Ophir General Store, Space Shuttle, Sells-Floto Circus, and more

 Click on photos to enlarge.

Thing of the past ...

General store. Ophir, Colorado.

Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer

Created / Published:1940 Sept.

Headings: -United States--Colorado--San Miguel County--Ophir.

Genre: Safety film negatives

Notes

- Title and other information from caption card.

- Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.

- More information about the FSA/OWI Collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsaowi

- Temp. note: usf34batch4

- Film copy on SIS roll 24, frame 2361.

Medium: 1 negative : safety ; 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches or smaller.

Source Collection: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)

Repository: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

 

Thing of the past ...

View of Hayden, Colorado

Created / Published:1910.

Headings

- Streets--1910

- United States--Colorado--Hayden

Notes:

- Title from item.

- Copyright by W. S. Price.

- Copyright no.: J 145393.

- Transfer; Copyright Office; 44120

Medium:1 photograph : gelatin silver print ; sheet 9 x 14 cm (postcard format)

Source Collection: Postcard filing series (Library of Congress)

Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.

 

Thing of the past ...

Colorado Restless Native

Photograph shows three buildings with signs reading: Grabill's Mining Exchange, Photographs, and El Paso Livery; river and houses in middle-ground; mountains in background.

Grabill, John C. H., photographer

Created / Published:1888.

Headings:

- Grabill, John C. H.--Homes & haunts--1880-1890

- Mercantile facilities--1880-1890

- Cities & towns--1880-1890

- Photographic studios--1880-1890

Genre: Photographic prints--1880-1890

Notes:

- Title transcribed from item.

- Copyright deposit.

- Forms part of: John C. H. Grabill Collection (Library of Congress).

- Published in: "Images of America" chapter of the ebook Great Photographs from the Library of Congress, 2013.

Medium: 1 photographic print.

Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

 

Thing of the past ...

Meredith, Colorado

Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910-1990, photographer

Created / Published:1941 Sept.

Headings:- United States--Colorado--Pitkin County--Meredith

Genre: Safety film negatives

Notes:

- Title and other information from caption card.

- Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.

- More information about the FSA/OWI Collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsaowi

- Temp. note: usf34batch7

- Film copy on SIS roll 8, frame 1084.

Medium: 1 negative : safety ; 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches or smaller.

Source Collection:

Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)

Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

 

Thing of the past ...

Jail. Silverton, Colorado

Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer

Created / Published: 1940 Sept.

Headings:

- United States--Colorado--San Juan County--Silverton

Genre: Safety film negatives

Notes:

- Title and other information from caption card.

- Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.

- More information about the FSA/OWI Collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsaowi

- Temp. note: usf34batch4

- Film copy on SIS roll 24, frame 2530.

Medium: 1 negative : safety ; 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches or smaller.

LC-USF34- 037675-D [P&P] LOT 468 (corresponding photographic print)

Source Collection:

Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)

Repository: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.

 

Thing of the past ...

Isabelle Glacier, Colorado

Tangen, Ed, 1873-1951, photographer

Tangen & Fair, copyright claimant

Created / Published:c1920.

Headings: - Glaciers - United States--Colorado--Arapaho National Forest

Genre: Gelatin silver prints, Panoramic photographs

Notes:

- J244300 U.S. Copyright Office

- Copyright deposit; Tangen & Fair; November 5, 1920.

- On verso: "No. H-1, photo by Ed Tangen, Boulder, Colorado."

- Title derived from copyright deposit records.

Medium:1 photographic print : gelatin silver ; 9 x 46 in.

PAN US GEOG - Colorado no. 40 (E size) [P&P]

Source Collection: Panoramic photographs (Library of Congress)

Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

 

Thing of the past ...
Jaroso, Colorado
Rothstein, Arthur, 1915-1985, photographer
Created / Published:1939 Oct.
Headings: United States--Colorado--Costilla County--Jaroso
Genre: Safety film negatives
Notes:
- Title and other information from caption card.
- Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.
- More information about the FSA/OWI Collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsaowi
- Temp. note: usf34batch3
- Film copy on SIS roll 21, frame 813.
Medium: 1 negative : safety ; 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches or smaller.
Source Collection: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Thing of the past ...

Hotel Colorado, Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942, photographer

Detroit Publishing Co., copyright claimant

Detroit Publishing Co., publisher

Created / Published: c1901.

Headings:- Hotels - Valleys - Rivers

- United States--Colorado--Glenwood Springs

Headings: Cityscape photographs. Dry plate negatives.

Notes:

- "WHJ 4 [...]" on negative.

- Detroit Publishing Co. no. 013800.

- Gift; State Historical Society of Colorado; 1949.

Medium: 1 negative : glass ; 8 x 10 in.

Source Collection: Detroit Publishing Company photograph collection (Library of Congress)

Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

 

Thing of the past ...

Theater. Ouray, Colorado

Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer

Created / Published:1940 Sept.

Headings:

- United States--Colorado--Ouray County--Ouray

Genre: Safety film negatives

Notes:

- Title and other information from caption card.

- Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.

- More information about the FSA/OWI Collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsaowi

- Temp. note: usf34batch4

- Film copy on SIS roll 24, frame 2506.

Medium: 1 negative : safety ; 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches or smaller.

Source Collection: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)

Repository: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

 

Thing of the past ...

Kuhlman-Periman Ranch, Barn, County Route 28, Dolores, Montezuma County, CO

Historic American Buildings Survey, creator

Lowe, Jet, photographer

Insinga, David J., delineator

Created / Published: Documentation compiled after 1933

Headings

- barns

- log buildings

- Colorado--Montezuma County--Dolores

Notes:

- Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-11

- Survey number: HABS CO-39-A

Medium:

Photo(s): 3

Measured Drawing(s): 3

Photo Caption Page(s): 1

HABS COLO,42-DOL.V,2A-

Source Collection: Historic American Buildings Survey (Library of Congress)

Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Thing of the past ...

Theater. Montrose, Colorado

Lee, Russell, 1903-1986, photographer

Created / Published: 1940 Sept.

Headings:

- United States--Colorado--Montrose County--Montrose

Genre: Safety film negatives

Notes:

- Title and other information from caption card.

- Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.

- More information about the FSA/OWI Collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsaowi

- Temp. note: usf34batch4

- Film copy on SIS roll 24, frame 2487.

Medium: 1 negative : safety ; 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches or smaller.

Source Collection: Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)

Repository: Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA.

 

Thing of the past ...

Morgan Irrigation Canal, Fort Morgan, Colo. / photo by L.C. McClure, Denver.

Photograph shows three boys in a small boat on the Morgan Irrigation Canal.

McClure, Louis Charles, 1867-1957, photographer

Created / Published:[between 1885 and 1905]

Headings

- Irrigation canals & flumes--Colorado--Fort Morgan--1880-1910

Photographic prints--1880-1910.

Notes:

- Title from item.

- Published by the Fort Morgan Drug Co.

- No. 13.

- Forms part of: Wittemann Collection (Library of Congress).

Medium: 1 photographic print.

Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

 

Thing of the past ...

Main street of Craig, Colorado. A new and thriving boom town

Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910-1990, photographer

Created / Published: 1941 Sept.

Headings: - United States--Colorado--Moffat County--Craig

Genre: Safety film negatives

Notes:

- Title and other information from caption card.

- Transfer; United States. Office of War Information. Overseas Picture Division. Washington Division; 1944.

- More information about the FSA/OWI Collection is available at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.fsaowi

- Temp. note: usf34batch7

- Film copy on SIS roll 8, frame 981.

Medium:

1 negative : safety ; 3 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches or smaller.

Source Collection:Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress)

Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

 

Thing of the past ...

High bridge near Buena Vista

Jackson, William Henry, 1843-1942, photographer

Detroit Publishing Co., publisher

Created / Published: [between 1880 and 1897]

Headings:

- Railroad bridges

- Railroads

- Canyons

- United States--Colorado--Buena Vista

Dry plate negatives.

Notes:

- On train: Colorado Midland.

- "W.H. Jackson & Co. Phot." on negative.

- Detroit Publishing Co. no. 60148.

- Gift; State Historical Society of Colorado; 1949.

Medium: 1 negative : glass ; 5 x 8 in.

Source Collection: Detroit Publishing Company photograph collection (Library of Congress)

Repository:

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

 

Thing of the past ...

Boys and teacher in classroom at the Golden Industrial School, Denver, Colorado.

Created / Published: [between 1910 and 1915]

Notes:

- Mrs. Ben B. Lindsey Collection.

- This record contains unverified data from caption card.

- Caption card tracings: Children; Education; Geogr.; Reform school.

Medium: 1 photographic print.

Call Number/Physical Location: LOT 5651 [item] [P&P]

Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

 

Thing of the past ...

Space Shuttle Enterprise

Date May 17, 1983

Photographer:unknown

The space shuttle Enterprise went on public display at Peterson Air Force Base today as part of a four-week tour of North American and European cities. A Boeing 747 carrying the Enterprise piggyback arrived Monday for a two-day visit. It came to Colorado Springs direct from its home base at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

Location: Colorado Springs (Colo.)

Subjects Space Shuttle Program

Space shuttles

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Sun: Shuttle-May 1983

Image number:162-17

Collection name: Colorado Springs Sun Photograph Collection

Collection number: MSS 0162;

Original format: negatives

Physical description: 35mm b&w negative;

Resource type: image

Publisher: Pikes Peak Library District;

Credit line: Colorado Springs Sun. Courtesy of the Gazette and Special Collections, Pikes Peak Library District.

 

Thing of the past ...

Sells-Floto Circus, 1922.

Elephants were not only an important part of the performance of a circus but were also very useful for providing heavy labor on the back lot. This image of 1922 shows an elephant of the Sells-Floto Circus pulling the canvas-covered cage wagon number 24 into position. Octagon cage wagon number 34 can be seen at right. The Sells-Floto Circus was formed in the early 1900s from a combination of the Floto Dog & Pony Show and the Sells Brothers Circus. It toured the United States as an independent circus until 1921, when it was incorporated into the American Circus Corporation. In September 1929 this corporation's circuses were acquired by John Ringling, and by 1933 Sells-Floto ceased to exist. It enjoyed a brief revival in 1937-38 as part of the Al G. Barnes and Sells-Floto Combined Circus. The photograph is by Harry A. Atwell (1879--1957), an official photographer of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Atwell, Harry A., 1879-1957 Photographer.

Created / Published: [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1922.

Headings:

- United States of America

- 1922

- Circus

- Circus performers

- Elephants

- Entertainers

- Sells-Floto Circus

- Wagons

Notes:

- Title devised, in English, by Library staff.

- Original resource extent: Glass-plate negative.

- Original resource at: Circus World Museum.

- Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium: 1 online resource.

Source Collection: Harry A. Atwell Collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ritter Ranch and Barn remembered in old Dolores

 Ritter Barn, Old Dolores Highway, Dolores, CO, Jet Lowe, photographer

 First Dolores Postmaster 

homesteaded local landmark

By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com

The Ritter Ranch was a well-known landmark around Dolores and for many years, locals crossing the steel bridge nearby called the incline on the Old Dolores Highway "Ritter Hill," as you climbed out of the Dolores River Valley and up on to the ridge.

Anybody from Dolores, about my age, or several years older, almost certainly has a memory of Blue Robinson, his horse, and perhaps his almost daily rides from his place out on the Old Dolores Highway, into town.

I can't remember ror sure if one of the 'hosses' above is Blue Robinson's, (we often encountered his hitch there in proximity to one of the bars,) but the young 'fella' in this picture is my friend, Andy Pleasant. His brother, Tim Pleasant took the photo.

"He had a sorrel mare he rode to town but not very often back home. Us kid would have to walk to town and then pick her up behind the Hollywood or Del Rio to ride her home. Poor thing," writes Carol Harris Brown.

"Don't forget the store next to Akin's. My earliest memory was of Froede's Rexall Drugstore where Charles Lee [Chuck] was the "king" of soda jerks in Dolores. Blue Robinson would come in and order a Bromo-Sletzer and Chuck would pour is back and forth between two tall glasses until the foam settled and he would hand it to Blue and say "this should help..." They had a S & S Nut machine that kept the nuts warm and a tray that rotated all the time. Later when it closed it became Shaw's Department Store, then I went off to college in 1958 ..." notes Joe A. Bowden, in a related online post. 

Blue Robinson's place was known as the Ritter Ranch and had been been around since before the formation of Dolores, Colorado. It could well have been named after the first Postmaster of Dolores, William May, who homesteaded it first, built an early cabin, and later sold it to the Ritter brothers in 1908.

Also, Navie Sophia Sagrillo Johnson Ritter, lived accross North Seventh Street from me, near the Catholic Church, and I had the great pleasure to mow her lawn for years.  Still not sure what relationship she had to early Ritters, but I think the 91-year-old woman might have set a record for carrying Dolores pioneer family names to the grave, upon her death in 1989.

Significance: 

 "The Ritter Ranch is historically significant as the most technologically progressive ranch within the Lower DoloresValley. The extensive outbuildings and their mechanical devices, including manure tracks for the barn and chicken house, prompted local residents to call this operation a
"model farm." The Ritters owned the ranch from 1908 until 1947, raising registered Hereford cattle, Suffolk and Hampshire sheep, and up to 250 chickens.," according to the Historic American Buildings Survey.

Historical Context:

"Settlement of this land began in the mid-1870's with William May later receiving a patent for 160 acres in 1890. The delay between patent application and settlement was common during this early homesteading period. William May was a prominent local pioneer serving as the first Postmaster of Dolores," the survey found. 

Early cowboy Erastus Thompson later remembered May.

"I was born in Iowa in March 1858, and I first came to Denver about 1862. My father furnished government horses for the “Colorado First and Second.” He also had freight outfits. He owned six four-mule teams."

"In 1879, the range over there was eaten out, and I started to the Blue Mountains in Utah with the cattle. When I arrived and had turned the cattle loose, the Indians told me to get out. The men had left me, so the Indians helped me to round them up and bring the cattle out again. I met a couple of men from the San Luis Valley with cattle and told them of the situation out west. We turned all the cattle loose here on the Dolores, and I have been here ever since,"

"It was very dry that year of 1879. There was a little water out at Cross Canon and enough in Dove Creek to wet a few doves. You could walk across the Dolores on the ripple, but there was water standing in holes. It was the last of July or the first of August when I brought those cattle back here," says Erastus Thompson historical account.

 "At that time, Billy May had the place where William Ritter now lives. When I was working for F.B. King over on LaVeta Pass, I met Billy May. He was a surveyor but had no instruments to speak of. He wanted this country out here subdivided. The government would not put up any money but told him he could do the subdividing and take his pay in land. He paid his own men and took land as directed. Billy ran the lines for this township. "

"May and his brothers were early settlers to the Lower DoloresValley, patenting adjacent tracts along the river where they grazed large herds of cattle. Also, May, in partnership with Charlie Johnson, established a flour mill in Dolores."

"The ranch was purchased in 1908 by William and Frank Ritter from the William May estate. The Ritter brothers were prominent ranchers from the Lakeview District south of Dolores, before bringing their herds and expertise to the Lower Dolores Valley. 

"In 1904, Frank Ritter became a local celebrity when his wheat entry won a silver medal at the St. Louis World's Fair. William Ritter moved with his family to the ranch while his brother remained at the Lakeview farm lands. The original May log cabin was incorporated into the structure that is now
the main house."

Interior Sheep Shed, South side, Jet Lowe, photographer.

"The Ritter Ranch derives architectural significance from the varied and relatively intact outbuildings which comprise the complex. The barn, originally with an attached octagonal silo, was constructed in 1918 with wood from nearby Lost Canyon. The sheep sheds were added to the south elevation of the barn in 1924-25. 

Other buildings constructed in the Ritter Ranch  in 1920's included the ice house, storage shed, and garage.

"A delco battery electrical system was located in the garage, providing electricity for the entire compound. Built in 1930, the chicken house incorporated the manure tracts into its original design, and the barn manure tracts were probably added in the 1930's. The bunk house, implement shed, and potato shed were added in the 1930's. The second house was built by John Ritter, who inherited the ranch from his father, William. This house was constructed of wood salvaged when the octagonal silo was torn down.
The Ritter Ranch was fairly self-sufficient with its large collection of livestock and variety of cultivated crops," the survey says.

Barn, Interior, second floor, west side, Jet Lowe, photographer

"They raised registered Hereford cattle as well as registered Hampshire and Suffolk sheep. Goats were kept to herd the sheep into railroad cars. Poultry included turkeys, guinea fowl, and peacocks in addition to a chicken population of usually 250. The Ritters sold the peacock feathers to local Indians for 25 cents. Wild hay, alfalfa, small grains, and potatoes were grown on the 70 acres of Valley land and pinto beans and wheat cultivated on the West Valley wall.

"The Ritter Ranch exemplifies the constant adaptation to circumstances in the local ranching lifestyle. Equipped with prime land and registered herds of livestock, the Ritterswere able to survive times of economic depression. They wereoften the first to incorporate "modern" agricultural practices
and technologies leading the way for surrounding ranchers."

Ritter Ranch, Main House.  Jet Lowe, photographer

Historic American Buildings Survey -HABS No. CO-38

Old Dolores Highway, Dolores Vicinity, Montezuma County,
Colorado

At the the time of the report, the owner was Connie Robinson, Route 1, Box 711, Colby, Kansas, and the resent use was listed as residence

Physical History:

1. Date of erection: mid-1880s until late 1930's
2. Architect: unknown
3. Original and subsequent owners: References to the chain
of title to the land upon which the structures stand are
in the Office of the Recorder of Deeds, Montezuma County
Courthouse, Cortez, Colorado.

1886 - Patent, April 10, 1886, recorded in Book 2, page
164. U. S. Government to William May.
 

1905 - Will, 1905, recorded in Book 36, page 171, William
May to Taylor May.

1908 - Deed, January 19, 1908, recorded in Book 34, page341, Taylor H. May to Frank Ritter.

1913 - Deed, June 24, 1913, Book 52, page 22, Frank
Ritter to William Ritter.

1914 - Deed, July 6, 1914, Book 52, page 189, William
Ritter to Edith Ritter.

1917 - Quit Claim Deed, August 2, 1917, Book 56, page 145,
Edith Ritter to William Ritter.

1934 - Deed, September 19, 1934, Book 101, page 450,
John William Ritter to Edith Ritter.


1942 - Deed, April 5, 1942, Book 116, page 289, Edith
M. Robinson to John Ritter.

1946 - Deed, April 26, 1946, Book 112, page 332, John
Ritter to Blue Robinson.

1976 - Release of Inheritance Tax, November 13, 1976,
Book 470, pages 672-3, Blue Robinson to Connie
Robinson.

Builders: Unknown for barn and main house; Ritter family
for various outbuildings.

Original plans and construction: No plans exist, and is wood
framed.

Alterations and additions:
a. House: Livingroom and bedroom added approximately
1908; second floor added approximately 1915-17.
b. Barn: Sheep sheds added 1924-25.
c. Potato Shed: Metal room overlaid on sod roof in 1940.

Interviews:
1. Ritter, John. Interview, 18 August 1981. Transcript
in Bureau of Reclamation Archeological Program file,
Cortez, Colorado.
2. Ritter, John; Ritter, Maurice; and Tibbits, Irene,
Mancos, Colorado. Interview by Susan Goulding,
8 September 1980. Transcript in Bureau of Reclamation
Dolores Archeological Program files, Cortez, Colorado.

Bibliography:
Dolores Star, 9 December 1904, p. 1, c. 2.

Notes prepared by: John P. White
Project Supervisor
HABS, National Park Service
July 1980

PROJECT INFORMATION:
This project was undertaken by the Historic American Buildings Survey of the National Park Service's National Architectural and Engineering Record, Rocky Mountain Regional Office, in cooperation with the Salt Lake City Region Bureau of Reclamation. Under the direction of Katherine Cole, Chief, Division of Cultural Resources, this project was completed during the summer of 1981 at the Historic American Buildings Survey Field Office, Cortez, Colorado, by John P. White, Project Supervisor (Associate Professor of Architecture,Texas Tech University); Steven M. Wiesenthal, Project Foreman (University of Maryland); Project Historians, Linda Dishman (University of California, Davis), Maureen L. Gerhold (Pennsylvania State University), and Lisa B. Mausolf (Wellesley College); Architects, Debra J. Brown (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), David J. Insinga (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University); and Student Architect, Deborah Rehn Hurst (Washington University, St. Louis).

South and east side of Ritter Barn. Jet Lowe, photographer