An Address of a Different Kind con't
Our valley provides many opportunities to tour different farms, vineyards, artist studios and cottage industries so it wouldn’t be surprising if you find yourself in need of directions at some point during your visit. Out of habit, and maybe based on our strong sense of community and history, most locals will mention one mesa or another while giving you the requested directions so a little background might be helpful…
The first pioneers came into the North Fork Valley over Black Mesa, from Sapinero, starting in the fall of 1881. They staked their claims that later allowed them to file for legal ownership of the land.
Local historian Mamie Ferrier wrote that, “a flood of homesteaders came in 1882 but the area was not surveyed until after early 1883. Surveyor, Byron Bryant and his crew started a survey line from Cimarron in December of 1882, coming down the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon. It took six weeks before the crew established a survey point near the confluence of the Gunnison and
North Fork Rivers.
After the area was surveyed, homesteaders could legally file at the Government Land Office in Gunnison, and later, in Montrose. Most of the land was a cash sale for $1.25 per acre. It took from one to four years from the time the fee was paid to the time the land patent was issued. The first land claimed was usually that which could be irrigated with the least difficulty and homesteaders began constructing ditches almost immediately.
Settlers in the North Fork area often designated mesas as communities, named for their first settlers or a geographic feature. Some mesas are ill defined and often overlap which adds to the confusion when describing certain locations. A good example would be Crawford and Grandview Mesas, located between Hotchkiss and Crawford. The name of the irrigation ditch that waters the mesa was used to define the boundary. Grandview Ditch irrigates Grandview Mesa and Clipper Ditch irrigates Crawford Mesa.
There are over 30 different mesas that are designated in the North Fork Valley and as in most rural, agricultural areas, water generally dictates a big part of what is growing on those mesas.
Over the years some uses have changed. For example, the first settlers on Fruitland Mesa, south of Hotchkiss, were families that had been farming in Iowa, where conditions were more advantageous. Water shortage on Fruitland Mesa was always a big problem and most of the fruit orchards that those first settlers planted were removed and replaced with hay and pasture land.
Pitkin Mesa, located northwest of Paonia was originally homesteaded by Zed Watson, D.W. McKee and George Fry, prospectors who moved to the North Fork Valley from the mining community of Pitkin, in Gunnison County. Those folks named the mesa for George Pitkin, governor of Colorado from 1879 to 1883. While mining is definitely part of our history, the lushness of Pitkin Mesa and the abundance of water, would lead you to believe that those gentlemen did not do much mining on the mesa.
Today you will find an abundance of agricultural activities on our mesas and touring them, either by car or bicycle, is a great way to explore our valley.
Our valley provides many opportunities to tour different farms, vineyards, artist studios and cottage industries so it wouldn’t be surprising if you find yourself in need of directions at some point during your visit. Out of habit, and maybe based on our strong sense of community and history, most locals will mention one mesa or another while giving you the requested directions so a little background might be helpful…
The first pioneers came into the North Fork Valley over Black Mesa, from Sapinero, starting in the fall of 1881. They staked their claims that later allowed them to file for legal ownership of the land.
Local historian Mamie Ferrier wrote that, “a flood of homesteaders came in 1882 but the area was not surveyed until after early 1883. Surveyor, Byron Bryant and his crew started a survey line from Cimarron in December of 1882, coming down the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon. It took six weeks before the crew established a survey point near the confluence of the Gunnison and
North Fork Rivers.
After the area was surveyed, homesteaders could legally file at the Government Land Office in Gunnison, and later, in Montrose. Most of the land was a cash sale for $1.25 per acre. It took from one to four years from the time the fee was paid to the time the land patent was issued. The first land claimed was usually that which could be irrigated with the least difficulty and homesteaders began constructing ditches almost immediately.
Settlers in the North Fork area often designated mesas as communities, named for their first settlers or a geographic feature. Some mesas are ill defined and often overlap which adds to the confusion when describing certain locations. A good example would be Crawford and Grandview Mesas, located between Hotchkiss and Crawford. The name of the irrigation ditch that waters the mesa was used to define the boundary. Grandview Ditch irrigates Grandview Mesa and Clipper Ditch irrigates Crawford Mesa.
There are over 30 different mesas that are designated in the North Fork Valley and as in most rural, agricultural areas, water generally dictates a big part of what is growing on those mesas.
Over the years some uses have changed. For example, the first settlers on Fruitland Mesa, south of Hotchkiss, were families that had been farming in Iowa, where conditions were more advantageous. Water shortage on Fruitland Mesa was always a big problem and most of the fruit orchards that those first settlers planted were removed and replaced with hay and pasture land.
Pitkin Mesa, located northwest of Paonia was originally homesteaded by Zed Watson, D.W. McKee and George Fry, prospectors who moved to the North Fork Valley from the mining community of Pitkin, in Gunnison County. Those folks named the mesa for George Pitkin, governor of Colorado from 1879 to 1883. While mining is definitely part of our history, the lushness of Pitkin Mesa and the abundance of water, would lead you to believe that those gentlemen did not do much mining on the mesa.
Today you will find an abundance of agricultural activities on our mesas and touring them, either by car or bicycle, is a great way to explore our valley.