KEOTA
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KEOTA |
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NAME: Keota COUNTY: Weld ROADS: 2WD GRID: 1 CLIMATE: Cold and snow in winter, hot in summer BEST TIME TO VISIT: Accesible all year long, roads very muddy when wet |
COMMENTS:
Head east off I-25 at Ft. Collins exit and Highway 14 approximately 50 miles past the town of Briggsdale to County Road 103, north 5 miles. Last known residents will be leaving September, 1999. Novelist James Michener used Keota as his center of operations while writing his novel "Centennial". The area around here was also the base for the TV series by the same name. An 11 miles side trip to the Pawnee Buttes is worth the trip - Michener referred to these buttes as Rattlesnake Buttes in his book. Keota lies in the center of the Pawnee National Grasslands which covers thousands of acres of public land. Keota is not the traditional 'ghost town' one thinks of in Colorado because it is not in the mountains. However, it played a big part in the settling of the state and was a center for the vast cattle industry and later agriculture. Best times to visit are spring and fall - summer and winter can be very hot and cold respectively. You get a great feel for what it was like to be a pioneer on the Great American Desert. The prairie blooms in the spring and is truly beautiful. There aren't any facilities within 15-20 and make sure your gas tanks are full when you leave Briggsdale. A trip to the cemetary is worth the trip - 1.6 miles out of town on the main street heading east. REMAINS: The old gracery & general store and later the post office still stand along with a few other abandoned buildings. The old water tower is still standing. A few old foundations are scattered around. |
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Elevation is 4961' above sea level. 'Keota' is an Indian word meaning "Gone to visit" or "The fire goes out". It was a station stop on the 'Old Prairie Dog Express" on the Colorado-Wyoming Division of the Burlington-Missouri Railroad. Keota was established as a homestead in 1880 by two sisters, Mary and Eva Beardsley and sold to the Lincoln Land and Cattle Co. in 1888. The railroad (used mainly for cattle shipping) was abandoned and the trackage removed in 1975. The Dean Bivens family, who maintained the roads, are the last two residents and will be moving in September, 1999. Keota lost its incorporated status in 1990. There were four different newspapers at four different times from 1908-1975. The school foundation is still there and was established in 188. Submitted by: Jay Warburton
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