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In the late 19th century, a feverish wave of migration swept toward the Western frontier. While the transcontinental railroad brought settlers to the edge of the plains, the tracks only went so far. To bridge the gap between the railheads and the remote “boom towns” of Southeast Colorado, a vital network of stagecoach lines emerged.…
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A look back at the heart of the Southeast Colorado community of Vilas, and a glimpse at how its story might be told in the Digital Age. For the residents of Baca County, Colorado, a Kent Homsher social media post with a single photograph of “Tony’s Market” was enough to unleash a flood of memories…
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Dear Plainsman Readers, As we headed into 2025, we promised one more year of printing the Plainsman Herald. Because of your continued demand and loyalty, we adjusted rates, made changes, and found a way to keep the paper in print throughout the year. The year 2025 brought challenges both exciting and exhausting. Putting together a…
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History and Stories
Search “History” above to read more like this
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In the late 19th century, a feverish wave of migration swept toward the Western frontier. While the transcontinental railroad brought settlers to the edge of the plains, the tracks only went so far. To bridge the gap between the railheads and the remote “boom towns” of Southeast Colorado, a vital network of stagecoach lines emerged.…
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A look back at the heart of the Southeast Colorado community of Vilas, and a glimpse at how its story might be told in the Digital Age. For the residents of Baca County, Colorado, a Kent Homsher social media post with a single photograph of “Tony’s Market” was enough to unleash a flood of memories…
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A recent Facebook post by Steve Doner shared a brief Springfield Herald clipping (below) dated January 12, 1900, documenting trapping activity along the river in southeastern Colorado. That short notice, combined with a comment recalling wolf trapping by Kent Homsher’s grandfather, prompted a return to the archives and to earlier research I conducted several years…
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In 2014 I gave a talk at the Baca County Museum about a topic I’d heard about my whole life— broomcorn. Ironic, I suppose, that I would give a talk on this topic. I don’t really remember broomcorn and didn’t know much about it. What I knew while giving the talk is that I knew…
