Wetmore Community building under construction in April, 2017
The renovation of the Wetmore Community Building began in October of 2016.
The community of Wetmore has patiently waited, but the renovation of our building is now complete!
The public is invited to attend the dedication and grand opening celebration hosted by the Custer County Commissioners.
This celebration will be held June 21, 2017, 2:00-6:00 pm.
We hope to see you there!
photo shared by Bill Hall-Wetmore school children selling war bonds 1941 or 1942
Welcome to June 2017- 6 months until Christmas!
Our monthly meeting will be this Saturday, June 10th at 10:00 am in the meeting room behind the Wetmore Post Office.
We had a great program by Jennifer Lowe last month about the Cotopaxi Jewish Colony. Very informative and interesting too.
The month, Dave Alexander will present Grandmothers' Cookbook to us. Looking forward to the current status and the anticipated publish date.
The Wetmore Community Center and Library Grand Opening Celebration will be held June 21, 2:00-6:00 pm.
Those who would like to attend are being asked to RSVP:
Brenda Gaide at 719-783-2552 or [email protected]
We hope to see you at our June meeting!
Photo taken by Peggy Martin
The New Hope Church and Cemetery are located on County Road 295, 1.6 miles north of Hwy 96, just east of the town of Wetmore, Colorado
For a history of New Hope Church and Cemetery, please visit HERE
Yay!
Today's (05/17/17) Custer County Commissioner's meeting was held at the newly renovated Wetmore Community Building.
Still some work to be completed, but we are almost there!
photo-Cotopaxi Store run by E. S. Hart, located approximately where the intersection of County Rd and 52 meet, north of the Railroad Tracks
view of snow-covered Pike's Peak from Hwy 96, west of Wetmore-photo by Anne Hayward
The April meeting of the WHG&HS has been canceled.
The Wetmore area received anywhere from 16-20" of snow with the spring storm that passed through on Tuesday, April 4.
Although most of the roads are now clear, there is still much snow which will lead to mud as it begins to melt.
By canceling the April meeting, this will save members of the WHG&HS from cleaning up the mud from the History Center's floors.
Ah, rural living!
Our May meeting will be the 13th at 10:00 am.
We will have a guest speaker, Jennifer Moore Lowe.
Jennifer will give a presentation on the history of the small community of Cotopaxi, our neighbors located north of Westcliffe.
We hope you will be able to join us!
Yay, we finally had a good storm that left 8-10" of much-needed snow!
And then, just a few hours later, the sun came out, we had the beginnings of blue sky, and the melt off began!
Ah, life on the Hardscrabble!
photos by Anne Hayward
Spring is here!
Welcome all the new beginnings!
Spring has sprung at the River Walk in Pueblo, CO-photo by Anne Hayward
Wetmore Band, 1891
March is certainly acting as a lion today with this horrible wind. Stay safe!
This Saturday at 10 a.m. we will meet for the March meeting of the Society...usual place behind the Post Office in our meeting room.
It is time for 2017 dues payment... single $10; family $20; lifetime $150 per individual.
I hope you follow our Face Book page and have kept up with the Hwy. 96 marker. Anne did a great job researching and got the E Clampus Vitus chapter to get the broken stones. They will do the repairs and we will attend the new installation of the marker. They are a unique history organization.
See you on Saturday,
Margaret
photo: Wetmore Band 1891, supplied to the Denver Public Library Digital Collections by Fred Walters
The seven members of the Wetmore band pose with their instruments in Wetmore, Custer County, Colorado. Two have drums (one bass drum, one snare drum), one holds a coronet, and four have valved horns.
Victory! The Siloam plaque was rescued from the monument rubble!
Photo supplied by Keith Kesler, Noble Grand Humbug of the Al Packer Chapter #100 of E Clampus Vitus
Recently, it was brought to our attention that the stone monument at Hwy 96 and Siloam Rd in Pueblo County (just east of Wetmore) was damaged. It was knocked down and broken off its foundation. Encased in the monument was a bronze plaque notating the history of Siloam, CO.
After some guidance from local residents and further research, we were able to find out a little bit more about the history of this monument and plaque. It was made and installed by the Al Packer Chapter #100 of E Clampus Vitus on May 5, 2001.
E Clampus Vitus is a fraternal organization dedicated to the study and preservation of Western American history.
We were able to make contact with the Al Packer Chapter located in Colorado Springs who immediately came out to the site to assess the damage and rescue the plaque. It is their intent to clean it a little but not mess with the battle scars. They would like to build another marker, install the plaque and conduct a re-dedication. We will be invited to the re-dedication, so stay tuned for more info!
During our research, we discovered when and how this monument was damaged. As it turns out, it was the stopping point of a high-speed car chase between law enforcement and two suspects in a murder that occurred in Williamsburg, CO in September 2016. After hitting the monument, the suspects fled their car and led law enforcement on a brief foot chase before being arrested.
The stone and mortar monument must have been hit hard to sustain this amount of damage.
Here is the inscription on the plaque:
It reads, "Siloam Colorado Once a farming and ranching community of nearly 100 families, little remains of this former town site. A territorial schoolhouse was located just south of this spot and in 1891 a post office opened, along side with a general store a few miles southwest of here. This area is spotted with foundations representing all that remains of the many structures of Siloam. Irrigation ditches brought water to the area until the 1930's drought forced most of the population to relocate. In 1943, the post office closed and in 1950 the schoolhouse was consolidated. Dedicated May 5, 2001 by Al Packer Chapter 100 of E Clampus Vitus Chapter plaque #1"
We are relieved and appreciative of the members of Al Packer chapter of E Clampus Vitus for their concern and quick response.
We look forward to seeing the new monument in place as we continue to celebrate our local history!
