The History of Rock Creek Farm

Plains Indians, including Cheyenne and Arapaho, lived in this area prior to the discovery of gold in Boulder County. The women of these tribes were recognized for their quilling or beading. Mothers used extravagantly ornamented cradleboards to transport their babies. She carried her child in its cradle on her back with a buckskin band across her chest and upper arms. On longer trips, the baby in its cradle might have been put into a willow basket attached to a crude vehicle, called a travois, drawn by a dog or horse.

In the late-1850s, miners who came to Boulder County and did not strike it rich, turned to other trades such as farming. Agricultural opportunities in eastern Boulder County gave way to settlements such as Longmont, Valmont, Lafayette, and Pella. Mary Miller was affectionately known as the "Mother of Lafayette." In 1863, she and her husband came west, bringing the first threshing machine to the Colorado Territory. They ran a large road house and stage station for the Overland Mail Stage Route from 1864 to the 1870s on what is now county open space. Stage traffic at the Rock Creek Station dropped to almost nothing but local trips because of competition from the Denver Pacific and Kansas Pacific railroads. The Millers then ran a successful cattle ranch in the area and meat market in Boulder. Mary Miller founded the town of Lafayette in 1888 and named it for her husband who died of heat stroke in 1878.

Boulder County purchased a portion of the Rock Creek Valley for agricultural preservation in 1980. Since that time, open space has provided a large buffer between the growing communities in southeastern Boulder County. It was the first acquisition which the then open space director, Carolyn Holmberg, promoted in 1979. After her death in the fall of 1998, Rock Creek Farm was rededicated to include her name in 2000.

Did You Know?

1. The largest pumpkin on record weighed 1,502 pounds in 2007.

2. Pumpkins are native to North America and have been domestically grown here for over 5,000 years.

3. Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkin, dried them and made mats.

4. Native Americans used pumpkin seeds for food and medicine.

5. Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.

6. In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crust of pies, not the filling.

7. Pumpkins are used to make soups, pies and breads.

8. Pumpkin Flowers are edible.

9. Colonists sliced off the pumpkin tops, removed the seeds and filled the insides with milk, spices and honey. This was baked in hot ashes and is the origin of the pumpkin pie.

10. The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over 5 feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 144 eggs and took 6 hours to bake.

11. Pumpkins are 90% water.

12. Pumpkins are low in calories, fat and sodium and high in fiber. They are good sources of Vitamin A, Vitamin B, Potassium, Protein and Iron.

13. Pumpkins range in size from under 1 pound to over 1000 pounds.

14. Pumpkins are a fruit.

15. 80% of the pumpkin supply in the US is available during the month of October.

Pumpkin Information:

An article about pumpkins on Wikipedia

Information about Jack-o'-Lanterns on Wikipedia

The Halloween holiday on Wikipedia