A Little History

J. W. Prowers, Cattleman and Freighter for whom Prowers County is named

During the last four centuries, Prowers County has been claimed twice each by France and Spain; once each by Mexico and Texas, was part of the United States Territory for a while, and has been included as part of the State of Colorado since 1876. The Kiowa, Cheyenne, Comanche, and Arapahoe Plains Indian tribes migrated through the area and many wintered along the Arkansas River in the cottonwood tree groves.  Petroglyphs and teepee rings remain as evidence of various Indian groups’ centuries’ long existent throughout southeastern Colorado.

In 1833, a fort was created on the Arkansas west of Lamar by traders Charles and William Bent and Ceran St. Vrain. Fort Bent served as a point of protection and a lucrative fur trading post. As migration extended westward, demands for services, food, and goods grew and Fort Bent w

First Prowers County Officials 1892

as rebuilt to accomodate growing commerce along the Santa Fe Trail.

During the land grant period, many small towns sprang up in Prowers and Baca Counties with names such as Atlanta, Minneapolis, Albany, and Boston. Thousands abandoned the land and moved away during the 1930’s Dust Bowl years.

Lamar’s colorful history began with a hijacking in May of 1886. During the time of outlaws and bandits, the westward movement in full swing, townships development was extremely profitable along the Santa Fe Railroad line.

Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar

The most likely site left in southeastern Colorado for town site platting as located at Blackwell Station, railroad mile post 499. However, the adjacent land owner, A. R. Black, refused to negotiate. “Platters” threatened to move the depot and obtain title to land in section 31. Tensions heated and Mr. Black sought a court ordered injunction. Mere hours before it was issued, Mr. Black was lured to Pueblo for “important business” by a false telegram. A railroad wrecking crew moved the Blackwell depot three miles west to mile post 502, throwing aside the Blackwell sign and mounting the name LAMAR, after Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, who served as Secretary of the Interior under President Cleveland.

Lamar served as a stopping point for western migrants from eastern cities because the land office was here, and for a while the rail line ended here. It was also a destination for those suffering from tuberculosis and allergies. Many of the fine homes built along the main streets during the late nineteenth century were torn down to make way for businesses supporting agriculture during the twentieth century.

The Ben Mar Hotel located at on the southeast corner of Main and Olive Streets, circa 1900, the site of the Maxwell House Hotel and, now, PCDI.

Two transcontinental highways now intersect at the corner of Main and Olive Streets, Highway 287 north/south and Highway 50 east/west. Located on this corner the Maxwell House Hotel, built in 1935, was hailed as the finest between Chicago and Denver. Highway 287 is now part of the Ports-to-Plains Federal Project connecting Mexico and Canada.

By Barbara Preskorn, PCDI Director of Tourism and Culture