Wetmore-Hardscrabble Genealogical & Historical Society

Fremont County to Celebrate 150 Years!

Fremont County will turn 150 years on November 1st of this year.  To mark this special occasion, the Fremont County Heritage Commission is planning several celebrations over the next few months. The first was a reception in January at the Fremont Art Center.  The second will be held February 28 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Colorado becoming a territory in 1861.  Birthday cake will be served as well as the unveiling of the quilt that has been made by the Royal Gorge Quilt Council to commemorate this anniversary.  The celebration begins at 10:00 am at the Fremont County Administration Building.

Celebrations will continue throughout the summer and fall during annual community events such as the Blossom Parade held in Canon City, Apple Days held in Penrose and Pioneer Day held in Florence. For their "Spirits of the Past", The Fremont Civic Theater is helping out.  It will be costumed personalities who will be at these events as well as at the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park and on the Royal Gorge Train Route. 

The true county birthday is November 1 with plans being made for something special then also.

The commission is also creating brochures featuring 150 historic places to visit in Fremont County.   The WHG&HS will be submitting short articles on the Wetmore Post Office, the Wetmore-Hardscrabble Historical and Genealogical Society, New Hope Baptist Church and Cemetery, Kit Carson Rock, the Greenwood Post Office, Ft. LeDuc, Draper Cave and the Tennant Homestead. 

The commission is inviting service clubs, event coordinators and other organizations planning events to tie their celebrations in with the 150th anniversary of the county.  Please contact Carol McNew at 371-6370 or Peggy Sorenson at 275-2142 to add your event to the calendar.   Carol McNew will also be at our WHG&HS March meeting with more information.

Field Trip to Pueblo Planetarium

We have scheduled our field trip to the Pueblo Planetarium for Friday, January 14 at 10:00 am.

Please let us know if you would like to attend.

[email protected]

Blue Spruce Planted in Honor of Jeannie Sweeten Culpin's 80th Birthday

In September 2010, a Blue Spruce tree was planted in honor of WHG&HS founder Jeannie Sweeten Culpin's 80th birthday.  It was planted in the side yard of the History Center, and a commemorative plaque was placed in front of the tree by Jeannie's children. 

1916-William A. Watson and Mary Crouch Watson 50th Wedding Anniversary

The WHG&HS officially launched our Women of Wetmore (WOW) program at our recent November meeting with a wonderful presentation given by Dave and Karen Alexander and Margaret Storm.   Photos and oral histories were shared by cousins Dave and Margaret who are descendants of William A. Watson and William Tennant, both original homesteaders in the Wetmore-Hardscrabble area.

Two photos taken in 1916 were shared by Dave and Margaret.  In March 1916, William Alonzo Watson and Mary Elizabeth (Crouch) Watson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the Watson home just outside of Wetmore.  Many family members and friends gathered for this important celebration.  The two photos below were taken at that gathering.

We are asking for help in identifying the people in these photos.  Click on the photos to open a larger image.  Do you recognize anyone?  If so, please let us know.  We'd love to place names with all the faces!  E mail us at [email protected]

 An accompanying newspaper article reporting about the big event was also shared. This is an invaluable resource as many of the guests are listed by name in the article.  Hopefully, this will be one more tool to help us identify those in the photos!

 

The Hardscrabble Sign Gets a New Finish!

The Hardscrabble Sign (located at Mile Marker #2 on Hwy 67 heading towards Florence) received a sanding and new finish thanks to our crew of volunteers! If you are in the neighborhood, be sure to stop.  The sign provides a brief history of our area along with some great views of the Wet Mountains to the west and the back side of Pike's Peak to the north!

Pictured left to right: Frank Porter, Dick Doman, Bill Hall, Bill Howell

November WHG&HS meeting

Hi Members,

Since we missed our October meeting we are especially eager to get together for our November 13, 2010 meeting at 10:00 AM at the History Center.

We are looking forward to chatting with Tykie Alexander, mother of Dave and Diana.  She has lived during an exciting era.  Dave will be assisting her with photos and a power point program.

We want to express our thanks to the wonderful committee who refreshed the varnish on the Hardscrabble sign.  The sign looks wonderful and I hope you didn't miss the picture of it and our heroes in the October 28th Florence Citizen on the front page.

As you recall we will not have meetings in December and January, though we will have impromptu work meetings during that time period. 

Jeannie Culpin

President

WHG&HS October Meeting canceled

 

Dear Members,

We were saddened to learn that Margaret Storm's mother, Maxie Stiles passed away on Saturday morning.  Her memorial service will be held next Saturday, October 9th,  at 11:00  a.m. at the United Presbyterian Church in Cañon City.

Since many of us will be attending the memorial service we are postponing our October meeting until November 13th. We are still hoping to have Tyke Alexander (Dave's mom) at that meeting to chat with us about her childhood.  We will keep you updated.

Thank you,

Jeannie Culpin

Get That History Organized!

Source Wet Mountain Tribune, Thursday, September 30, 2010

Learn family record-keeping at workshop

To commemorate October as American Archives Month and Family History Month, the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and History Center is hosting a free workshop on preserving and organizing your personal and family records at 2:00 pm on Friday, October 8, at 612 Royal Gorge Blvd. in Canon City.  Archivist/Curator Cliff Hight will discuss ways to care for and organize your family treasures, provide informative resources and answer questions on how to protect and arrange materials that are important to you and your family.  The Friends of the Museum and History Center are sponsoring the event.  Please call 719-269-9036 to register.

The Friends support the mission and purposes of the museum and history center and promote awareness of our heritage.  To learn more, go to www.museumfriends.info.

The museum and history center, located in Canon City's former Municipal Building, is free to the public.  the hours of the museum and history center are Monday through Saturday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.  For more information, call 719-269-9036, or e mail at [email protected], or go to www.royalgorgehistory.org

 

WHG&HS Meets Members of the Fremont/Custer Historical Society

WHG&HS members Jeannie Culpin (President), Kathy West (Treasurer), Margaret Storm (Historian) and Anne Hayward (member) visited with members of the Fremont/Custer Historical Society in Canon City during their monthly meeting in September.  During this informal gathering, Jeannie gave an update on what has been happening with the WHG&HS over the past year. Margaret Storm gave details about our exciting new project, Women of Wetmore (WOW), Anne Hayward spoke about our new website and Kathy West proudly showed off our WHG&HS playing cards and Fremont County maps we have for sale.

The Fremont/Custer Historical Society began in 1971 and currently has 70 individual or family supporters. The FCHS meets the 3rd Sunday of the month, 2:00 pm at the Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, 804 Sheridan Ave, Canon City. Yearly dues are $15.00 for a single membership, $20.00 for a family membership and $150.00 for a lifetime membership.

Please contact Secretary Beverly Harris at 719-784-4263 or [email protected] for more information.  Mailing address is PO Box 965, Canon City, CO  81215

Women of Wetmore (WOW)

                       Ladies Aid 1914

Women of Wetmore (WOW)

Members of the Wetmore-Hardscrabble Genealogical and Historical Society are very excited about our newest endeavor.  We are in the process of compiling a history of the Women of Wetmore (WOW) for publication and reference. This publication will showcase the courage and the spirit of the pioneer women of the Wetmore and Hardscrabble area and their families.

 The first phase of this exciting project will be the gathering of family stories and photos, and we are looking for help from WHG&HS members, area residents, and readers throughout the country.  If your family has a history in the Wetmore-Hardscrabble area, we hope you will share the stories and photos of the women in your family tree, including great-grandmothers, grandmothers and mothers. If your family tree encompasses several families, please be sure to include all members that are pertinent to the Wetmore-Hardscrabble area.  Special anecdotes would also be greatly appreciated.

We have set dates to run from 1860 to 1920; however, we may have to stop at 1910 or 1900. The women need to have lived in the Wetmore-Hardscrabble area during this time frame.  There are at least 19 resources that we can utilize in the research.  We would like to include at least 5 photographs for each family. Each participant will be required to sign a release/gift document to the WHG&HS on their submissions. See below to download the Deed of Gift form.

You may send your written history and photos to

[email protected]

 

Each submission must be accompanied by a Deed of Gift.

Please click below to view this document:

Deed of Gift-Wetmore-Hardscrabble Genealogical and Historical Society

As part of this on going project, one or two women will be highlighted at future WHG&HS meetings.  We would encourage any residents or members to present a program regarding the special pioneering women of their family tree.

Thank you in advance, and we look forward to hearing from you.