The History of Lamar, Colorado
History Of Lamar, Colorado
In 1886 I.R. Holmes created a land company with Colonel A.S. Johnson and J.E. Godding, with associates Captain Daniel E. Cooper, M.D. Parmenter, M.L. Swift, Captain Spivy, and Holmes’ brother J.H. Holmes. I.R. Holmes was an experienced land promoter who headed the Garden City – Lamar contingent. He wanted to create a new land office site in the Bent County area. Holmes eventually found a site in the southeast quarter of section 31, township 22, range 46. It was located between John Prowers range and the A.R. Black ranch. This site was almost perfect, it was on the Arkansas River and the Santa Fe Railroad line. The only problem with this site was it was about four miles from the Blackwell Station. Black would not sell his land for a new town to be made, nor allow the station to be moved off the ranch.
This created a problem that had to be dealt with because the Santa Fe Railroad line would never let two land offices be so close to each other. On May 22, 1886 Black received a telegram wanting him to go to Pueblo to deal with the problem. Later that day he took a train up to Pueblo. That night, after he was gone, a work train from La Junta pulled by Engine No. 345 pulled into Blackwell station. Men got out of the train with tools and went to work on the station. The men loaded the station, along with all of the necessary out buildings, onto flat cars. They took so many buildings that men had to walk beside the train to help balance it all the way back to the new site. This heist was done on a Sunday for legal reasons. On Sundays a court order could not be filed to prevent the move. Also, on a Sunday the sheriff could not interfere with the move. Marion Simeon Davidson recalled that the same station had been stolen a few times before to start new towns but it was always retrieved and taken back to Blackwell. This time, however, the men did such a good job the station stayed where it had been moved to.
Holmes named this new site after
In 1886 I.R. Holmes created a land company with Colonel A.S. Johnson and J.E. Godding, with associates Captain Daniel E. Cooper, M.D. Parmenter, M.L. Swift, Captain Spivy, and Holmes’ brother J.H. Holmes. I.R. Holmes was an experienced land promoter who headed the Garden City – Lamar contingent. He wanted to create a new land office site in the Bent County area. Holmes eventually found a site in the southeast quarter of section 31, township 22, range 46. It was located between John Prowers range and the A.R. Black ranch. This site was almost perfect, it was on the Arkansas River and the Santa Fe Railroad line. The only problem with this site was it was about four miles from the Blackwell Station. Black would not sell his land for a new town to be made, nor allow the station to be moved off the ranch.
This created a problem that had to be dealt with because the Santa Fe Railroad line would never let two land offices be so close to each other. On May 22, 1886 Black received a telegram wanting him to go to Pueblo to deal with the problem. Later that day he took a train up to Pueblo. That night, after he was gone, a work train from La Junta pulled by Engine No. 345 pulled into Blackwell station. Men got out of the train with tools and went to work on the station. The men loaded the station, along with all of the necessary out buildings, onto flat cars. They took so many buildings that men had to walk beside the train to help balance it all the way back to the new site. This heist was done on a Sunday for legal reasons. On Sundays a court order could not be filed to prevent the move. Also, on a Sunday the sheriff could not interfere with the move. Marion Simeon Davidson recalled that the same station had been stolen a few times before to start new towns but it was always retrieved and taken back to Blackwell. This time, however, the men did such a good job the station stayed where it had been moved to.
Holmes named this new site after