Roswell, now annexed into the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was a coal mine settlement near the northern bluffs of Colorado Springs and a 19th-century

railroad junction A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge. This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes (assuming they are of the same gauge), provided by ''points'' ( ...

. The town was located at roughly the present intersection of Fillmore Street and North Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs.

History

The town of Roswell, built north of Colorado Springs in 1889, was named for a man from New York, Governor Roswell P. Flower, who felt that Colorado Springs' climate was only second to

Saranac, New York Saranac is a town in Clinton County, New York, United States. The town is on the western border of the county, west of Plattsburgh, and is within the Adirondack Park. The population was 4,007 at the 2010 census. The town is named for the Sarana ...

for its curative benefits for tuberculosis patients. (See

Tuberculosis treatment in Colorado Springs The town of Colorado Springs, Colorado played an important role in the history of tuberculosis in the era before antituberculosis drugs and vaccines. Tuberculosis management before this era was difficult and often of limited effect. In the 19th c ...

). By 1899, he was an investor in mining and the

Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway (also known as the Pikes Peak Cog Railway) is a cog railway that climbs one of the most iconic mountains in the United States, Pikes Peak in Colorado. The base station is in Manitou Springs, near ...

. The town was located on Monument Creek at the junction of the

Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from D ...

(D&RG) and

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific 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 ...

s (CRI&P). The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad had reached the area about 1875 and in 1889, Roswell had a Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P) yard. Roswell had a stone Rock Island Round House and an

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

bridge over the CRI&P railway. There were 448 residents in 1900. In 1902, Roswell was a "considerable settlement". Its streets included: Brewster, Cable, Elm (a northern city boundary), Holly, Laurel, Low, Myrtle, Parker, Poplar, Rock Island, Roswell, Sage, and part of Cedar. Roswell had a school,

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

, and the Roswell Hotel by 1903. That year, the Roswell Park had an equestrian race track and a ballpark. According to the 1910 United States Federal census, there were 426 residents in Roswell (El Paso County precinct 22). By 1911, the population had reduced to 250 people. By 1919, Roswell was a transfer station for coal loads from the Pikeview mine to the north and the Keystone mine to the east. In the 1940s, the Roswell race track was used as an automobile speedway.

Notes

References

{{authority control 1880 establishments in Colorado Populated places established in 1880 Geography of Colorado Springs, Colorado Neighborhoods in Colorado Rail junctions in the United States Former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad stations Former Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad stations