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Prior to the 1870s and the development of the northern coal fields, settlers living along Coal Creek eked out their living as farmers or merchants. The few communities existing along the Front Range were miles apart by stagecoach or horseback.
Throughout the 1860s, stagecoach companies delivered freight, mail and passengers to destinations along the foothills. The Overland Stage traveled from Denver to Laramie each day, following much the same route as the present U.S. Highway 287. Contact with distant friends and relatives improved with the coming of the railroad to Erie in 1871. Even after its arrival, however, travelers heading to Longmont had to continue on by stagecoach or spring wagon. Those bound for Boulder detrained at the Erie terminal and boarded a stage for the final destination.
Social interaction among early settlers was limited, and families traveled great distances to attend church, school or grange meetings. Many relied on circuit-riding preachers to bring them the gospel once or twice a month. Such a man was Reverend Richard Van Valkenburg, civic leader and a founder of Erie, Colorado. Having spent many years as a Methodist preacher in the coal towns near Erie, Pennsylvania, the Reverend thought it fitting to bestow that name on its western counterpart.
The original plat for Erie was filed in 1871, following establishment of the Briggs Mine, the first commercial coal mine in Weld County. Until that time, surface coal had been delivered to its customers by horse and wagon.
It was also in 1871 that the Union Pacific Railroad extended a spur westward from Brighton on its main line between Denver and Cheyenne. Coal from the Erie deposits was needed to fuel their huge steam locomotives. The Boulder Valley Railroad, as it was called then, opened up the northern coal fields for development. Soon coal from Erie mines was being shipped by rail to markets in Denver and as far east ask Kansas City.
The Town of Erie was incorporated in 1874.
In 1999, the Town of Erie, commissioned Anne Quinby Dyni - a local historical writer - to compose a concise history of Erie. In collaboration with the Erie Historical Society, Ms. Dyni gathered hundreds of photographs and countless verbal histories from many lifelong residents of Erie, and the surrounding area. Erie, Colorado: A Coal Town Revisited, represents 2 years of work, but several generations of life. It is the history of our Town from its humble beginnings in the 1870’s until just before World War II - A brief, but very relevant, piece of historical literature.
Erie, Colorado: A Coal Town Revisited tells the tale of the founding and establishment of the Town of Erie through the eyes of those who experienced this great adventure. There are tales of hardship, of families bound together by a common thread of struggle against great odds, of family and community gatherings for social interaction and recreation, and of time marching by.
In this book are tales of great sacrifice, labors of love really, in order to establish the local houses of worship, elementary and secondary schools – where their children would be taught the difference between right and wrong, and how to use that knowledge to improve their lives. There are stories of the good times – when people realized the fruits of their labors. The parades, baseball games, horse and bicycle races - even the annual tradition of Biscuit Day - are all described through word and photograph.
Although it is a short book, it is filled to overflowing with the richness and flavor of a community growing up on the American frontier at a time of great societal change. This book is a chronicle of our history and as a community we can somehow benefit from many of the hard lessons learned over the past 130 years.
These books are on sale at the Town Hall, and through the Erie Historical Society, whose membership has worked to make this book a success. The price of the book has been set at $6.00 each. In addition, the Board of the Erie Historical Society has determined that in keeping with the spirit of cooperation and community present in the Town of Erie, that 400 copies of Erie, Colorado: A Coal Town Revisited will be donated to the Erie Children’s Library Association.
Learn more about this city
City of ERIE, CO official site
City of ERIE, CO general information
City of ERIE, CO yellow pages
City of ERIE, CO newspaper
County of WELD, CO official site