Early History
The Fountain Creek acted as a borderland between the Ute Indians of the Rocky Mountains and tribes of the Great Plains in the centuries before farmers and ranchers came to the region. Though the creek often slows to a trickle, it was an important transportation corridor for humans and animals year round. The Utes often came to the creek to hunt Bison and other wild game, and it was on these hunting excursions that they encountered tribes such as the Apache, the Cheyenne, and the Comanche. Though these plains tribes had not traditionally come so close to the mountains and the surrounding Ute lands, encroachment from American settlers in the east in the early 19th century forced the natives west in search of new hunting grounds. It is difficult for researchers to understand Native American life and society in Colorado before European colonization because colonization upset the settlement patterns of these tribes long before Anglo-Americans, or even the Spanish missionaries that preceded them, first arrived in the area.
The Pike Expedition
In July 1806 Zebulon Pike was dispatched to the Southwest to explore the Arkansas River and obtain information about the adjacent Spanish territory. Pike established an outpost near the site of present-day Pueblo, Colorado, and then led his party northwest, where they encountered the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Pike followed Fountain Creek in a failed attempt to summit the mountain that would one day bear his name, before turning southward to northern New Mexico where they were apprehended by Spanish officials on the charge of illegal entry into New Mexico. Pike and his men were also accused of being spies, a charge that may have had some truth to it. They were escorted across Texas to the Spanish–American border at Natchitoches, Louisiana, where they were released on July 1, 1807. Stephen Long and his team were the first to ascend the mountain in 1820. ​Source
Little Buttes Station (aka "Rio Grande Buttes," or simply "The Buttes")
The Little Buttes station was a stop along William Jackson Palmer’s Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG). It was constructed on Andrew Lincoln's property in 1872, and operated until 1918. It was used as a telegraph office, post office, and a stagecoach station. It's original milepost was at 93.4, but the mileposts were later adjusted and Little Buttes was at 93.1. The site was just north of the Fountain Creek bridge at the current Milepost 94. It is thought to be named for the many tepee buttes located in the area to the east and south. Structures at the site included the station, a station house, water tank and pump house, and several small support buildings. In the 1930's there was a short spur located at the house track known as the the Roby Spur that served as a cattle loading chute. Over time the name was reduced to "Buttes," known to railroaders as Rio Grande Buttes to differentiate it from ATSF's Santa Fe Buttes station located about a mile further south. A spur track still exists at the north end of the old siding, and the foundations for the depot, water tank, and pump house are still there. The stationboard frame still stands next to the tracks where the name can still be seen. In the accompanying diagram you will notice that in 1889 there was a connection track at Little Buttes with the Denver and New Orleans Railroad, which later became the Colorado and Southern.
On May 29, 1902 massive flooding on Fountain Creek destroyed the station's section house, and on On August 6, 1903 violent storms in the Fountain Valley caused a train wreck near the station with no loss of life. A Colorado Springs Gazette article dated August 11, 1904 describes this event:
The Little Buttes station was a stop along William Jackson Palmer’s Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG). It was constructed on Andrew Lincoln's property in 1872, and operated until 1918. It was used as a telegraph office, post office, and a stagecoach station. It's original milepost was at 93.4, but the mileposts were later adjusted and Little Buttes was at 93.1. The site was just north of the Fountain Creek bridge at the current Milepost 94. It is thought to be named for the many tepee buttes located in the area to the east and south. Structures at the site included the station, a station house, water tank and pump house, and several small support buildings. In the 1930's there was a short spur located at the house track known as the the Roby Spur that served as a cattle loading chute. Over time the name was reduced to "Buttes," known to railroaders as Rio Grande Buttes to differentiate it from ATSF's Santa Fe Buttes station located about a mile further south. A spur track still exists at the north end of the old siding, and the foundations for the depot, water tank, and pump house are still there. The stationboard frame still stands next to the tracks where the name can still be seen. In the accompanying diagram you will notice that in 1889 there was a connection track at Little Buttes with the Denver and New Orleans Railroad, which later became the Colorado and Southern.
On May 29, 1902 massive flooding on Fountain Creek destroyed the station's section house, and on On August 6, 1903 violent storms in the Fountain Valley caused a train wreck near the station with no loss of life. A Colorado Springs Gazette article dated August 11, 1904 describes this event:
"Last year a series of cloudbursts and downpours in the Fountain Valley crippled railroad traffic and tied the D&RG railroad up for 24 hours between here and Pueblo. At 4 o’clock in the morning the train was crossing the Fountain River at Little Buttes, when the trestle gave way and sent the locomotive into the water. For 15 minutes the engineer and fireman battled for life in the waters of the flood, and finally by clinging to pieces of wreckage reached dry land and safety. This washout was caused in a manner similar to that of last Sunday night, but only the engine went under and there was no loss of life. This same night a three-span bridge at Hardscrabble on the same road washed out. The Santa Fe reported water to a depth of five feet in many places along the tracks".
Santa Fe Buttes Station
A special thanks to Larry Green from the Pueblo County Historical Society for his help with this portion of the exhibit.
Santa Fe Buttes Station
The name "Buttes" was also associated with the Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe (ATSF) station about a mile south of the D&RG stop, which the railmen referred to as the "Santa Fe Buttes." It was the location of a double crossover between the north and southbound mainlines. Santa Fe Buttes was located at 643.7 (ATSF mileposts ran south to north starting in Kansas City, while D&RG mile posts ran from north to south starting at the Union Depot in Denver). Santa Fe Buttes station was composed of a few small buildings, though no conclusive evidence has been found showing exactly what they were, and it was also the site of a stockyard and siding. The only remaining evidence of the station is the old crossover tracks and a disconnected spur.
A special thanks to Larry Green from the Pueblo County Historical Society for his help with this portion of the exhibit.
