Eastonville, Colorado
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Eastonville is an
extinct town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by Alle ...
in El Paso County,
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, United States.Eberhart, Perry. Ghost of the Colorado Plains. Swallow Press, Athens, Ohio, 1986. p. 50 A post office named Easton opened on May 6, 1872, but the name was changed to Eastonville on September 28, 1883. The post office closed on May 11, 1932. Eastonville is no longer incorporated. The former town limits now lie in the
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
metropolitan area, near the
Black Forest The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...
.


History

The area around Eastonville began settlement around 1872 when a post office was established a mile to the south of its eventual location on Squirrel Creek. The area was located in the Black Forest of Colorado and was found to be suitable for potato farming and many pioneers homesteaded in the vicinity. In 1881 the Denver and New Orleans Railroad (later the Colorado and Southern Railway) laid their tracks through the area and created a stop named "McConnellsville" near what is now Eastonville; this was the main standard gauge line from Colorado Springs to Denver until the 3-foot-gauge Denver and Rio Grande was 3-railed. Shortly after, in 1883, the area post office was moved north and named "Easton" for a local pioneer, John Easton. The town soon became Eastonville. At the behest of the railroad, the town moved a short distance to its current site. By the 1900s the town had 350-500 people. It had three churches, three hotels, a newspaper, a school house, race track, ball field, and many businesses. Nine to ten passenger trains passed through everyday, and with at least that many freight trains using the tracks a constant rolling of locomotives could be heard day and night in the burgeoning city. It had become the self-proclaimed "potato capital of the world" and some years couldn't find enough workers to harvest the crops.
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
newspapers A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...
would print large advertisements offering work at respectable wages on the potato farms of Eastonville. It was one of the most prosperous farm centers in eastern
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
that are now ghost towns. Eastonville continued as a stable town until the 1930s when
drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D.  Jiang, A.  Khan, W.  Pokam Mba, D.  Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...
and depression hit the west. In 1935 the area endured a potato blight and a flood which washed away many buildings in Elbert, the next town north on the railroad; the railroad was then abandoned. The town couldn't recover without the railroad, especially since Peyton (6 miles away) still had the
Rock Island railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...
. Although little remains but a few buildings and the cemetery,Eberhart, Perry. Ghost of the Colorado Plains. Swallow Press, Athens, Ohio, 1986. P. 51 as of May 2013 the United States Board on Geographic Names still lists Eastonville as a populated place. As the town died, the Eastonville school district was merged into the Peyton School District 23jt. Eastonville is, however, in the Falcon fire district.


See also

*
Bibliography of Colorado The location of the State of Colorado in the United States of America This is a bibliography of the U.S. State of Colorado. __TOC__ General history * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *Sibley, George. ''Water Wranglers - The 75- ...
*
Geography of Colorado The geography of the U.S. State of Colorado is diverse, encompassing both rugged mountainous terrain, vast plains, desert lands, desert canyons, and mesas. Colorado is a landlocked U.S. state. In 1861, the United States Congress defined the ...
*
History of Colorado The region that is today the U.S. State of Colorado has been inhabited by Native Americans and their Paleoamerican ancestors for at least 13,500 years and possibly more than 37,000 years. The eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains was a major ...
*
Index of Colorado-related articles This is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. State of Colorado. 0–9 * .co.us – Internet second-level domain for the State of Colorado * 4 Corners ** 4 Corners Monument * 6th Principal Meridian * 10-mile Range * 10th ...
*
List of Colorado-related lists The following lists include links to lists related to the U.S. State of Colorado. # Colorado-related lists by topic # Alphabetical list of Colorado-related lists Colorado-related lists by topic General lists *Bibliography of Colorado *Index of ...
**
List of ghost towns in Colorado This is a list of some ghost towns in the U.S. State of Colorado. Colorado has over 1,500 ghost towns, although visible remains of only about 640 still exist. Due to incomplete records and legends that are now accepted as fact, no exhaustive l ...
**
List of post offices in Colorado A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z References

{{Reflist ...
* Outline of Colorado


References


External links


State of Colorado

History Colorado
{{authority control 1872 establishments in Colorado Territory Former municipalities in Colorado Former populated places in El Paso County, Colorado Geography of El Paso County, Colorado Ghost towns in Colorado History of Colorado Populated places established in 1872 Pre-statehood history of Colorado