1860, July 23 Capt.
Richard Sopris was the first white man to
discover the Yampah Hot Springs. (E-88)
1879 James Landis
was the first person to settle in Glenwood
Springs and first owner of the hot springs
property. (D-59)
1880 Carbonate, on the Flat Tops, was settled
by miners looking for silver.
1880 Defiance camp was set up at Grand
Springs, now Glenwood Springs. (D-23)
1881, Sept. 4 Ute Indians were moved to
reservation lands in Utah. Western Colorado was
opened to entry and settlement by the white man.
1882 Isaac Cooper came to the area by way of
Aspen. Cooper dreamed of a resort for the hot
springs. (A-115)
1883, Feb. 10 Garfield County was established
and Carbonate was named county seat.
1883, Nov. 6 Voters approved changing the
Garfield County seat from Carbonate to Glenwood
Springs when it became apparent that winters were
too harsh in Carbonate.
1884 Hotel Glenwood opens to guests. (D-61)
1885, Aug. 25 Glenwood Springs was platted and
incorporated. Isaac Cooper or his wife Sarah
renamed Defiance "Glenwood Springs" for
their hometown of Glenwood, Iowa.
1885 First Presbyterian Church was
established. The church building was constructed
on Cooper Avenue and is still in use today.
(JJ-24)
1885 Ute Chief and Glenwood Echo newspapers
were established.
1886 Glenwood Light & Water Company was
organized by Walter B. Devereux with British
investors and a hydro-electric plant was built
near where the bathhouse for the Hot Springs Pool
currently sits. (I-2)
1887 First National Bank was established.
(D-168)
1887, Oct. 5 Denver and Rio Grande Railroad
came to Glenwood Springs on a narrow-gauge bed
through Glenwood Canyon.
1887, Nov. 8 John Henry "Doc"
Holliday died of tuberculosis in the Hotel
Glenwood. He was buried in Linwood Cemetery but
the exact location of his gravesite is unknown.
(CC-90)
1887, Dec. 12 Colorado Midland Railroad came
to Glenwood Springs via the Roaring Fork and
Frying Pan River valleys.
1887 Cardiff townsite was established south of
Glenwood Springs. (U-16)
1887 Weekend "Laundry Trains" came
from Leadville and Aspen bringing miners down to
bathe and do laundry in the hot springs and enjoy
Glenwood's bawdy pleasures. (A-63)
1888 The Natatorium and Pool, fed by the
Yampah Hot Springs, were completed. (A-30)
1888 The new Glenwood Light and Water Company
hydro-electric plant was built and still stands
today, currently housing the Glenwood Springs
Center for the Arts. (I-5)
1890 F.H.A. Lyle and the Devereux brothers
brought the sport of polo to Glenwood Springs.
(R-3)
1890 Stone bathhouse at the Hot Springs Pool
was completed and Vapor Cave #3 on the north side
of the river was added to make a complete health
spa complex. (A-223)
1891, April Theodore Von Rosenberg's bridge
across the Grand River (now Colorado River) at
Glenwood Springs was dedicated. (F-33)
1891, May 10 President Benjamin Harrison
arrived by train to spend the day in Glenwood
Springs. He attended services at the Presbyterian
Church, bathed in the Hot Springs Pool, attended
a luncheon at the Hotel Glenwood and spoke
briefly to residents before departing that
evening.
1893 Glenwood Racing and Polo Club was started
by Walter B. Devereux.
1893, June 10 Grand opening of the Hotel
Colorado is celebrated. (A-4)
1894, June 15 Observation pavillion completed
atop Lookout Mountain.
1895, September 16 The Fairy Cave Company was
formed and tours were led up Iron Mountain behind
the Hotel Colorado to the caves above. (B-188)
1896 Glenwood Health Spa developed west of
Glenwood Springs utilizing natural hot springs
waters.
1897 Daredevil E.A. Nellis rides a bicycle the
length of the wooden water flume in Glenwood
Canyon from No Name to Glenwood Springs.
1898, June 18 First Strawberry Day celebration
organized to promote the sale of local produce.
(Y-4)
1898 St. Josephs Sanitarium and Hotel
was opened by the Sisters of Charity in the old
Yampah Hotel. (D-9)
1899 A passenger train was hit by an avalanche
in Glenwood Canyon. (J-60)