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Photo postcard of commercial establishments and people in Hoehne, CO, ca. 1930’s.

The town of Hoehne, also referred to as Hoehnes, sits in Las Animas County in southeastern Colorado.  It’s named for German immigrant William Hoehne, who is said to be the first settler in the area.  The town sits about one mile south of the old Santa Fe Trail, which served as a commercial highway between Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

In the photo we see two Hoehne store fronts, one for a pool hall and one for a dance hall, anchored at the left by what appears to be a one-pump Texaco filling station.  In the group of three men and a boy standing next to the pick-up, the man on the left rests his left hand on a hand truck carrying a barrel which probably contains motor oil;  atop the barrel is what appears to be a crank handle in the up position, which is probably the means for pumping oil from the barrel to another container or into a vehicle engine. 

Note the signs:  the Texaco gasoline-motor oil sign at the left; the “Climax” plug chewing tobacco sign above and to the right of the boy standing near the gas pump;  the “Little Boy Blue” grape soda sign above and to the left of the hand truck man; and beneath the “Dance Hall” sign is a sign for “Orange Julep” beverage.    I can’t make out the name on the oil barrel.

The name of the proprietor of the pool hall is Matt Karcich Paskvich.  He and his wife, Nane, immigrated from Italy and were probably of Slovenian descent. 

William Hoehne, also known by the nickname “Dutch Bill,” was born in Germany in 1832 and emigrated to the United States in 1854.  By the spring of 1865 he had established a mercantile store in Trinidad, Colorado, and it’s likely that before coming to Trinidad he had been residing in New Mexico Territory.  The very next year he would marry Prudencia Baca, who was born in 1829 in the New Mexico Territory town of La Joya.  Prudencia was the mother of two sons from a previous marriage, Antonio and Juan Salas.   Not long after Bill and Prudencia’s marriage in New Mexico Territory, the Hoehne family would head north to Trinidad, where Bill would continue to operate his store.    

Around 1868 or 1869, the Hoehnes would relocate to an area 12 miles downstream from Trinidad on the Purgatory River to begin farming.  There Bill would build a two-story grist mill made of adobe.  Although he started building his mill after a man by the name of C. M. Farrand started building his, Bill’s was the first to start turning out floor.   Both mills would be heavily used by area farmers.   Bill’s mill building is still standing, although it is now a one-story structure.  

In addition to building the first grist mill in the area to go into operation, Bill was also credited with other firsts:  1) digging the area’s first irrigation ditch, the start of extensive use of irrigation in the area; 2) introducing the pinto bean; and 3) introducing the first threshing machine to the area.   A very productive farmer, he farmed nearly one thousand acres of land.     

The evolvement of the Hoehne settlement into the town of Hoehne was probably helped along by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad, which built a siding and a water tower next to the settlement.     According to an article in the Las Vegas (New Mexico) Times, the railroad siding is what Bill got for giving the railroad the right of way through 800 acres of his land.  He had also offered them a 15-acre tract of land if they would build a station on it, but they declined to do so.  The railway did grant to Bill a lifetime rail pass for his generous donation of right of way, but Bill later learned, to his dismay, that the pass had been revoked upon the retirement of one of the railroad’s officials,  A. A. Robinson.    

The Hoehne post office would be established in 1886, and the town would see some prosperity.  It would boast of a hotel, stores and a blacksmith’s shop, and it eventually got a train depot.  However, the Dust Bowl of the 20’s, followed by the Great Depression in the 30’s, sapped much life from the town.  The depot would close in 1967.  When I look at the people in this photo, I can’t help thinking they have been through the Dust Bowl or the Great Depression, or both. They appear to be just plain beat.

Although agriculture and ranching are still active in the area, the town itself has become a bedroom community for people with jobs in Trinidad.  The current population of Hoehne is about 80. 

Seeing as how the town of Hoehne would evolve out of the Hoehnes’ settlement, I assumed that Dutch Bill and his family would be there to stay.  But it was not to be.    After about 10 years at their farm, the Hoehnes would pick up and move back to New Mexico Territory.  The year 1880 finds them living at Ute Creek in New Mexico Territory with a new member of the family, an adopted son named Blas, who at the time of the 1880 Census was 4 years old.  Bill at this point had become a grocer, although he would subsequently return to farming. 

Bill and Prudencia would live out their lives in New Mexico Territory.  Prudencia would pass away in Colonia in July of 1900 at age 70, and in January of 1916  William would pass away at age 84 at the home of his son, Blas, in Santa Rosa.    

REFERENCES:

  • “Boys Scouts on the Santa Fe Trail,” Bent’s Fort Chapter Santa Fe Trail Association July 2013 Newlsetter at https://www.santafetrail.org/chapters/bentsfort/BFC_Newsletter_July_2013_PDFNVersion.pdf (Note:  This is not a hyperlink.  To reach this site, Google “ bent’s fort chapter santa fe trail association july 2013 newsletter.”)
  • “Colorado Post Offices – 1859 – 1989,” by Bauer, Ozment and Willard, 1990, published and distributed by the Colorado Railroad Museum

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