Ivywild, Colorado Explained

Ivywild
Settlement Type:Neighborhood
Pushpin Map:Colorado
Pushpin Map Caption:Ivywild on a map of Colorado
Coordinates:38.8106°N -104.8353°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Colorado
Subdivision Type2:Municipality
Subdivision Name2:Colorado Springs
Established Date:1888
Founder:William B. Jenkins
Unit Pref:Imperial
Elevation Ft:6014
Population Density Km2:auto
Timezone:MST
Utc Offset:−7
Timezone Dst:MDT
Utc Offset Dst:−6
Postal Code Type:Zip code
Postal Code:80905[1]
Area Code:719
Blank Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank Info:193515

Ivywild, Colorado, is a subdivision of Colorado Springs south of the downtown, west of Cascade Avenue and along Cheyenne Creek.[2]

Early history

Before Europeans settled in the area, Cheyenne set up tepees at the confluence of the Fountain and Cheyenne Creeks when they traveled through the area. About 1859, Irving Howbert and his family settled near the creeks.[3] The following year, John Wolfe settled along Cheyenne Creek.[4] The area was called Ivywild by 1879.[5]

Ivywild was established in 1888 and platted by William B. Jenkins, a rancher and miner, who created 43 lots when he subdivided his ranch. His wife Annie named the town.[6] She was a large stockholder of Ramona Mining Company. Her father, William Iles, was the Manager of Manitou Springs' first hotel, La Font.[7] Ivywild had a post office by January 1892.[8]

The Ivywild Improvement Society held annual meetings by 1898, when they discussed the high water rates and taxes.[9] The organization filed suits in 1917 regarding public utility service to the community.[10] Dorchester Park was named for Joseph Dorr, a water rights attorney, who established water rights for Cheyenne Canon and Ivywild. The Iowa native operated a hay farm after having settled in the area in 1874. The park is located across the creek from the site of Dorr's farm.

John H. Bacon, a mayor of Colorado Springs in 1880, lived in Ivywild by 1900.[11] [12]

Early 20th century

The Ivywild Elementary School was founded in 1901 with two bungalow buildings until 1916 when a brick building was constructed. The two bungalows were moved, one became the Edelweiss Restaurant and the other the Ivywild Presbyterian Church.

In 1902, Winfield Scott Stratton (1848-1902) and Thomas F. Burns purchased 10 acres along Cheyenne Boulevard from William B. Jenkins for $16,000 . The equal partners purchased the land for the construction of baseball park called Boulevard Park,[13] just west of Jenkins Pond (now Tejon Street and Cheyenne Boulevard).[14] The base ball park was built by Statton,[15] but not completed until after his death. The Burns brothers (James and Thomas Burns) bought The Millionaires baseball club, and Thomas F. Burns was president of the club.[16] The Colorado Springs Millionaires baseball team played at the park, often known as Base Ball Park, that sat 3,500 people. Boulevard Park, on the Colorado Springs and Interurban Railway's electric trolley route,[17] was about a 5-minute trolley ride from the center of town.

Residents of Ivywild met at Jenkins' house on South Nevada Avenue to discuss the creation of a local government in 1902, when the community was governed by El Paso County, Colorado. It was reported that the time was right because "the growth of the pretty suburb has been steady."[18] Plans were made later that year to begin to incorporate the town.[19]

John Coughlin, a ward boss from Chicago, bought property in 1903 to invest in Ivywild development.[20] He donated a carriage with fire equipment to the town in 1904.[21] Coughlin built an amusement park, Cheyenne Springs Park and Zoo, at Alsace Way and 8th Street in 1906 at the cost of $75,000 .[22] A play entitled, Ivywild: The True Story of John "Bathhouse" Coughlin has been written about the man.

Charles Maddocks, who built houses in Ivywild from wood salvaged from Nikola Tesla's laboratory, bought Boulevard Park in 1904 when the Millionaires dissolved. He built bungalows, including Sears and other mail order homes. The Ivywild Pharmacy and Ivywild Grocery and Market were both doing business by 1916.[23]

Annexation and current status

In 1960, Ivywild had 10,608 residents and was part of the 17,713 population of Cheyenne Mountain Division, was a census county division in El Paso County, Colorado.[24] In 1977, residents voted not to create a village called Cheyenne Mountain by consolidating the towns of Broadmoor, Skyway, Cheyenne Canon, and Ivywild.[25]

A General Assembly bill in 1978 proposed consolidation of the suburbs into Colorado Springs.[26] Ivywild was one of five Colorado Springs suburbs annexed into Colorado Springs in 1980. The others were Broadmoor, Skyway, Cheyenne Canon, and Stratton Meadows. The annexation added 6.5sqmi and 20,000 people to the city's total area and population. The Colorado Supreme Court upheld the annexation in 1982.[27]

Ivywild School mixed-use center

The Ivywild Elementary School and Ivywild Community Church closed in 2009. The former elementary school was made into a multi-use commercial and community center called Ivywild School in 2013. The remodeled 20000square feet building has a delicatessen, brewery, pub, bakery, coffee shop, gift shop, and architectural office. The project was partially funded by the city under an urban renewal project.[28]

Park

Ivywild Park, located at Navajo and Dorchester, was dedicated in 2005. The funding for the only neighborhood park in Ivywild was provided by a federal grant.[29] [30]

Notable people

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Colorado Springs Zip Code Map. zipmap.net. May 7, 2017 .
  2. News: Resident recalls a gentler Ivywild . https://web.archive.org/web/20160308234258/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-20845235.html . dead . March 8, 2016 . Bill Vogrin. The Gazette . Colorado Springs, Colorado . September 28, 2009 . January 25, 2015 .
  3. News: Ivywild comes alive thanks to two women . January 11, 2015 . 23 . Bill Vogrin . The Gazette . Pikes Peak Library District . January 25, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305071729/http://more.ppld.org:8080/SpecialCollections/Index/ArticleOrders/2015/03/852806.pdf . March 5, 2016 .
  4. News: John Wolfe, Early Settler, Is Dead . August 10, 1909 . 5:5 . The Gazette . Pikes Peak Library District . January 25, 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160305064408/http://more.ppld.org:8080/specialCollections/Index/ArticleOrders/2012/437891.pdf . March 5, 2016 .
  5. News: Wildcat killed in Ivywild. November 15, 1879. The Gazette. Colorado Springs, Colorado.
  6. Book: William Bright. Colorado Place Names. 2004. Big Earth Publishing. 978-1-55566-333-9. 93.
  7. News: Mrs. Annie H. Jenkins, Widow of Founder of Ivywild, Dies in Westcliffe; Funeral Here . The Gazette . Colorado Springs . Pikes Peak Library District . July 24, 1940 . 1:6 . January 25, 2015 .
  8. Book: United States Official Postal Guide. January 1892. U.S. Government Printing Office. 509.
  9. News: Ivywild Improvement . March 15, 1898 . The Weekly Gazette . 3-2. Pikes Peak Library District . January 25, 2015 .
  10. Book: Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Annual Report. 1917. 33, 49.
  11. Web site: Col. Bacon's residence, Cheyenne Canon, Colorado Springs . Denver Public Library . January 25, 2015 .
  12. Book: Colorado Springs City Council. John R. Robinson. Town incorporation, city organization and reorganization, also classification as city of the first class. . 1902. City Council. 185.
  13. News: Stratton and Burns - Buy Boulevard Park . The Weekly Gazette . Colorado Springs . March 13, 1902 . 11 . January 25, 2015 .
  14. Book: Dennis Pajot. Baseball's Heartland War, 1902-1903: The Western League and American Association Vie for Turf, Players and Profits. 29 August 2011. McFarland. 978-0-7864-8904-6. 63–64.
  15. Book: Hadix, Roger P. . Baseball in Colorado Springs . 2013 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-0-7385-9954-0 . 29 . en.
  16. Book: Hadix, Roger P. . Baseball in Colorado Springs . 2013 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-0-7385-9954-0 . 29, 38 . en.
  17. Book: Allan C. Lewis. Railroads of the Pike's Peak Region, 1900-1930. 2006. Arcadia Publishing. 978-0-7385-3125-0. 95.
  18. News: A Town Government is Proposed for Ivywild . The Weekly Gazette . Colorado Springs . March 20, 1902 . 11 . January 25, 2015 .
  19. News: Will Incorporate Town of Ivywild . The Weekly Gazette . Colorado Springs . November 20, 1902 . 5:1 . January 25, 2015 .
  20. News: Johnson Tract in Ivywild Will Become New Chicago . January 4, 1903 . The Gazette . 1–5. Pikes Peak Library District . January 25, 2015 .
  21. News: Ivywild Gets Fire Apparatus . July 24, 1904 . The Gazette . 5-2. Pikes Peak Library District . January 25, 2015 .
  22. News: Coney Island Resort in Ivywild to Cost $75,000 . January 5, 1906 . The Gazette . 1-1. Pikes Peak Library District . January 25, 2015 .
  23. Book: Colorado. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Biennial Report. 1916. The Bureau. 112. El Paso County - Mercantile Lists.
  24. Web site: Number of Inhabitants - Colorado . Table 7. Population of Counties, By Census County Divisions: 1960 . 7-1, 7-16 (map) . US Census Bureau, US Government Printing Office . January 25, 2015 .
  25. Web site: Consolidation of four suburbs . November 16, 1977 . Denver Public Library . Western History . January 25, 2015 .
  26. Web site: Consolidation of four suburbs: Analysis of General Assembly Bill . January 22, 1978 . Denver Public Library . Western History . January 25, 2015 .
  27. News: Annexation -- an issue that doesn't go away . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924195946/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-7447027.html . dead . September 24, 2015 . Bill Vogrin . The Gazette . Colorado Springs, Colorado . May 20, 2007. January 25, 2015 .
  28. News: Colorado Springs' Ivywild School Celebrates New Life as a Mixed-Use Commercial Center . Rich Laden . The Gazette . Colorado Springs, Colorado . August 16, 2013 .
  29. News: After struggle, Ivywild gets place to play Community park is ready to build after 11 years . https://web.archive.org/web/20160409211801/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-2764375.html . dead . April 9, 2016 . Ed Sealover. The Gazette . Colorado Springs, Colorado . December 26, 2004 . January 25, 2015 .
  30. News: Briefly Metro . https://web.archive.org/web/20181117054652/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-2773097.html . dead . November 17, 2018 . The Gazette . Colorado Springs, Colorado . October 14, 2005 . January 25, 2015 .
  31. Book: David Roberts. Jean Stafford. 31 December 2003. St. Martin's Press. 978-0-312-30217-7. 23.