Papeton, Colorado

Papeton, was a coal mining town, also later known as Venetian village,^[1] a neighborhood in Colorado Springs, Colorado,^[2] that is 1.4 miles (2.3 km) west southwest of Palmer Park.^[3] It is located at 6,184 feet (1,885 m) in elevation.^[2]

Coal mining town

It was a coal mining town, named for Colorado Springs banker and broker John H. Pape,^[4][5] which was inhabited by Southern European immigrants, many Italian, who came to Colorado directly after arriving in the United States at the turn of the 20th century.^[6][1] The town was inhabited by individuals who had mined at nearby Curtis, another mining town, and moved to the town due to miner's labor issues.^{[6][lower-alpha 1]}

The plat for the town was filed on May 13, 1901^[7] in which Pape divided up the land for the town into 180 lots.^[6] The town—bounded by the present El Paso Street, Templeton Gap Road, and Fillmore Street—had a steel company, power plant, farms, and a large greenhouse. Its street names were after states, like Virginia and Pennsylvania.^[6] Plans for a new two-room schoolhouse were made in 1908.^[8] A social program was implemented about 1919 by Professor A. P. R. Drucker and his students from Colorado College for immigrants to teach English, civics, history, and math. Wrestling and boxing classes were also taught as part of the program.^[9]

Nick Venetucci worked on the family farm in Papeton, where his Italian-born father was a coal-miner. Nick's brother died in an explosion on the farm.^[10]

Templeton Gap Flood

On May 27, 1922, a cloudburst flood, the most severe since 1880,^{[lower-alpha 2]} occurred along Templeton Gap, a semi-circular basin surrounded by hills, and through Papeton. Papeton's streets were covered by up to 5 feet (1.5 m) of water. Barns, fences, and streets were washed out.^[12] Subsequently, there were water development construction projects by the federal government to protect Colorado Springs and Papeton from floods.^[13][14]

Airstrip

An airstrip was built on 320 acres owned by the Colorado Springs Company west of Papeton by Winfield E. Bowersox, who learned to fly and attained his pilot's license in 1913 from the Wright Aviation School. The airstrip was about four blocks from the end of the street car line.^{[15][lower-alpha 3]} Papeton was adjacent to the Nichols Field in the 1950s.

Annexation

Among several annexations of what had been Papeton,^[6] Papeton Addition of 0.76 acres (0.31 ha) was annexed into Colorado Springs on January 1, 1968.^[16] It was one of several small towns—like Ivywild, Pikeview and Roswell—to become part of Colorado Springs.^[17]

Notes

1. See Colorado Labor Wars.
2. There had been 10 major floods between 1838 and 1914.^[11]
3. See Colorado Springs and Interurban Railway.

References

1. Angela Thaden Hahn (February 24, 2014). SecurityWidefield. Arcadia Publishing. pp. 7, 32. ISBN 978-1-4671-3092-9.
2. "Papeton (203678)". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2012-11-18.
3. "Papeton, CO Community Profile: Parks near Papeton". HTL, Inc. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
4. Dawson, John Frank. Place names in Colorado: why 700 communities were so named, 150 of Spanish or Indian origin. Denver, CO: The J. Frank Dawson Publishing Co. p. 39.
5. "Stockbrokerss, Mine Promotors, and Stock Exchanges List of Colorado Springs, Cripple Creek, and Denver". Denver Stockbroker List. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
6. "Papeton area was settled by families of Italian coal miners". The Gazette. Colorado Springs, Colorado. January 27, 2004. Retrieved January 21, 2015 – via HighBeam Research. (subscription required (help)).
7. Ray Shaffer (1978). A Guide to Places on the Colorado Prairie, 1540-1975. Pruett Publishing Company. pp. 126, 138, 381. ISBN 978-0-87108-513-9.
8. William George Bruce; William Conrad Bruce (February 1908). "New Schools". The American School Board Journal (1908 issues). XXXVI - Issue 2. National School Boards Association. p. 26.
9. Colorado Education Association (1921). CEA. Colorado School Journal. Colorado Education Association. p. 35.
10. Bill Vogrin (September 10, 2004). "Venetucci's was life of sacrifice". The Gazette. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
11. "Reservoirs, Levees, and Walls for Flood Control". Congressional Serial Set. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1914. p. 18.
12. Paul V. Hodges, US Geological Survey (1922). "Data Concerning Cloudburst Flood at Colorado Springs". Engineering News-record. 89. McGraw-Hill. pp. 921–922.
13. "Colorado Water Projects: Federal Water Development Projects". Year Book of the State of Colorado. State Board of Immigration. 1940. p. 251.
14. Colorado. State Board of Immigration; Colorado. State Planning Commission (1948). Year Book of the State of Colorado. State Board of Immigration. p. 251.
15. Tim Blevins (2011). Enterprise & Innovation in the Pikes Peak Region. Pikes Peak Library District. p. 178. ISBN 978-1-56735-302-0.
16. annexdata.xls (spreadsheet), SpringsGov.com, retrieved 2013-10-27
17. Inner Source Designs; Kathy and Lee Hayward (November 1, 2009). Drinking and Driving in Colorado: A Guide to Colorado's Brewpubs. Inner Source Designs. p. 116. ISBN 978-0-9822571-1-1.

Further reading

• Sandra Dallas (1 January 1988). Colorado Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-2084-3.

External links

External images

Pike's Peeak from Papeton (view 1), Denver Library Digital Collection

Pike's Peeak from Papeton (view 2), Denver Library Digital Collection

Coordinates: 38°52′35″N 104°48′07″W / 38.87639°N 104.80194°W