Manitou
Springs
The
history of Manitou is forever linked with the springs around which it was
founded. Created during the same geological uplift that gave us Pikes
Peak, the water rises naturally from aquifers deep below ground, where it
absorbs minerals in high concentrations; sometimes two to three times the
amounts found at more familiar watering holes like Saratoga Springs or
Baden-Baden. Still, its the bubbles in the water that made Manitou famous.
The intense effervescence, caused by high levels of carbonic acid, created
the first carbonated drink long before the artificial process was
invented. No wonder French missionaries christened the local creek
Fontaine qui Bouille or Boiling Fountain.
Now picture how the first
Native Americans must have seen this valley as they traveled from the
plains. The verdant box canon, nestled into the foothills of the great
peak, was full of game, attracted by the meandering creek and the
surrounding springs. Deposits of minerals dating back thousands of years
had created large natural basins into which the soda water erupted and
then overflowed into the stream. As one approached, a deep rumbling could
be heard, as the gases and water boiled up from the depths. Large groves
of cottonwoods and picturesque boulders completed the picture. You can
understand why the native tribes considered this a sacred place where the
spirits of the gods and men interacted.
The Nations of the Ute,
Arapaho, Cheyenne and Kiowa were all frequent visitors to this neutral
ground; a place where anyone could relieve their physical ailments without
the worry of defending themselves. The Indian diet was especially hard on
the digestive tract for which the soda water was a perfect tonic. It also
had a miraculous effect on dry skin. Signs of gratitude and worship were
said to surround the springs in the form of beads, clothing, weapons, and
talismans.
The
United States first came to know about the springs with the 1803 purchase
of the Louisiana Territory from Napoleon. President Thomas Jefferson
ordered several military surveys of the area, of which Lewis and Clark's
is the most famous. Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike explored the
southwest portion of the Territory in 1806 and, though he never climbed
the peak that bears his name, he did publish a report that attracted a lot
of interest to the area. Major Stephen H. Long arrived in 1820 and it was
the surgeon of his party, Doctor Edwin James, who finally conquered the
peak and wrote glowingly of the health benefits of the mineral waters.
Daniel Boone's grandson, Colonel A.G. Boone, visited the springs in the
winter of 1833 as the first cure seeker. Brevet Captain John C. Fremont,
the "Pathfinder of the West, passed through in 1842 on what is now
called Fremont's trail. Perhaps the most exciting and influential book to
include a description of the area was "Adventures in Mexico and the
Rocky Mountains", written by George F. Ruxton, a Lieutenant in the
British army, whose pleasant 1847 visit to the boiling springs was
interrupted by a forest fire set by hostile Indians.
The native tribes had
become increasingly unhappy with the influx of visitors to their holy
places and this problem multiplied when gold was discovered in the
mountains in 1858, making Ute Pass a convenient road to the gold fields.
Horace and Augusta Tabor camped in Manitou on their way to destiny in
Leadville. The inevitable conflicts between white settlers and the Native
Americans didn't end until the Cheyennes and Arapahos were removed to a
reservation in 1868. The Mountain Utes remained friendly and continued to
camp at their sacred springs until 1879, when they too were relocated.
Between
1859 and 1868, the springs and surrounding valley passed through the hands
of roughly a dozen men, including the infamous Colonel John Chivington,
perpetrator of the Sand Creek Massacre. Then, in 1868, General William
Jackson Palmer, a veteran of the Civil War, and Dr. William A. Bell, an
English gentleman and adventurer, traveled to the area on a surveying
expedition for the Kansas Pacific Railway and noticed the great natural
potential for profit in the valley of the boiling springs. Palmer already
had visions of a vast railroad system stretching from Colorado to Mexico
with new towns dotting the route, one of which could be a marvelous health
resort built on the fame of these mineral springs. Within four years, the
city of Colorado Springs had been founded and La Font or "the
fountain" was being laid out by John Blair, a noted landscape
designer from Chicago. William Blackmore, an English investor and friend
of Dr. Bell's, suggested that the name "Manitou", which he might
have heard of through Longfellow's poem Hiawatha, had a much more romantic
ring to it than La Font. The name was changed and the first hotel, the
Manitou House, was opened by August of 1872. The city was laid out just
like a European Spa town, with public facilities, hotels, and parks
occupying the central core, and villa lots spreading out along the
hillsides. Unfortunately, the financial panic of 1873 hit Manitou
especially hard and images of beautiful villas evaporated into small
wooden shops and cottages.
Even
if the reality of Manitou did not live up to the dreams of Bell and
Palmer, it was nonetheless a popular and successful health resort. By the
end of the 1890's, the town could boast of a magnificent Queen-Anne style
Bath House, a large bottling plant for the ever popular Manitou Table
Water and Ginger Champagne, seven elegant hotels (the Barker House and the
Cliff House still exist), two railroad connections, numerous spring
pavilions, the engineering marvel of the Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog
Railroad and the many natural attractions of the area, like the Cave of
the Winds and Garden of the Gods. Each summer, families would arrive with
trunks full of clothing, ready to enjoy the area for months. Hack drivers
offered buggy rides to all the sights and, for the more adventurous, there
was the burro trail to the summit of Pikes Peak for a view of the sunrise.
Each hotel hired popular bands of the time to play during meals and at the
hops (casual dances) to which all guests of the town were invited.
Gentlemen would spend many a night at the private Hiawatha Gardens; an
exclusive casino and club. For those who could afford it, life at the
"Saratoga of the West" must have been a dreamy, pampered
existence; like living in one of those hand tinted postcards that sold so
well at the local shops.
For
the health seekers, usually tubercular patients, a stay in Manitou Springs
was a chance for a cure. These people were escaping the polluted air and
tainted food in the industrial cities for dry mountain air and medicinal
waters. Manitou quickly became a town of doctors and the hillsides were
dotted with tubercular huts and tents, since the best treatments of the
time included lots of fresh air. There was even one female doctor, Dr.
Harriet Leonard, the resident physician at the Bath House for many years,
who specialized in Russian Vapor Baths.
Many famous personalities
of the day enjoyed the charms of the town, like Presidents McKinley,
Roosevelt and Ulysses S. Grant, who dedicated the Denver and Rio Grand
Depot in 1882. Grace Greenwood, a popular writer and early suffragette,
built one of the first cottages in town to which she brought many of her
artistic and society friends for the summers. P.T. Barnum, the
photographer William Henry Jackson, Thomas Edison, and Lilly Langtree all
took the cure at the Manitou Soda Spring. John Nicolay and John Hay, who
had been President Lincoln's private secretaries, rented a cabin in the
foothills above town to write their best seller, "The Life of Abraham
Lincoln". Jerome Wheeler, a president of New York's famous Macy's
Department Store, brought his wife here in 1883 for her health. What he
saw made him stay and his contributions to the town, including the
magnificent Town Clock, rivaled Dr. Bell's.
After the turn of the
century, tourists began to replace health seekers and Manitou Springs was
forced to adapt. Tuberculoses was no longer a national threat to health,
making prescriptions for mineral water less popular. Thereafter, the
valley of the boiling springs was usually a stopover rather than a
destination. Visitors began to spend days rather than months and they
wanted to be entertained with the latest attractions. The Mount Manitou
Incline, the Red Mountain Incline and the Cliff Dwellings Museum date from
this period. On a promontory north of downtown, a local entrepreneur built
Busby's Park, a small amusement park with a large dancehall, rides and a
miniature train. Not to be outdone, Hiawatha Gardens changed from a
gambling parlor to a ballroom, which booked well known acts like Fred
Waring and the Pennsylvanians and Fats Waller. Rudolph Valentino even gave
a dancing exhibition there. The once grand hotels were now considered old
fashioned and those that had not burned down were remodeled and
redecorated. Small rental cottages began to cluster around the larger
houses as residents decided to profit from the crush of summer visitors.
The transitory nature of the visitor also altered the makeup of the
downtown business district from general stores and doctor's offices to
shops and ticket offices.
The advent of
the automobile had the greatest impact on this narrow valley. Of course,
the streets and the businesses had been designed around the horse. As cars
became more popular, the many stables were turned into garages or torn
down. Manitou's position on the first intercontinental road system, known
as the Ocean to Ocean Highway, vastly increased the auto population and
was the focus of the town's advertising campaigns for years. With this new
form of transportation came the autocourt motel, a modern accommodation
intended to keep the tourists as close to their cars as possible, even as
they slept. There were four different types of autocourt motels, all of
which are still represented on the east end of Manitou Avenue. During the
Second World War, Manitou's new motels, old hotels and large Victorian
residences became housing for soldiers stationed at nearby Fort Carson,
who were kept well entertained by swing bands like Tommy Dorsey's.
After the war, Manitou
Springs experienced the same rapid growth and change in lifestyles as the
rest of the country. The Fifties brought an economic boom to the area, but
in the 1960's U.S. 24 bypassed the town, leaving family-run businesses to
cope with the decreased traffic. Aluminum and plastic storefronts began to
replace the stone facades and older homes became rentals as newer
developments were built on the edges of town. The counterculture movement
found an accepting home here and alternative lifestyles are still
appreciated. Even the mineral springs were capped off as nuisances and
their locations were paved over or ignored.
With the 1980's came a
revival of all that makes this valley a special place to live and visit.
The formation of a National Historic District (one of the largest west of
the Mississippi) spurred the restoration of many commercial buildings as
well as the older homes surrounding them. An art colony began to grow and
prosper with the founding of Commonwheel Artist's Coop and the Business of
Art Center. Tourists rediscovered the charms of all the traditional
attractions, plus a new emphasis on outdoor activities like the Intemann
Trail. The family-run motels continued to offer small town hospitality
while more and more Bed and Breakfasts joined their ranks. New residents
were attracted to Manitou Springs by its visual beauty and quality of
life, creating a renewed sense of pride and volunteerism. The ultimate
symbol of this renewal is the resurrection of the springs by the Mineral
Springs Foundation, organized in 198 . Now, thanks to their efforts, most
of the tradition mineral springs are once again accessible, surrounded by
their restored pavilions, and safe to drink. Please don't forget to sample
the waters from which our town began.
