Buckhorn was a settlement in Larimer County, Colorado, 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Masonville, Colorado, and along Buckhorn Creek. A post office operated there from 1878 to 1888.[1]
Buckhorn | |
|---|---|
  Buckhorn Mouth of Buckhorn Highline Ditch | |
| Coordinates: 40°29′54″N 105°14′32″W / 40.49833°N 105.24222°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado |
| County | Larimer County, Colorado |
Settlers of Buckhorn drove cattle on the land and cut down trees. They lived in simple cabins or hillside dugout huts. Described about 1880 "to be in extremely backward condition", it was subject to mountain lions, rattlesnakes, and flooding of Buckhorn Creek.[2] Lewis Kern, the county assessor, stated the same year that settlers were doing well and flourishing.[3]
G.W. Buffum and Albert Yule lived in Buckhorn by 1878.[4] Yule was a rancher and a farmer of corn.[5] Ben Milner and his wife Rose Rosebroook moved to Buckhorn in 1881[6] and established a ranch there.[7] His widowed sister, Sarah Milner Smith and her children homesteaded and operated a ranch on the land. They were two of about six families who first settled Buckhorn.[2] Sarah's sons Edward and Eugene Smith worked her ranch and established ranches in the Buckhorn area.[8] Eugene Smith wrote the book Pioneer Epic about his life with his mother in Buckhorn.[2]
The "Milner brothers"[a] and other prospectors mined for gold at Buckhorn by 1880.[11] Iron was also found at Buckhorn by May 1889.[12]
The Union ditch,[2] also called the Buckhorn Highline Ditch, was built to irrigate the land. The site is at 5,607 feet (1,709 m) in altitude.[13]
See also
edit- Redstone Creek (Colorado), tributary of Buckhorn Creek
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ Elliott, Donald R. (1999). Doris L. (Salmen) Elliott (ed.). "Place names of Colorado" (PDF). history.denverlibrary.org. p. 78.
- ^ a b c d Watrous, B. David (January 13, 1952). "Pioneer Epic (review)". Fort Collins Coloradoan.
- ^ "Among the farmers". The Fort Collins Express and The Fort Collins Review. April 23, 1880. p. 3. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ "G.W. Buffum and Albert Yule of Buckhorn". The Larimer County Independent. August 17, 1878. p. 4. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ "A Yale harvest 1878". The Larimer County Independent. October 12, 1878. p. 4. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ "Death of Martha Rosebrook Milner". Fort Collins Coloradoan. October 31, 1929. p. 10. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ Jessen, Kenneth (March 14, 2022). "Women of history: Sarah Milner Smith served as a pioneer teacher". Loveland Reporter-Herald. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
- ^ "Obituary for Eugene Smith". Fort Collins Coloradoan. April 24, 1953. p. 2. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
- ^ "Sarah Smith, Loveland, Larimer, Colorado", U.S. Federal Census, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1880 – via ancestry.com
- ^ "Sarah Milner, Big Thompson, Larimer, Colorado Territory", U.S. Federal Census, Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1870 – via ancestry.com
- ^ "Buckhorn Notes". The Larimer County Independent. June 3, 1880. p. 3. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ "Where to find a few common specimens". The Larimer County Independent. May 23, 1889. p. 5. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ "Buckhorn Highline Ditch". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. October 13, 1978. Retrieved March 16, 2024.