A Brief History Of The Grand Valley

Grand Junction real estate Today it's an area filled with vibrant towns, shopping centers and acres of orchards and vineyards. However, Mesa County and Grand Junction weren't always the way they now appear. One hundred fifty million years ago western Colorado shook under the heavy foot steps of the gigantic dinosaurs. During the Jurassic Period, the Grand Junction area was a vast fold plain crossed with meandering streams in a warm humid climate. Lush vegetation of conifer trees and cycads (palm like plants) rose over a ground cover of ferns.
 When a dinosaur died, its body was often quickly buried by mud or volcanic ash, thus preserving the bones for excavation millions of years later. These fossils are generally found in the Morrison Formation, which is now exposed in several areas of the Grand Valley.
 The Fremont Indians were one of the earliest known human occupants of the area from about A.D. 250 to about A.D. 1300. Archaeological evidence of
projectile points and pit house structures suggest the Fremont as a hunting and gathering culture which practiced some horticulture. They left thousands of examples of rock art carvings (petroglyphs) and paintings (pictographs) throughout the area.

The Utes were next to occupy the area, moving into Utah and western and central Colorado sometime between A.D. 1300 and 1500. They were nomadic hunters. The arrival of the Spaniards had a major influence on the Utes, since they introduced the horse to the Native Americans. Besides Spanish priests, soldiers and explorers, the Grand Valley and Western Colorado also saw a variety of other wanderers and travelers. One of the best known expeditions was that of the friars Dominquez and Escalante who passed through the region in 1776 in search of a route to California.
 Daring explorers and merchants such as Kit Carson and Antoine Robidoux blazed new routes through the region from the 1820's to the 1840's. Portions of those trails were put to use by traders utilizing the northern branch of the Old Spanish Trail, an important link connecting the Taos and Santa Fe area of New Mexico with the California coastal mission villages. One section to the Old Spanish Trail probably passed near downtown Grand Junction. Army units headed by men like Captains John Gunnison and John Charles Fremont crossed through western Colorado from the 1850's to the 1870's.
Grand Junction real estate Colorado became a state in 1876 and there was ongoing pressure to remove the Utes and open western Colorado for settlement. Two pivotal 1879 events, the Meeker Massacre and the Battle of Milk Creek doomed the future of Colorado's Utes. The two small, but violent actions helped fuel anti-Indian fever, and all the Ute bands were forced onto reservations in northeast Utah and southwest Colorado.
 September 4, 1881, was set as the last day for the Utes to leave and the first day for settlers to arrive. Among the first to arrive in the area was George A. Crawford, an experienced town builder who helped establish Delta,
Colorado, and towns on the Kansas frontier. Crawford and other officers of the new town company decided to fashion the city blocks in a typical grid manner, allotting the parks, churches, and schools. In June, 1882, the City of Grand Junction was legally established.
 Town founder Crawford is probably responsible for naming the city of Grand Junction. Many names such as West Denver and Ute were debated. Finally, Grand Junction was chosen since the new little town site was located at the junction of the Grand (now the Colorado) and the Gunnison rivers.
 In November, 1882, the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad spiked down tracks through Grand Junction. The town happened to be located along the best possible narrow gauge rail route that would connect Denver, Colorado, and Salt Lake City, Utah. The arrival of the D&RG was the primary reason for the rapid growth of the city. Before long, the railroad built a major repair facility and switch yard and eventually became one of Grand Junctions largest employers.
 Not long after the arrival of the railroad, newly finished irrigation canal projects turned the western Colorado desert into a profitable agricultural region. By the early 1900s, thousands of railroad boxcars full of fruit were shipped out of the valley each year.

 During this same period, the long-buried dinosaur fossils were discovered. In 1900 and 1901, Elmer Riggs of the Field Museum of Chicago came to western Colorado to look for dinosaur bones. Over the years, two locations known today as Riggs Hill and Dinosaur Hill yielded finds such as Brachiosaurus, Apatosaurus, Allosaurus, and Stegosaurus            (the Colorado State Fossil). the Museum of Western Colorado, in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management, maintains Riggs and Dinosaur hills. Riggs was the first paleontologist to discover the area's incredible resource of fossils, and discoveries have continued at an unbelievable pace through the years.
 One example of a major find occurred in 1981 when Pete Mygatt and J. D. Moore reported dinosaur finds to the Museum of Western Colorado. The quarry they found appears to be an ancient lakebed where dinosaur skeletons were deposited by rivers over thousands of years. The Mygatt-Moore quarry is still under excavation today, and is the first stop on a 1 1/2 mile self-guided Trail Through Time at Rabbit Valley, located 30 miles west of Grand Junction on I-70.

The Museum Of Western Colorado

Colorado National Monument
The Colorado National Monument

 The Museum of Western Colorado is a repository for fossils found on western Colorado public lands. The fossils are taken to the Museum's Dinosaur Valley facility at Fourth and Main in downtown Grand Jucntion where they are prepared for exhibit. Visitors can observe as lab technicians slowly chip away the stone tombs of dinosaur fossils. Dinosaur Valley also houses exciting educational displays of the region's unusual dinosaur finds (some of the world's largest and smallest dinosaurs have been uncovered in Mesa County).
 Mining is an aspect of Grand Junction history addressed at another Museum facility. Two blocks away from Dinosaur Valley is the history museum, which offers
displays that cover the area's colorful railroad, ranching, mining and outlaw eras. The agricultural history of the early 1900s is interpreted at the third Museum division, Cross Orchards Historic Site. Once one of the largest apple orchards in the state, Cross Orchards is located only four miles from downtown Grand Junction. Costumed guides give visitors a glimpse of agricultural life as it was at the turn of the century.
 Brachiosaurus leg fossils, mysterious Fremont rock art, Ute-tanned deer skins, the last Colt revolver carried by train robber Kid Curry, colorfully printed antique fruit box packing labels, and the kitchen used by a Grand Junction cook and housewife in the early 1900s. If it happened years ago or just yesterday, you'll probably find it at the Museum of Western Colorado.
 In the 1990's different uses of the land and rivers influence current history. Tourism plays a major role in the economy as visitors come here to experience spectacular sightseeing and recreational opportunities in the sunny, mild climate. Visitors marvel at the red rock canyons and the view of the valley below during the 23 mile drive over the Colorado National Monument. On the forest-covered Grand Mesa, the seasonal activities include fishing, hunting, camping, biking, hiking, and skiing. White water rafting on the Colorado River is superb. Many people make annual trips just to buy freshly picked, tree-ripened cherries, peaches, and apples, or to purchase local, award-winning wines.
 Dinosaur quarries, Ute Indian legends, fresh peaches, and lots of outdoor recreation made possible by a great mild climate. Who would want to live anywhere else?
 Courtesy - Museum of Western Colorado