The Lawson Farm

Nancy Gruber Soon the Lawson Farm ruin will get some sprucing up.  The Town has committed to mowing and renewing the neglected spur trail to the farm home site.  Sometime soon thereafter a historical marker will also be placed along the Spine Trail that it connects to...

What’s in a name? Erie, Colorado

by Jim Stull People often ask how Erie received its name.  The best documented answer is that it is named after Erie, Pennsylvania.  Richard van Valkenburg, considered the “Father of Erie,” named the town after his last official residence before becoming a circuit...

Canfield and the Longmont “Baby Railroad”

by Jim Stull The town of Canfield was located on the eastern border of Boulder County, just west of Erie, at Jay/Jasper Road and N. 119th Street. It was platted in the mid -1870s and named after Isaac Canfield.  In 1873, Isaac Canfield discovered a rich coal seam; he...
The McKenzie Oil Well

The McKenzie Oil Well

The McKenzie Well was the site of the 1901 discovery of the Boulder Oil Field, the first discovery of oil in the multi-state Denver Basin.  Florence driller Isaac Canfield  noticed Boulder’s typography was similar to Florence.  Oil seeps and petroleum odors...
Jim Baker: The Revenant Connection

Jim Baker: The Revenant Connection

by Jim Stull If you have read about Erie, you’ve learned that Jim Baker is believed to have been the first white man to visit the area, living along Coal Creek, mining coal from the east bank, and hauling it to Denver for fuel for businesses. Jim is also renowned for...

An entertaining look into Erie’s history

Among the items in the Erie Historical Societies collection is an almost complete set of the Erie News printed from June of 1903 thru January of 1906. The editor was Clyde Stanley a 16 year old. The following are excerpts taken from the pages of those papers. 1903...