Welcome!

My family came to what is now Boulder, Colorado, arriving when Boulder was three months old. My Great-great-grandfather was Carson W. Arbuthnot and with him, he brought his four sons and a son-in-law. Since a little child I have loved the history of this beautiful mountain area, the legacy's of the Natives who were here when my family arrived, and the way our community has grown to what it is today. My blog is dedicated to seeking evidence of all that happened. The good, the bad and the ugly, I will share the evidence of what I find.

I also share Boulder County and Colorado History through entertaining storytelling. Dressed as one of my early Boulder County ancestors, I will make you laugh, smile and sometimes cry as I share the stories of the people who came before us and who established these communities that we enjoy today. Please visit my storytelling and events pages for information on performances.

Welcome to my blog, I hope you enjoy your time here.

Sincerely,
Donlyn Arbuthnot

Saturday, February 16, 2019

February 16, 1942 Diary

Monday, 47th Day - 318 Days to Follow

Written by Margie Arbuthnot

[written at the top of the page is "new time"]
10 degrees at 8 A.M. 
More snow today, about 8 inches on the ground new.
A letter from Nora today.  
Dad and Don to Niwot this A.M.
Dad to see Phillip Harsa to fill out his income tax report.

Niwot, Colorado

Let's talk about the town of Niwot, just east about a mile and a half from where Fred and Margie lived.

Named for the Arapaho Chief who was camped at Haystack Mountain when Fred's father and grandfather would come down from the mountains to stay in a cabin at this same location.  Niwot, meaning Left Hand, was first spelled as two words Ni Wot.  With the Homestead Act and the promised of free land, many of the gold miners settled in this area, East of Haystack Mountain.  With the railroad being laid, there was a need to service the farmers in the area.  In 1873, the town was established by a rail road company.  At first the town was called Modoc because of those who fought the Railroad by pulling up the rails that they had just laid down and this was at the time of the Modoc Indian wars.  So while the town was named Ni Wot, for a short while, the post office was called Modoc.

Early on, Fred's cousins - the Bader brothers - owned a mercantile store, selling all kinds of goods.  Reverend Taylor opened a grocery store and held church meetings in the second story of his store.  There was the Niwot Feed and Grain which is where the family took their grain to be ground.  There was the Niwot Dairy who purchased milk, butter and eggs from the farmers.  There was a blacksmith shop and when it wasn't busy, there would be a horseshoe game with the locals behind the building.  There was a pool hall, which had a bathroom with a bath tub.  And a hotel (which did not have any bath tubs, but you could go to the pool hall if you wanted a bath).  Niwot was a thriving community, yet very small.

Sitting between the larger towns of Boulder and Longmont, the railroad served the farmers and ranchers in this area well.  From hauling beets from the Niwot beet dump, to transporting students into town to attend high school, the railroad served many needs of the community.

In 1873 when the Granges were first established in Colorado, Niwot had one of the first granges, the Left Hand Grange No. 9.  Some of the children who parents had first established this grange decided to establish a new Grange and in 1891, the Altona Grange was established.  In 1896, when the Altona Grange Hall was built, the train had brought coconut, lemons, and oysters to be sold in the grocery.  Items that were used at the Altona Grange to celebrate it's opening and dinners with lemonade, coconut cake and the popular oyster dinners.

By the 1960's the train was no longer stoping in Niwot and the town was deteriorating, but with the establishment of IBM, many people new to the area settled in and around Niwot.  The town  was reborn.  Local business and property owners as well as the area descendants of the pioneers established the main street of Niwot as a protected historical district.  Today, the town has still not been incorporated, yet, the community members are more personally invested in keeping their town unique, historic, and fun.

Click here for more information on the Niwot Historical Society

Click here to visit the town of Niwot




No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comment. It will be reviewed for approval to appear on our blog. Thank you for taking time to read our posts. -- Donlyn