A piece of Colorado's forgotten history- Guiraud (now called Garo) was a small settlement near Fairplay. Today the Buffalo Peaks Ranch and the old General Store and Post Office which dates to the 1880's are all that marks the spot, The schoolhouse was moved to the South Park City Museum in South Park, Colorado. The now ghost town is five miles north of Hartsel and seven miles south of Fairplay on Colorados Highway 9.
Adolphe Guiraud & his wife Marie, we're the original settlers of the area. They were born in France and made there way to America through the port of New Orleans. They spent some time in Ohio and Kansas before settling in Garo, Colorado. They established the first homestead in South Park in 1863. The Guiraud Ranch still stands and is now called the "Buffalo Peaks Ranch". Adolphe is most known as the proprietor of the original general store, the "Guirauds General Store". However; he is less known for his ties to the American Confederacy. Adolphe Guiraud played a role in the failed Confederate incursion into Colorado Territory in 1864 when he allowed the nine remaining men of Company A, Well's Battalion, 3rd Texas Cavalry, Confederate Army to stay in July of '64. The nine men that made it to Guiraud's ranch were the remnants of fifty Confederate soldiers that set out from Texas, in June of that year. These men were under orders to disrupt the union's supply trains that ran through the Colorado territory. Their second order was to raise a Confederate army from the mining towns that surrounded Park County. Fortunately, the men disbanded from the Confederacy and became outlaws and bandits. They were dubbed "The Reynolds Gang" and in newspaper accounts of the day. On July 29th the Gang of men were cornered in Geneva Gulch near Grant, Colorado. One was killed, five were taken prisoner, and two died of bullet poisoning. The five who were captured were tried and convicted of rape and stagecoach robbery. Furthermore, they were convicted of treason for their involvement in the Confederate army. They were put to death on direct orders of Colonel John Chivington. Later that year in a related incident a man named "Chub" Newitt ran the General Store and Post Office at Garo. Chub was showing a customer some pistols at the store, he was shot with one, he died a short time later. Adolphe Guiraud died without being convicted or charged for aiding the Confederacy. His wife Marie, had a 34-year widowship and went on to become weathly. She grew the ranch from 640 achers to over 5,000 achers. She sold about 1,500 pounds of beef each year (which is about 1 millions dollar in todays money) Three years after her death she was recognized by the US Department of Agriculture in a release called, "The Importance of Women on ranches & Homesteads". Garo faded and died in the late 1920's and was abandoned except for the ranches that surround it by 1936.
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South Park is a grassland flat within the Fairplay basin. Nestled in the Mosquito and Park Mountain Ranges, in central Colorado. The largest town in the basin is Old South Park City (A.K.A. South Park or Fairplay), with a population of only 681.
South Park is most known by an American cartoon created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Who grew up 100 miles away in, Littleton Colorado. The television show revolves around four boys—Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormick—and their wacky adventures in and around the titular Colorado town. A lot like The Simpsons or Family Guy, South Park uses a very large ensemble cast of recurring characters and became infamous for its witty banter, dark humor, and surreal perspective. South Park debuted in August 1997 with great success, consistently earning the highest ratings of any basic cable program. Ratings have varied over the years but it remains one of Comedy Central's highest rated shows, and is slated to create new episodes through 2021. Thanks for visiting with us!
Mining came upon the remote Kitsault valley when the Dolly Varden mine opened in 1918. Thanks to heavy investment from the United States they were able to make Bunkhouses, stores and a ten-mile-long railway. The mine operated for only three years until it was held up in litigation. Eventually, the mining company was able to move past the litigation and went on to build the Lions Gate Bridge. Which ushered in another era for this sleepy little valley.
The town of Kitsault was established in 1979 as the home community to a molybdenum mine run by the Phelps Dodge Corporation of Chicago. The community was designed for over 1,200 residents and included a shopping mall, restaurant, swimming pool and bowling alley. In 1982, prices for molybdenum crashed and the entire community was evacuated after just 18 months of existence. In 2004, the ghost town was bought by Indian-American businessman Krishnan Suthanthiran for $5.7 million; he has spent $2 million maintaining the town. In the end, he would have spent over $20 million more to fully update the town. He has also since closed the town to the public. Krishnan had hoped to turn the town in to an intellectual utopia. In which you could only be invited to. In an effort to revitalize the ghost town, Kitsault has been proposed as a location for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal site. However; this offer has not yet been accepted. Please comment if you lived in Kitsault or have more information.
St. Elmo was first named Forest City but was later changed because of a California town with the same name. The name St. Elmo was chosen by Griffith Evans, one of the founding fathers, who was at the time reading the novel "St. Elmo".
At its peak in the 1890s, the town boasted a general store, telegraph office, town hall, Over 5 hotels, a handful of saloons, dancing halls, a newspaper office, and a schoolhouse. The Denver, South Park and Pacific Railroad line ran through St. Elmo (Yes, it's the same South Park you are thinking of). There were 150 mines claimed within St. Elmo. The majority of the folks who lived in St. Elmo worked at the Mary Murphy, Teresa C., The Molly or the Pioneer Mines. The Mary Murphy Mine was the biggest and most productive mine in the area. While in operation, the Mary Murphy Mine recovered over $60,000,000 worth of gold. While the other local mines shut down, the Mary Murphy Mine continued to operate until the "gold standard" was implemented. Which collapsed the price of silver overnight. As a result. The Railroad was closed and eventually abandoned in 1922. Even after the world gave up on this town and its mines, people continued to harvest ore. This was done by hand and miners would haul individual mining carts down the mountain. Once the mining industry closed completely, St. Elmo drastically declined. Miners searched elsewhere for gold, rather than silver. The business district in St. Elmo closed down as well. Few people continued to live in the town. Postal service was discontinued in 1952 after the death of St. Elmo's postmaster. The current population is...three. Enjoy a few photos from our 2017 exploration:
The Cheshire, Connecticut, home invasion murders occurred on July 23, 2007. Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her two daughters were raped and murdered, while her husband, Dr. William Petit, was injured during a home invasion in Cheshire, Connecticut.
The Hartford Courant referred to the case as "possibly the most widely publicized crime in the state's history". In 2010, Steven Hayes was convicted of the murders and sentenced to death. His accomplice, Joshua Komisarjevsky, was found guilty on October 13, 2011, and sentenced to death on January 27, 2012. In August 2015, the state of Connecticut abolished the death penalty. Therefore, on that date, all death sentences were changed to life-in-prison, even if that sentencing took place prior to the date that the death penalty was abolished.
American Indian Reservations:
An Indian reservation is a legal name for an area of land managed by the Native American tribe under the guidance of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Meaning they are their own sovereign nation and do not comply with the laws of the US or its states. Each of the 326 Indian reservations in the United States are associated with a particular Native American Tribes or "Nation". Not all of the country's 567 recognized tribes have a reservation, while some tribes have more than one. Other share reservations between multiple tribes. Basically, it's a huge jumble of private and public real estate that creates significant administrative, political, and legal difficulties. The collective geographical area of all reservations is 56,200,000 acres. If you were to put them all together it would be about the size of the US State, Idaho. While most reservations are small compared to U.S. states, there are 12 Indian reservations larger than the state of Rhode Island. The largest reservation, the Navajo Nation Reservation, is similar in size to West Virginia. The standard of living on most reservations is comparable to that in the 3rd world. They experience high infant mortality rates, low life expectancy, poor nutrition, poverty, and pervasive alcohol/drug abuse. The two poorest counties in the United States are Buffalo County, South Dakota, home of the Lower Brule Indian Reservation, and Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota, home of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (shown in the video above). About the Music: Exploding out of Canada's capital, native Producer and DJ crew A Tribe Called Red is making an impact on the global electronic scene with a unique sound. A seemingly perfect mixture or hip hop, reggae, moombahton and dubstep-influenced dance music with elements of First Nations music, particularly vocal chanting and drumming. Founded in Ottawa, Ontario, the group consists of Tim "2oolman" Hill and Ehren "Bear Witness" Thomas. Former member Dan "DJ Shub" General left the band for personal reasons in spring 2014 and was replaced by Hill. Co-founder Ian "DJ NDN" Campeau left the band for health reasons in October 2017, with the band opting to remain a duo for the time being. I hope you enjoy their music as much as I have. Subscribe to "A Tribe Called Red" Here: https://www.youtube.com/user/aTribeCalledRed |
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