Eagle Valley Manuscripts

: Bert & Nona Gates at D-7; The Gates family has traced their genealogy back 6 generations beginning in Europe. This short family history is of Bert & Nona Gates, 5th generation, and their ranching and homesteading experiences in the Eagle River Valley. The information used in this was compiled by Lemley Gates.

: Brush Creek School souvenir book; A school souvenir booklet from the Brush Creek School, dated April 24, 1908. Louise K. Stein was the school teacher. This small booklet lists the names of the students from the 1907-08 school year. A poem, written by Julia C. R. Dorr, is on the front of the booklet.

: Brush Creek Valley Homesteads and Ditch Claimants; "Brush Creek Valley, Township 5 South, Range 84 West of the 6th Principal Meridian, the area at hte mouth of Breek Creek between the Eagle River and the railroad tracks and west of Brush Creek. Ditch is Lower Rule, Priority #137, Spring in 1884 by H.E. Rule. The ditches are located by right bank or left bank and this is determined by facing downstream. This is supposed to be the original settlers of the Brush Creek Valley." Ditch digging and irrigation were crucial for the first ranchers and homesteading families in the valley. Satellite maps can be used to verify locations and names of ditches today and most are still visible, if not in use. Some ditches have become routes for hiking and biking trails. Brush Creek Valley was a ranching area to some of the first homesteaders in the Eagle area. Water law and rights have become evermore important with growing populations, community needs, and parceled ranches. This document begins with the first claimants in 1884.

: Certificate of Baptism for Melissa Larsen; Melissa Larsen (Trezise) was baptized on 11/30/1913 at Eagle Methodist Episcopal Church.

: Certificate of Honor for Robert Webb; A certificate of honor awarded to "Robert Webb for Regular Attendance, Good Deportment, and commendable progress in the Studies of the Eighth grade of the Eagle School. Awarded at Eagle this 25 day of May 1928." The award was for achievement in Arithmetic. His teacher was Mrs. George Ferguson, Jr.

: Certificate of Naturalization for Hans Larsen; Hans Larsen became a naturalized United States citizen on 10/02/1920 having moved from Denmark.

: Chapter 1: Before 1879; The first chapter of the typescript "Early Days on the Eagle" written by MacDonald Knight. This chapter may be from his thesis (1953) or was part of the final published verison of the book (1964). After serving overseas in the army, he came home and moved directly to Holy Cross City, an isolated mining camp. He eventually became a teacher, was chosen as a Fulbright Scholar, and lived in Paonia for several decades. In 1964, Knight and a colleague wrote "Early Days on the Eagle", which is still considered an excellent reference source for early Eagle County.

: Christmas Concert Program from Brush Creek School; A handmade program for a Christmas concert at the Brush Creek School. Titled "Merry Christmas to All." Undated. 28 performances are listed, along with the names of the performers. The performers include Ralph Beck, Mittie Borah, Eddie Long, Mamie Long, Roy Long, Willie Long, Miss Mahoney, Alan Metheny, the Peterson Girls, Leila Peterson, Lilliam Peterson, Dorothy "Dora" Shryack, Paul Shryack, and Byron Zartman.

: Class Night Program; A program for "Class Night" held at Red Cliff Union High School in Red Cliff, Colorado, on May 15, 1947. The event included music from the school band, awards, and a senior class play. The program appears to be two documents, but the third page ("Baccalaureate Service") was an insert provided in the program.

: Clayton Gerard's Birth Certificate; Certified copy of Clayton's birth certificate dated 01/10/1943

: Climbin' Through - program of high school performance; Program of Eagle High School performance of Climbin' Through: A comedy in three acts. Date unknown but presumed to be 1921-1926 based on the list of student actors.

: Contour sketch of the Eagle Vanadium Company's Consolidated Mines; A contour sketch map of the Eagle Vanadium Company's consolidated mines, located along Brush Creek. This map was created in August of 1915. Charles G. Walker, a mining engineer and surveyor, may have drawn the map. According to Alda Borah, Charles "Chas" G. Walker was in charge of surveying all the mines on Salt and Brush Creek.

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