want to hike or ride horseback. The current highway closely follows the route of this earlier road.</span> In 1890 the <a href="/article/manitou-and-pikes-peak-cog-railway"><strong>Manitou and Pikes Peak Railway Company</strong></a> opened service on a cog railway that carried passengers to the summit in much greater comfort than Zebulon Pike’s party had enjoyed. It still delights tourists today and is the highest cog railway in North America.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1908 local resident and tour guide Fred Barr began taking tourists on burro treks up the slopes of the surrounding mountains, and in 1921 he and a work crew finished <a href="/article/barr-trail"><strong>Barr Trail</strong></a>, a burro route to the top of Pikes Peak. At an elevation of 10,200 feet, he built a set of cabins and a barn known as Barr Camp. Two of the cabins still stand today.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1916 the Pikes Peak Highway, closely following the old wagon road, enabled automobiles to reach the summit. In 1922 a booster promised visitors, “The maximum grade [of the mountain] is ten percent; all makes of cars make the trip, but <em>your </em>car does the best, no matter what kind of car you drive.” With the development of the highway to the summit, racers were more interested in speeding to the top. The <strong>Pikes Peak International Hill Climb</strong> is an individual auto race in which drivers’ times determine the winner.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The Pikes Peak Highway, however, brought some negative environmental impacts to the surrounding areas, most notably in the Severy Creek Basin. Runoff from the highway dramatically increased erosion, washing millions of tons of sediment into nearby drainages. In 1998 the clogged streams and wetlands prompted the Sierra Club to file a lawsuit for violations of the Clean Water Act. The lawsuit initiated a program to pave the road all the way to the summit and implement erosion control structures. The project was completed in 2011. The Rocky Mountain Field Institute then began work to reverse the damage caused by the massive erosion.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The establishment of the highway also facilitated scientific research. From the base to the summit, the efficiency of engines diminishes drastically. In 1918 Sanford Moss used Pikes Peak for engine research to design an airplane engine that could withstand greater altitudes. He increased air injection to the engine to make up for the lack of oxygen at the high altitudes. More efficient aircraft engines were eventually created thanks to his research.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Over time, Pikes Peak became a source of great wealth. The more than 600,000 people who reach the top enjoy the Summit House’s gift shop, observation deck, and restaurant (famous for its donuts enhanced by high-altitude effects on baking). In addition to the cog railway and highway, the mountain hosts biking, running, and even skateboarding races. Hiking, fishing, and other outdoor activities attract visitors to its slopes.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Colorado Springs realtors and local economists have credited Pikes Peak with drawing new residents to the region. The mountain is estimated to add roughly 15 percent to the value of any house with a summit view, and it attracts a highly skilled labor force that is willing to accept salaries below national averages just to live and work near the peak. In 2008 a writer for the <em>Colorado Springs Business Journal</em> speculated that “America’s Mountain” added $8.4 billion to the local economy.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/barthel-andrew" hreflang="und">Barthel, Andrew</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/lukas-sarah" hreflang="und">Lukas, Sarah</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/mcweeney-kyle" hreflang="und">McWeeney, Kyle</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/pikes-peak" hreflang="en">pikes peak</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/katharine-lee-bates" hreflang="en">katharine lee bates</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/zebulon-pike" hreflang="en">zebulon pike</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-springs-mountain" hreflang="en">colorado springs mountain</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-fourteeners" hreflang="en">colorado fourteeners</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Robert L. Brown, <em>The Great Pikes Peak Gold Rush </em>(Caldwell, ID: Caxton Printers, 1985).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Harvey Carter, <em>Pikes Peak Region</em> (Colorado Springs, CO: Dentan Printing, 1956).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>City of Colorado Springs, “<a href="https://www.springsgov.com/Page.aspx?NavID=86">History</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Halka Chronic, <em>Roadside Geology of Colorado </em>(Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publishing, 1980).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>John Hazlehurst, “<a href="https://www.csbj.com/2008/04/25/pikes-peak-rock-solid-economic-stability/">Pikes Peak: Rock Solid Economic Stability</a>,” <em>Colorado Springs Business Journal</em>, April 25, 2008.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>James McChristal, <em>Pikes Peak: Legends of America’s Mountain</em> (Raton, NM: Sierra Grande Press, 1999).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>John O’Byrne,<em> “Pikes Peak or Bust” and Historical Sketches of the Wild West</em> (Colorado Springs: Denver Bookbinding, 1922).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jared Orsi, <em>Citizen Explorer: The Life of Zebulon Pike</em> (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Zebulon Pike, “Diary of an Expedition,” November 26, 1806.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Pikes Peak Cog Railway, “<a href="https://www.cograilway.com/about-us/">About the Train</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Donald Sherman, “<a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com:443/history-of-flight/hill-climb-2023375/?all">Hill Climb</a>,” <em>Air and Space Magazine</em> (May 2001).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Virginia McConnell Simmons, <em>The Ute Indians of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico </em>(Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2000).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Michael Waters, “Redefining the Age of Clovis: Implications for the Peopling of the Americas,” <em>Science</em> 315 (February 2007).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>US National Geodetic Survey “<a href="https://www.ngs.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/ds_mark.prl?PidBox=JK1242">Data Sheet: Pikes Peak</a>,” 2004.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>University of Colorado-Boulder, "<a href="https://www.colorado.edu/center/csilw">Arapaho Place Names</a>," n.d.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>City of Colorado Springs, “<a href="https://coloradosprings.gov/drivepikespeak">Pikes Peak: America’s Mountain</a>.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Colorado.com Staff, "<a href="https://www.colorado.com/articles/pikes-peak-things-see-do">Pikes Peak: Things to See &amp; Do</a>," Colorado Tourism, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://www.pikes-peak.com/">Pike Peak Country Attractions</a></p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://ppihc.org/">Pikes Peak International Hill Climb</a></p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Fri, 24 Jun 2016 16:46:59 +0000 yongli 1496 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Pike’s Stockade http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pikes-stockade <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Pike’s Stockade</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: x field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-article-image.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-article-image.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div id="carouselEncyclopediaArticle" class="carousel slide" data-bs-ride="true"> <div class="carousel-inner"> <div class="carousel-item active"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1190--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1190.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/pike-stockade"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/144020lkg%2520w.12.02.05%5B1%5D.jpg?itok=jC70u5p4" width="1000" height="750" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/pike-stockade" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Pike Stockade</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Anticipating attacks by Spaniards or Indians, US explorer Zebulon Pike and his men built a stockade like this one in southern Colorado in 1807.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1191--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1191.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/view-sierro-del-ojito"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/NEW-IMAGE_0.jpg?itok=WMrx8eWk" width="1000" height="750" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/view-sierro-del-ojito" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">View from Sierro del Ojito</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Zebulon Pike climbed this 600-foot butte adjacent to his camp in early February 1807. The wooded Rio Conejos winds through the foreground. Blanca Peak looms in background, just south of the prominent dip in the horizon that marks Medano Pass, where Pike entered the San Luis Valley.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1192--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1192.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/pickets-inside-stockade"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/Stockade%2520Interior3.06.06.29%5B1%5D_0.jpg?itok=cPBEHp8s" width="768" height="1024" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/pickets-inside-stockade" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Pickets Inside Stockade</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Pike and his men lined the inside of their stockade with sharpened posts called pickets.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1193--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1193.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/rio-conejos"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/144820Conejos20upstrm.12.02.05%5B1%5D.jpg?itok=qzV6mN00" width="1000" height="750" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/rio-conejos" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Rio Conejos</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Rio Conejos runs near the Stockade.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1194--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1194.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/picnic-pikes-stockade-c-1940s" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Picnic at Pike’s Stockade, c. 1940s</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Gathering at Pike Stockade, c. 1940s.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1195--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1195.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image--image.html.twig * field--node--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--field-encyclopedia-image.html.twig * field--image.html.twig x field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-encyclopedia-image field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_formatter' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> <a href="/image/stockade-and-sierro-del-ojito"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image_style' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'image' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <img loading="lazy" src="/sites/default/files/styles/wide/public/143520fr%2520ne.12.02.05%5B1%5D.jpg?itok=_o3C02oo" width="1000" height="750" alt="" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-wide" /> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-style.html.twig' --> </a> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/image-formatter.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/stockade-and-sierro-del-ojito" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Stockade and Sierro del Ojito</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Pike Stockade with Sierro del Ojito in background.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> <div class="carousel-item"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * node--1196--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--1196.html.twig x node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig * node--image.html.twig * node--article-detail-image.html.twig * node.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> <div class="carousel-caption d-none d-md-block"> <h5><a href="/image/entrance-pikes-stockade-grounds" rel="bookmark"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--image.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Entrance to Pike’s Stockade Grounds</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> </a></h5> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--image.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig * field--node--image.html.twig * field--body.html.twig x field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The Pike's Stockade grounds are closed during the winter months but are open to the public and tour groups from Memorial Day weekend to September 30.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--text-with-summary.html.twig' --> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/content/node--image--article-detail-image.html.twig' --> </div> </div> <button class="carousel-control-prev" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="prev"> <span class="carousel-control-prev-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Previous</span> </button> <button class="carousel-control-next" type="button" data-bs-target="#carouselEncyclopediaArticle" data-bs-slide="next"> <span class="carousel-control-next-icon" aria-hidden="true"></span> <span class="visually-hidden">Next</span> </button> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--field-article-image--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-03-07T16:17:37-07:00" title="Monday, March 7, 2016 - 16:17" class="datetime">Mon, 03/07/2016 - 16:17</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pikes-stockade" data-a2a-title="Pike’s Stockade"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fpikes-stockade&amp;title=Pike%E2%80%99s%20Stockade"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>The Pike Stockade is a reconstruction of a small fortress built by the soldiers of the 1806–7 <a href="/article/zebulon-montgomery-pike"><strong>Zebulon Pike</strong></a> expedition. It is located on the <strong>Rio Conejos</strong>, a tributary of the <strong>Rio Grande</strong>, in the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/san-luis-valley"><strong>San Luis Valley</strong></a>, seventeen miles southeast of <strong>Alamosa</strong>. Administered by <strong>History Colorado</strong>, the stockade commemorates one of the first documented structures built by Americans in what is now Colorado. More broadly, it testifies to Colorado’s role in North American exploration in the era of Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and the Louisiana Purchase.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Pike Expedition</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After six grueling months of travel from St. Louis, Pike and his crew of nine American soldiers and one civilian arrived at the mouth of the Conejos on January 31, 1807. They ascended the stream several miles and camped there for the next month. In selecting the site, Pike sought timber, defense against potential Indian hostilities, and a base from which to rescue five frostbitten men he had left behind in the mountains earlier that month. Although his journal did not mention it explicitly, he also undoubtedly wanted access to water and game. The well-timbered spot on the Conejos at the foot of the 600-foot rise of Sierro del Ojito, a promising lookout point, fit the bill. Additionally, a hot spring nearby keeps water flowing year-round.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Pike’s journal, which he later published, describes the construction of a “small fortification.” According to a footnote in his entry of February 6, the structure was “36 feet square” and made of “heavy cotton-wood logs, about two feet [in] diameter.” The structure rose to a height of twelve feet and had sharpened outward-pointing pickets to deter attackers. Its south face abutted the river, and the men dug a moat that encircled the stockade. To enter and exit, they crawled through a small hole at the base. Satisfied, Pike raised an American flag over the stockade.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>While Pike awaited the return of the rescue party, some Spanish dragoons arrived on February 26, though they were considerably less threatening than the marauders who haunted Pike’s imagination. Their commander informed Pike that the Americans were camped in Spanish territory and insisted that Pike and his men accompany him to Santa Fé to answer to the Spanish governor. After minimal protest, Pike consented. He left two men at the stockade with a detachment of Spaniards to wait for the rescue party’s return.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>He would not return to the United States until July 1, when the Spanish escorted him and his men back to Fort Claiborne in present-day Louisiana.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Did They Actually Build It?</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In his 1978 book, <em>Pike in Colorado</em>, San Luis Valley historian Carrol Joe Carter raised the question of whether Pike and his men actually built the fort. Although detailed in describing the completed structure, Pike’s journal was vague about the construction process, recounting it only with phrases like “We continue to go on with the works of our stockade,” and “labored at our works.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Carter, however, thought the structure as described by Pike exceeded the basic shelter the men really needed. Pike, he wrote, “had no reason to fear attack” from Spaniards or Indians. Carter also doubted whether the party had the necessary equipment to construct something so substantial, noting that when the Spaniards later sold his tools at auction, axes, adzes, and shovels were not among the items listed. Nor, he said, did Spanish documents comment on the existence of a fort. Finally, Carter maintained, the men were too few and too weak for heavy labor. Carter theorized that the officer Pike and the gentleman civilian were unlikely to do manual labor. That left only nine men, already exhausted from arduous mountain crossings, to fell, haul, and hoist thirty-foot timbers and hack a ditch into the frozen ground. After the departure of the rescue party, this number dwindled to four. Thus, Carter concluded that the men likely constructed something more modest, along the lines of what they had erected twice before on the expedition. Pike’s journal provided no details of these structures, but they appear to have each been thrown up in a day.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Carter, however, offered no motive for why Pike would have wanted to lie about a fort he never constructed. Moreover, any of the men would have been able to contradict any falsehoods he published. In addition, Pike did genuinely worry about attackers. He had seen no Indians since meeting an aggressive war party on November 22, but he had seen plenty of signs of them. Moreover, neither that encounter nor his time among the Pawnees in the fall had gone smoothly. He also believed (erroneously as it turned out) that Spanish soldiers had trekked from Santa Fé the previous fall to thwart his expedition. Perhaps the stockade surpassed what he needed, but it did not exceed what he feared. And, as even Carter noted, occupying bored men with work would have boosted morale—it was not as if they had much else to do.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>As for tools, nearly a year elapsed between his arrest in the San Luis Valley and the auction in Chihuahua, more than 800 miles away. This was plenty of time and space for an axe or two or other items to be lost or broken or to fall into the hands of an opportunistic Spaniard.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Carter may also have overestimated the severity of the men’s condition. While Pike’s journal repeatedly discussed his comrades’ failing conditions between January 17 and 27, after that he ceased all mention of hunger, frostbite, fatigue, and other ailments. Possibly the men were recovering. He went hunting frequently, so at the least, the party enjoyed a healthy supply of meat. Moreover, while Carter doubted the frozen ground would allow for a moat, Pike, who had carefully chronicled poor weather in the weeks before, made not a single reference to cold while camped on the Conejos. Although the region’s winter temperatures can dip well below freezing, a warm February in 1807 that softened the earth and made a ditch feasible would not be out of the question.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Finally, it is true that the Spaniards did not comment on the fort, but they did not comment on much of anything else either. The record is silent on just about all details of the encounter. While an absence of evidence can raise doubts, it cannot prove the fort was not built.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Restoration</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Whether Pike built the fort or not, the people of Colorado have taken a keen interest in commemorating his visit to the San Luis Valley. Late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century lore among valley old-timers testified to stockade debris remaining at the site and a depression in the ground possibly marking the moat. Subsequent archeological investigations, however, have found no corroborating evidence.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Efforts to preserve the site began with historian D. E. Newcombe raising a flag there in 1910 and convincing the US Army to survey the area. Not surprisingly, given the history of flooding and the perishable construction materials, no evidence of the fort was found. The army report did, however, confirm the location.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Beginning in 1924, the Colorado State Historical Society (today known as History Colorado) took an interest in the site. The society’s Albert B. Sanford called it “almost sacred ground.” In 1926 he arranged for the state to purchase 120 acres to be preserved as Pike’s Stockade Park. That year, riprapping and a dam were installed to reduce erosion.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>A permanent plaque and monument were installed in 1936, and 600 people gathered with Governor <strong>Edwin C. Johnson</strong> for a celebratory picnic. In 1946, the legislature appropriated $5,250 for the site, and the historical society began planning a replica stockade in 1947. In 1949, thanks to a donation from W. A. Braiden, the society purchased another 840 acres, including Sierro del Ojito. Additional lands were acquired in the 1950s.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The stockade replica was completed in 1952. It followed Pike’s specifications, with the exception of substituting more durable spruce logs in place of short-lived <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/cottonwood-trees"><strong>cottonwood</strong></a> ones. The following year Pike’s Stockade Park was named a State Historical Monument, and in 1961 the stockade was designated a National Historic Landmark.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Today</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Today, History Colorado manages the site as an adjunct to <strong><a href="/article/fort-garland-0">Fort Garland</a> Museum</strong>. In addition to the reconstructed stockade, it has interpretive plaques, monuments commemorating the expedition, restrooms and picnic facilities, and paths through the <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/wetlands-and-riparian-areas"><strong>riparian</strong></a> forest and along the river. Its wintertime closure, remote location at the end of several miles of unpaved road, and swarms of summertime mosquitos make it a lightly visited place. Visitors who brave the obstacles, however, enjoy serenity, lush greenery, and good birding. And with just a little imagination, they can transport themselves back to 1807 and the earliest days of American exploration as they walk the very ground trod by Zebulon Pike and his comrades. Quietly, the stockade and its surroundings testify to an era when Colorado was contested among Americans, Spaniards, and Native Americans, and when its character and contents were still tantalizing mysteries to Euro-Americans.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/orsi-jared" hreflang="und">Orsi, Jared</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/zebulon-pike" hreflang="en">zebulon pike</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/american-explorers" hreflang="en">American explorers</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/san-luis-valley" hreflang="en">San Luis Valley</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/military-posts" hreflang="en">military posts</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/conejos-river" hreflang="en">Conejos River</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Kevin D. Black, <a href="https://www.historycolorado.org/sites/default/files/files/OAHP/Programs/PAAC_PikeStockade_Survey_Report_nomap.pdf"><em>An Archaeological Inventory in the Pike’s Stockade Area, Conejos County, Colorado</em></a> (Denver: Colorado Historical Society, October 2007).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Carrol Joe Carter, <em>Pike in Colorado: The Explorations of Zebulon Montgomery Pike in the San Luis Valley of Colorado</em> (Fort Collins, CO: Old Army Press, 1978).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Donald Jackson, <em>The Journals of Zebulon Montgomery Pike With Letters and Related Documents</em>, 2 vols. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1966).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Joseph Scott Mendinghall, “<a href="http://focus.nps.gov/pdfhost/docs/nhls/text/66000244.PDF">National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Pike’s Stockade</a>,” Historic Sites Survey (Washington, DC: National Park Service, 1975).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Frank C. Spencer, “Dedication of a Monument at the Site of Pike’s Fort on the Conejos,” <em>Colorado Magazine</em> 13 (September 1936).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>History Colorado, “<a href="https://www.historycolorado.org/location/fort-garland">Fort Garland Museum &amp; Pike’s Stockade</a>.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Jared Orsi, <em>Citizen Explorer: The Life of Zebulon Pike</em> (New York: Oxford University Press, 2014).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 07 Mar 2016 23:17:37 +0000 yongli 1189 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org