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Photo of J. H. Harkins general store in Divide, CO, ca. 1910.

John Hamilton Harkins, whom I’ll refer to here as J.H., was born in Bradford, Pennsylvania, in 1873 to Neil and Charlotte (Priest) Harkins. By the early 1890’s, J. H. was working in Aspen, Colorado, as a druggist’s clerk, and it was in Aspen in January of 1894 that he married fellow Pennsylvanian Lottie Rowena Wint. By 1900, J.H. and Lottie were farming in Teller County, Lottie having given birth by then to four boys and a girl. J.H. and Lottie would eventually be the parents of seven boys and four girls.

I wonder if the couple in the picture are Lottie and J. H. Note the “Groceries” delivery wagon. J.H.’s brother, Henry, worked at the store, and I wonder if he’s in the photo. (J.H.’s brother, George, lived in the area, including Cripple Creek and Colorado Springs.) It appears J.H. was a prosperous business man. In addition to his general store, he ran a wholesale lumber business, which included a sawmill and sales of railroad ties and timber to the area railroads and mines. He also ran the Crescent Telephone Company.

When J.H. and his new bride came to Divide, J.H.’s parents, Neil and Charlotte, had already established themselves there. Neil ran a saloon, and it appears he was the proprietor of the Divide Hotel, which sat immediately south of the Divide train depot. An article in the Buena Vista Herald, a hybrid of news story and advertisement, described the hotel as superior to those found in larger towns, and that its “genial host accommodates his guests with everything from a toothpick to a whale on toast.” It pointed out that his hotel had the only short order house in town.

The town of Divide, located in Teller County about 20 miles west-northwest of Colorado Springs, sits at an altitude of over 9,000 feet at the top of Ute Pass on the North Slope of Pike’s Peak. A man named Sterling Hayden surveyed the area before it was settled and named it Hayden’s Divide, so-named because Ute Pass divides the Arkansas River and Missouri River watersheds. The name was later changed to Divide. Divide’s post office was established on July 26, 1889.

The economy in Divide’s early years rested largely on freighting, cattle and sheep ranching, lumber and the railroads. Prominent field crops were iceberg lettuce and potatoes, and farmers relied significantly on terrace farming. Many of the terraces from back then are still visible in the hills around Divide. “Pike Peak lettuce,” was packed in ice cut from nearby Coulson Lake for shipment via rail car to destinations as far away as Chicago. A decline in lettuce and tomato production in the 1930’s is attributed by some to a change in climate.

Two railways, the Midland Railway and the Midland Terminal Railway, played a big part in Divide’s history. The Midland Railway, established in 1883 as the first standard gauge railway built over the Continental Divide, eventually ran from Colorado City (now known as Old Colorado City, an area within Colorado Springs) through Woodland Park and Divide to Leadville, then on through to Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction via Hagerman Pass. After gold was discovered in Cripple Creek and Victor in 1890, some of the Midland owners decided to build a standard gauge spur, to be known as the Midland Terminal Railway, from Divide to Cripple Creek. The establishment of this spur now meant that Divide contained the junction of two railways. Railway traffic through Divide now included passengers traveling both to and from the gold mining areas, mining equipment being conveyed to the mines and ores from the mines being transported to processing mills at Colorado City.

Though never a big town and not a destination town for most people, once Divide became the junction for the two Midlands, there was growth. In fact, just the influx of railroad employees following the establishment of the Midland Railway through Divide doubled the town’s population. At its peak, Divide saw a population of about 300. However, with the passing of the mining heyday and the high costs of maintaining high altitude railways, both railways eventually saw their demise. Today Divide has a population of about 67.

By 1913, J.H., Lottie and children, as well as J.H.’s parents, had moved to Colorado Springs, with J.H. and his family residing at 1019 E Costilla Street, and Neil and Charlotte residing about three blocks away at 524 South Cedar. The 1913 directory shows Neil as a rancher, with J.H. and Lottie’s daughter, Fleta, boarding with her grandparents while attending Central Business College. Through J.H. and Lottie’s years in Colorado Springs, J.H. worked as a farmer, contractor, manager of the Edgar Lumber and Box Company, and stone mason. (I was surprised to learn of Neil’s work as a rancher and J.H.’s as a farmer, even though they lived in town. I suspect this reflects the more rural environment prevalent in the area at the time.)

Lottie passed away in Colorado Springs in 1926 at age 49. By 1940, J.H. was residing in Woodland Park, where he operated a liquor store. Woodland Park is located about 7 miles northeast of Divide. J.H. died in Woodland Park in October of 1952 at age 77. The remains of J. H., Lottie, J.H’.s parents, and five of J.H. and Lottie’s grown children are buried at the Divide cemetery.

REFERENCES:

  • Colorado, County Marriage Records and State Index, 1862 – 2006 at www.ancestry.com
  • Colorado Post Offices, 1859 – 1989, by Bauer, Ozment and Willard, 1990, The Colorado Railroad Museum, Golden,  CO
  • City Directory for Colorado Springs, Co, dated 1913, 1914, 1918, and 1926 at   www.ancestry.com  
  • “Divide, Colorado – “its future through another gate,” by David Martinek, Pikes Peak Country, May 2011.  No hyperlink is available – to view, Google “Divide, Colorado – its future through another gate, by David Martinek, Pikes Peak Country, May 2011.”   

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