America's Switzerland: Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park, the Growth Years

1: Estes Park in 1915—New Beginnings

7 Estes Park in 1915—New Beginnings Chapter 1
Estes Park in 1915—New Beginnings AS THOSE BRAVING THE UNCERTAIN WEATHER TO ATTEND the dedication ceremonies were well aware, the afternoon of September 4, 1915, was a watershed event in the life of Estes Park. Rocky Mountain National Park was at last a reality. With the passage of the park bill, signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson on January 26, 1915, came significant changes to town and region, including the continuing presence of the federal government . Although the size and impact of that presence were at first small, both would inexorably grow, and the history of Estes Park would be shaped accordingly. Despite the gray and glowering weather, the dedication was a festive affair. Many arrived early to visit, picnic, and take full advantage of the day’s offerings. Estes Park residents and those staying at local ranches and hotels came on foot and on horseback, as well as by bicycle, carriage, wagon, and automobile. By mid-morning a steady stream of cars from the valley towns had begun to arrive. The road coming up Fall River from Estes Park village was steep and narrow, creating something of a logistical problem. But by the time the official ceremonies began at 2:00 P.M. some 267 automobiles and a large, enthusiastic gathering of spectators and guests—by one count numbering as many as 2,0001 —had managed to crowd into Horseshoe Park near 7 8 Estes Park in 1915—New Beginnings 1.1 Estes Park in 1915. Map by Fred Clatworthy. Courtesy Estes Park Museum 9 Estes Park in 1915—New Beginnings the eastern portal of the new road being built up and over the Continental Divide. The “horizon was one vast rainbow effect of automobiles,” the reporter for the Denver Times noted, “the black cars and yellow and white and red and brown being so closely parked as to create the effect of a bit of scenery all their own.”2 It was, the Rocky Mountain News added, “the greatest automobile demonstration ever seen in Colorado.”3 Not surprisingly, the largest contingent of visitors was from Denver, but other towns were also well represented. For the Denverites the day had begun early with a 7:30 A.M. rendezvous at the Majestic Building at 16th and Broadway, headquarters of the Denver Motor Club. There club members queued up drivers for an automobile procession to the park, led by shiny new Packards carrying Colorado governor George Carlson, congressman Edward Taylor, Assistant Secretary of the Interior Stephen Mather, his young deputy Horace M. Albright, and other notables. Additional autos joined enroute, including a number of big Stanley Mountain Wagons, whose introduction to the mountain roads of Colorado in 1908 had done much to improve the transportation of tourists to and from Estes Park and other towns. The vehicle attracting most attention, however, was the “unaphone” touring car 1.2 Rocky Mountain National Park dedication, September 4, 1915. Courtesy National Park Service–Rocky Mountain National Park 10 Estes Park in 1915—New Beginnings belonging to George E. Turner of the Turner Moving and Storage Company. Its built-in bell organ regaled spectators along the way with sprightly music. Although the speakers of the day would talk of Colorado and the nation , local competition and boosterism were decidedly in the air. Not wanting to be outdone by Loveland and Lyons, each poised to declare itself “the gateway to the park,” the Fort Collins press urged its readers to put pennants and banners on their automobiles and get an early start so that it is “evident to Denver that Fort Collins is on the job and that the National park is not owned by Denver.” Residents of the county seat apparently needed little encouragement. Despite the dedication ceremonies’ conflicting with the closing of the Larimer County Fair, “no less than 400 people, including the city officials and other prominents, went to the exercises.”4 Two hundred more came by auto caravan from Loveland. To the knowledgeable observer, the presence of so many automobiles in Horseshoe Park was an instructive reminder of the way in which the automobile and automobiling had revolutionized tourism, offering an increasing number of middle-class Americans the ability to see the wonders of the West. Once a plaything for the rich, automobiles had improved in size and comfort and decreased in cost, making possible a leisurely and...