He’s done it again. Estes Park Historian Laureate James H. Pickering has once again added to our knowledge and understanding of the early history of the Estes Valley.
In an impressively researched work published by the Rocky Mountain Conservancy, “When the Park Was Young,” Pickering tells the stories of the early years of Rocky Mountain National Park and the interactions between residents and the early superintendents of the newly formed national park system.
National parks were brand new, with a profoundly different mission than the Forest Service. Instead of commercializing the forests’ resources, the National Park Service was tasked with preserving the natural beauty and ecosystems of wilderness areas. There was bound to be conflict with locals, and conflict there was.
Soon after forming the RMNP, the NPS and local superintendents faced difficult questions about how to regulate land use while providing public access and preserving the park’s character for future generations.
As the park developed, numerous properties within its boundaries were owned by private individuals. One of those properties was a substantial commercial development at Deer Ridge Junction, which Orville Bechtel and the Schubert brothers, Emil and Edward, had owned.
Pickering’s work recounts the multi-decade efforts of the park service to acquire the land at the junction of High Drive, which at that time extended from Upper Beaver Meadows, and the road from Horseshoe Park.
Congestion was a concern, especially when the Schuberts installed gas pumps on the road, which obstructed traffic as vehicles stopped to refuel.
The park finally acquired the property in 1961 from Edward Schubert, and the buildings were torn down soon thereafter. Schubert used the proceeds from the sale to purchase land and develop the National Park Village North, the current location of the Fall River Visitor Center.
When the complex opened in June of 1961, Pickering writes that it was “reminiscent of its predecessor, the village was anchored by a Deer Ridge-style gift and curio shop and adjacent restaurant, and included a grocery, gasoline station, livery, beauty shop, and laundromat. There was also an observation tower, as on Deer Ridge, a signature attraction, and a Civil War-era miniature train circling a half-mile track.”
Edward Schubert was the father of Pat Schubert, who married John Webermeier. In 1978, Pat and John built National Park Village South at the corner of Moraine Avenue and Marys Lake Road, and in 1987, they sold National Park Village North to H.W. Stewart. The Webermeiers’ son, Scott, became the manager of National Park Village South, which included a restaurant, The Other Side, a gift shop, the Country Market grocery store, a laundromat, and a gas station. The family sold the property in 2015 but continues to operate the grocery store to this day.
In the early days of RMNP, one of the park officials’ initial concerns was regulating hired transportation services within the park. At the time, there were numerous jitney drivers in the market, not all of whom were scrupulous.
In 1919, Park Superintendent Louis Claude Way instituted a transportation policy that limited hired cars to a single transportation company and required the use of published rates.
This did not sit well with Enos Mills, the force behind the creation of the park and the operator of the Longs Peak Inn in the Tahosa Valley. In open defiance of the park leadership’s authority, Mills sent tourists into the park with his hired driver.
Mills was joined in his protests by a surrogate for F.O. Stanley, whose steam-powered cars were not utilized by the sole transportation company authorized to operate in the park. A committee composed of Colorado luminaries backed Way, and in November 1921, they issued a report in full support of park policy. By September 1922, Mills was dead at age 52, and the wind came out of the sails of the opposition.
That, however, was not the end of the controversy, as government officials negotiated about jurisdiction over the roads in the park between the federal and state governments. The controversy was not settled until 1929, when the state ceded its jurisdictional rights to roads within the park to the federal government.
Pickering also tells the story of Fern Lake Lodge, photographer Frank Byerly, and the reclusive “Miner Bill,” as well as the history of early offices for park officials. These are fascinating stories in their own right, which highlight some of the characters and locations from the early era of the park.
“When the Park Was Young” is an interesting look into the past of our park, and it is really a great read. Thanks to Estes Park’s Historian Laureate for further enriching our understanding of our local history.
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“When the Park Was Young” is published by the Rocky Mountain Conservancy and is available at the Conservancy’s Nature Store on Fall River Road, 1000 US Hwy 36 or online. The softcover is $26.95, and an autographed hardcover edition is available for $65.95.