Special to the HT MEEKER | Since most of Rio Blanco County was considered public domain in 1883, it was available for homesteading. The Utes had relinquished the White River Reservation but not the right to hunt in the area. This treaty exception was to cause friction for many years.[Read More…]

Special to the HT MEEKER | The role of Leadville in the development of the White River Valley and Piceance was huge. Leadville and the surrounding mining areas were a giant magnet, drawing miners and entrepreneurs from back East and Europe — gold seekers and adventurers from every social stratum:[Read More…]

MEEKER | In March 1935, the people of Meeker sought federal funding to construct a new pool using water from a well in Alkali Flat, east of Meeker. The well in Alkali Flat was not as warm as the one drilled by the Marlan Company in 1925, but it still[Read More…]

Special to the HT MEEKER | Residents of Meeker closely followed the progress — and eventual failures — of the Marland Company. Although efforts to produce oil were unsuccessful, the hot-water byproduct inspired a new idea for revenue. Hot springs elsewhere in Colorado were already drawing tourists. Why not make[Read More…]

Special to the HT MEEKER| Many longtime residents remember the Happy Landing Pool east of Meeker along County Road 8 near the White River. It was a popular local spot for years. Research by Kay Bivens of the Rio Blanco Historical Society notes a roadside marker for that site is[Read More…]

Special to the HT RBC | Redneck No. 1: “You gotta plant radishes. Radishes keep out the wolverines!” Redneck No. 2: “What wolverines? We don’t have any wolverines.” Redneck No. 1: “See … the radishes really work!” My wife, Tracy, has the green thumb. Mine is brown. Still, I’ve picked[Read More…]

RBC | Lydia Wells was born in Salt Lake City, Utah 1856. She planned to marry Edward P. LeCompte in May of 1880. The ceremony was postponed when the Army transferred Edward  to the Camp on the White River. E.P.  LeCompte was posted at the Camp on the White River[Read More…]

RBC | Doctors could be adventurers too. The 1883 incorporation papers of the Meeker Townsite company include “E. P. Lecompte” as a member. I was able to track him down as Dr. Edward Palmer LeCompte. He lived in the White River Valley several years but didn’t stick around to become[Read More…]

RBC | In the aftermath of the 1879 Ute uprising, U. M. Curtis was involved with the 1880 Congressional investigation and the 1880 Ute treaty which created two Ute Agencies to distribute goods and educate the bands. Curtis was once again listed on the document as interpreter and signed as[Read More…]

RBC | Uriah Martin Curtis was appointed government interpreter to the Utes by Agent Simeon Whiteley in 1863. Whiteley opened his agency for the Northern Utes at Hot Sulphur Springs, now in Grand County. The Utes had been camping there in the winter for many years. I am not sure[Read More…]