Life…Death…Iron

Day #15 features Bordenville, Colorado

Bordenville was founded in 1865 by Timothy and Olney Borden, brothers from New York. The brothers chose a wide pasture along Tarryall Creek seven miles southeast of present-day Jefferson, Colorado. Unlike most coming to Colorado Territory at that time who were in search of gold, the Borden brothers went into the lumber and supplies business.

 

Travelers heading for the gold camps of South Park to the west of Tarryall Creek could, rest, eat, and get supplies at the Borden brothers ranch. A few more settlers soon arrived and set up permanent quarters in and around the Bordern brothers operation, and the site became known as “Bordenville” and was important stop and staging area along the old Colorado City-to-Fairplay road.

Ranches along Tarryall Creek radiated out from Bordenville in every direction. A school was built for the growing number of children. A blacksmith shop, general store, and stagecoach station rounded out the businesses at Bordenville in its peak years of the 1870s. A tiny cemetery was established on a knoll east of the settlement.

 

In 1895 three members of the school board were murdered in the school house by an overprotective father who erroneously thought the board had convened to discuss the behavior of his children. Realizing his error the man rode his horse 18 miles to Como and turned himself in. He was found guilty on three charges of murder, and was hung at the Colorado Territorial Prison in Canon City a short time later.

 

Today Bordernville is just a small cluster of buidings along Highway 77 between Jefferson and Tarryall Reservoir. Numerous abandoned ranches and small cabins in the immediate vicinity make the trek to Bordenville worthwhile.

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