Colorado Springs sure has changed a lot since its founding in 1872. The first stake was pounded into the ground near the intersection of Pikes Peak and Cascade. Close by the base of the Pikes Peak Range Riders statue on the corner sits a small commemorative plaque noting this event. Those who pioneered the city were said to often stop what they were doing to view Pikes Peak and the handsome Front Range that seemed much closer than they really were.

Colorado Springs circa 1900. (Credit: Penrose Library Digital Collection)

From thriving frontier businesses like livery stables, boarding houses, and carpentry and masonry shops grew a small but prosperous town. What made our city different from most others is that it was founded by a teetotaling Civil War General named William J. Palmer who brought not only his Quaker values with him, but a bunch of Quaker friends and associates who he knew would uphold his standard of clean living. There were no saloons in early Colorado Springs. The partying and debauchery was left to private homes, nearby Colorado City, and those crazy mountain camps that sprang up due to the silver, and later gold, mining in other areas of Colorado.

Early Colorado Springs was so straight-laced that it became known as “Little London” because of the formality and decorum observed by (most especially) Palmer’s wife, Queen, which was the standard of the day. Even the workmen took a break at four p.m. for tea. If a guy wanted to get a drink, he had to go to a “glory hole” and get one on the sly by going into a secret building, placing a quarter on a revolving counter, and spinning it. The wheel would spin around, and from a hole in the wall, a shot of whiskey would appear where the quarter once had been. No face-to-face transaction occurred; they mustn’t mar that pristine reputation.

The Glockner Sanatorium was soon constructed, bringing thousands to the city in search of a cure for tuberculosis. The home-grown prescription of sunshine, fresh thin mountain air, and clean living really did work for many of those diagnosed with the condition. My great-great-grandfather had tuberculosis, but he lived here for many years with it, eventually dying in his eighties. Those who suffered with “consumption,” as it was called, usually felt at least some relief from their symptoms while staying here, even if a cure wasn’t really possible at the time.

Over the years, the city grew into a handsome, strong city that, although it eventually did allow the public sale of alcohol, retained its reputation for clean living and beautiful scenery. Pikes Peak, the crown jewel of the Front Range, oversaw all of the changes to our city as it grew from a colony into a metropolis. Those who chose to could travel a short distance to the mountains for a hike or picnic and be back by supper time. The city soon became known as the place to be if a person was interested in spending a lot of time outdoors.

After a fairly large boom in housing during the ’50s and ’60s, the city really started to change its shape, sprawling both out toward the prairie and crawling up the mountainsides.

The south entrance to Colorado Springs. (Credit: Penrose Library Digital Collection)

Just because the city was growing larger, that didn’t mean its citizens were. During the last couple of decades, Colorado Springs has earned the reputation of “fittest city in the United States,” because the rate of obesity is so low in our population. That fresh air and warm sunshine in the summer and plethora of activities available in the winter make it easy for Springs residents to stay active all year round.

As our city continues to spread, more recently north and east of the city toward Falcon, it’s easy to think of the neighborhoods eventually blending together with some of the smaller cities and towns, especially further north, like Monument and Palmer Lake. Through it all, though, the predominating thought of most citizens, I think, is that we are grateful to live in such a beautiful place that is burgeoning with endless possibilities for personal achievement.

(Credit: Marathonmouth.me)

Like the city’s founding leaders, many of whom came to Colorado Springs to seek their fortune in the gold fields of Cripple Creek, and who, upon becoming wealthy, shared their wealth with the city, modern Springs residents can still feel that indomitable spirit that lies within all of us who live and work here. Like them, every once in a while we still stop what we’re doing to look up at the Peak in wonder. I have always thought of Pikes Peak as “my mountain.” I think all of us should think that way, because it belongs to all of us. So go out there, look at it, and think, “That’s my mountain,” because it is.

(Credit: DeLyn Martineau)

We have some of the most amazing geology and scenery in the world, and we have a diverse, forward-thinking population that truly enjoys living here. Colorado Springs is our city, and our founders would be proud of how big and beautiful it has become.