Forgotten Women in Familiar Places: Extraordinary Women of the Estes Valley - Clio

Entries on This Tour

1. Estes Park Women's Monument and the Estes Park Woman's Club

Dedicated in 2021, this site hosts a collection of twelve bronze statues depicting individual women who were influential to Estes Park History. Designed by the Estes Park Women's Club, the monuments were erected in 2021 to highlight the influential women that helped make Estes Park what it is today. Showcasing women like Margaret Fuller, Flora Stanley, Wendy Koenig, and many more, the monument is a must-see when visiting Estes Park.

2. Estes Park and Elizabeth Mary Ann Foot

Located in northern Colorado, at the base of the Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park’s natural landscape and surroundings attracted people. Like every U.S town, Estes Park’s history starts with the people who originally inhabited the valley: the Ute and Arapaho tribes. The Ute and Arapaho people first came to the Estes Valley about ten thousand years ago, where they thrived until the nineteenth century, when white settlers came to the Colorado territory in search of gold. Starting in the 1860s, men like Joel Estes and Abner Sprague established settlements in the valley. From making the strenuous hike to Longs Peak, to establishing homesteads to better reflect their love for nature, to maintaining ranches to grow sustainable crops in the valley, their contributions to Estes Park’s development make the town’s history more complete.

3. The Old Estes Park Post Office and Hattie Carruthers

The Estes Park Post Office saw several homes in the early days of the community. The first location that housed the Post Office was Dunraven Ranch in 1879. It then moved to the Macgregor Ranch until 1884, before returning to Dunraven Ranch. Finally, in the 1890s, the town of Estes built a location on the main drive, Elkhorn Avenue. While the Post Office once again moved locations, it was the Elkhorn Avenue location that saw Hattie Carruthers as Postmistress from 1919-1924.

4. The MacGregor Ranch and the women that ran it

Located in the Black Canyon Creek area of Estes Park, the MacGregor Ranch serves as a museum and a working cattle ranch. In 1873, Alexander and Clara MacGregor founded the MacGregor ranch, passing it on to their children over the years. Today it is the “last remaining working cattle ranch in Estes Park.” The original homestead house turned into a museum in 1973 and is open from June to October and hosts a multitude of people each year. Surrounded by mountains and majestic scenery, the historical homestead ranch is unique to Estes Park. Even more unique are the extraordinary women part of its story.

5. Estes Park YMCA and Marie L. Greenwood

During the mid 1910s to the mid 1920s, Colorado had the second highest membership of Ku Klux Klan leaders. It caused Black people to create safe spaces for themselves, often outside the space of whiteness. Black Coloradans created neighborhoods and towns to save themselves from racism and violence. This act of preservation was also segregation, however the YWCA saw the significance of establishing diversity and friendship through different groups. The YWCA established the Girls’ Reserves and Business Girls Conference. These conferences took place all over the country at predominately white YWCAs and YMCAs, including Estes Park’s YMCA.

6. The Tea Rooms of Estes Park

Estes Park proved to be an area where women could successfully run businesses. Many took the Homestead Act as a way to gain land ownership and start their own business. Women in the area like Anna Wolfrom Dove, Katherine Garetson, and Yaye Kato owned Tea Rooms. Tea Rooms served tea as well as other snacks and food to their local communities. These places became a hub for togetherness and became synonymous with women owned businesses in Estes Park.

7. Long's Peak and Carrie Welton

From this viewpoint you can see Longs peak, at 14,259’ it’s the highest point in Rocky Mountain National Park. Its breathtaking views and challenging ascent attract adventurous mountaineers from across the country. However, reaching the peak is no easy task. The rigorous trails will exhaust you; the sun can burn you, and snowstorms can freeze you. Since opening in 1915 the National Park Services has recorded over seventy deaths on longs peak, making it Colorado’s deadliest peak. However, the case of adventurous 19th-century socialite Carrie Welton predates even Rocky Mountain National Park.

8. Rocky Mountain National Park and Mary Belle King Sherman

Located in northern Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park is rooted in environmental preservation and protection. In the 1900s and into the 1910s, the local residents of the Estes Valley championed the park’s creation, understanding the sublime mountainous landscape could attract tourists to the valley. Because of Rocky Mountain National Park’s existence, and its proximity to the town, Estes Park has become a popular location for tourists. Since Rocky Mountain National Park’s creation in 1916, millions of visitors [have been storming in and out] of the park to admire the natural ecosystem in the park. Many of them, including the women that have established permanent residencies in Estes Park because they strongly admired the beautiful, natural spaces that Rocky Mountain National Park offered for them.

9. Moraine Park and Judge Florence Allen

Moraine Park is one of the more well-known areas of Rocky Mountain National Park. Many people know Moraine Park today as a popular campground for visitors to the National Park. Moraine Park is the only campground in Rocky Mountain National Park that is open year-round. Nearby the campground, several cabins stand starkly among the natural scenery. One of these cabins belonged to Judge Florence Allen of Ohio. Judge Allen summered in Moraine Park for many years with her partner Mary Pierce. She described her life in Moraine Park as “hectic but satisfactory.”

10. Rocky Mountain National Park Alpine Visitor Center and Beatrice Willard

Opened in 1965, and located at 11,796' the Rocky Mountain National Park Alpine Visitor Center is the highest visitor center in any national park. The parking lot and viewing areas provide incredible views of the surrounding peaks and valleys. Inside you'll find a gift shop and a small museum where you can learn about the alpine environment. Rocky Mountain National Park is committed to the preservation of the alpine ecosystem, and many of the strategies they employ today can be attributed to Beatrice Willard.

This Tour is a Driving or Biking Tour.

Forgotten Women in Familiar Places: Extraordinary Women of the Estes Valley

Created by CSU History 640 on December 9th 2022, 10:06:51 pm.

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Description

This tour brings listeners across the Estes Valley and Rocky Mountain National Park to learn the history of the forgotten women that helped shape the region's history. Best enjoyed during the summer to experience the full tour and the breathtaking views along this ten-stop tour. Beginning at the Estes Park Women's Monument, you can learn more about the history of influential women that this tour does not cover. The tour then takes you to the Estes Park Visitor Center, you you can learn more about the history of the area, and what Estes Park has to offer before embarking on your tour. Taking you to several sites in town, before traveling southward to learn more about the Mountaineers, Tea Rooms, and forgotten voices of the Estes Valley. Then heading north into Rocky Mountain National Park, listeners will learn about the Naturalists, Conservationists, and Judges that helped create, preserve, and protect the area they called home. The Forgotten Women in Familiar Places: Extraordinary Women of the Estes Valley allows listeners to see the breathtaking scenery of the region through the lens of the women that impacted it.

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