MSS. Manuscript Collections

Abstract Records documenting the annual Festival of the West celebration. The Festival of the West began as a project of the Jefferson County Historical Commission for the Centennial-Bicentennial celebration of July 3-4, 1976. It was ranked among the top 20 national bicentennial events. The event was so popular that the Board of County Commissioners asked the Historical Commission to continue it and it grew into one of the biggest 4th of July festivals in the Denver metropolitan area. Held at the...

Abstract

Working papers of George W. Parfet, Jr. regarding issues before the Jefferson County Board of County Commisioners.

Scope and Contents Small book containing meeting minutes of the Golden City and Arapahoe Ditch Company (later the Farmers' High Line Canal) from April 10, 1876 to September 15, 1879, recorded by Secretary A.L. Hyatt. Meetings were held at the brick school house at Ralston Creek. Book also contains the by-laws of the company and some accounting notes. In addition, the book seems to have served as an account book of Mary J. Hyatt, who owned a considerable amount of property, with lists of properties for sale;...

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Collection of miscellaneous historical maps including county planning maps, highway and transportation maps showing traffic-congested areas in Denver, range maps, township maps, zoning maps, U.S.G.S. maps and others. There are photocopies of many in addition to the original. See collection organization list for individual map titles.

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Collection contains petition for organization; meeting minutes of the Board of County Commissioners regarding organization; election notices and results; bonds and oaths of directors; petitions for land exclusion; and dissolution papers.

Scope and Contents Victorian-era drawing room play, also called an exhibition and parlor drama. Drawing room plays were developed during the Victorian period in the U.K. and were designed for entertaining guests in the drawing room of one's home. They include instructions for simple costumes and props as well as stage directions. Initiating a Granger, a farce, takes place in a student's room in an agricultural college where two freshmen are to be initiated into a grange organized by the...

Abstract From the introduction: Driving along Indiana Street in rural Jefferson County, Colorado, south of the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant, a knoll a short distance north of State Highway 72, you may notice a rectangular plot of ground enclosed by a low galvanized chain link perimeter fence with nothing in it but grasses and one isolated pinyon pine tree. But if you were to take a closer look, you might notice some small stone monuments nearly buried in the grass, and wonder what they...

Scope and Contents These files contain Jean Theobald's research on the history of the Wide Acres residential area in Jefferson County, Colorado. The Daniels Welchester Neighborhood Association asked Theobald to do this history in the late 1990s. Wide Acres was developed in the 1920s by W.A.J. Bell as a country living environment for successful businessmen who worked in Denver and could commute there on the Interurban streetcar. Its perimeters were marked with large, stone pillars with green...

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Tracings of recorded subdivision plats; surveys by former county surveyors; maps showing road, railroad, or ditch rights of way; and miscellaneous maps created by private engineers or surveyors all compiled and/or collected by the former Jefferson County Abstract Company of Golden, Colorado.

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Book containing stock certificates for shares in the Jefferson County Abstract, Real Estate and Investment Company of Golden, Colorado. The book contains intricately designed certificates and receipts showing number of shares owned, date, certificate number, corporate seal and signatures, and is dated from 1891 to 1939.

Scope and Contents This collection contains both bound and loose issues of various newspapers. Bound issues of the Golden Transcript (also known previously as Colorado Transcript and Golden Daily Transcript), are dated from October 1960 to June 2012. Bound issues of the Canyon Courier are dated from 1958 to June 2020. Bound issues of the High Timber Times are dated July 1998 to June 1998. Miscellaneous bound issues include the Jefferson Herald (Arvada), dated June 11, 1964 to June 7, 1965; The...

Abstract

Base maps showing railroad lines and other routes, platted towns, and topography. Relief shown by shading and spot heights. Cartographer unknown.

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Photographic negatives of planimetry maps, numbered 1-271, orthorectified aerials covering Jefferson County, Colorado. Envelopes may contain two photos, one unlabeled (circa 1976) and one labeled 1985.

Scale 1" : 800'

Use Orthophoto Map Index. Squares with the red X are the areas that are available.

Content Description Collection consists of the following:"Jefferson County Schools before 1950" by the Jefferson County Retired Teachers Association, 1977. A history of all public school buildings in Jefferson County prior to reorganization in 1950. Includes hand-drawn maps showing locations of school buildings in the county from approximately 1870-1950, brief descriptions of how the buildings got their names, and biographical information on early educators in the county. Covers Arvada, Golden,...

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Memorial address on the life and character of William McKinley, President of the United States, by Hon. John Hay. Delivered before the two Houses of Congress February 27, 1902. Appendix: Proceedings in the House of Representatives, February 27, 1902.

Scope and Contents Ken-Caryl Ranch, Littleton, Colorado, began on Oct. 17, 1914, when John Charles Shaffer purchased 2,660 acres of land southwest of Denver, naming the ranch for his sons, Kent and Carroll. This collection contains historical information gathered on the Ranch by descendants of the original owners. Photocopies only of manuscripts, photographs, and newspaper and newsletter articles about the ranch and its former land owners. Includes "Ken-Caryl Ranch History" by Jo McCormick; "Memories of the...

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Booklet containing the rules and regulations adopted by the Lakewood Sanitation District of Lakewood, Colorado.

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Reports and research materials related to the historic Lindsay Ranch located on the former Rocky Flats property in Arvada, Colorado. There was an effort in 2000, supported by County Commissioner Pat Holloway, to determine if the property qualified for National or State Historic Register listing, and if so, to ensure preservation of the ranch after the decommissioning of Rocky Flats. This collection is a compiliation of materials gathered by the archives.

Scope and Contents Correspondence and telegrams between the Provost Marshall of Colorado and the Local Board for Jefferson County regarding allotments, calls for volunteers, induction lists, instructions and train schedules for movement of men to various military training camps during World War I. Induction lists include serviceman's name, order and serial numbers, home address, and name of camp entrained to during the war. These lists are not records of the men who registered in Jefferson County for the WWI...

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Map of the Denver metropolitan areas, abstracted by R.W. Gelder, Civil Engineer, Greeley, Colorado in 1915. Map covers the area in ranges 67-70 west and townships 2-5 south, including areas of Jefferson, Adams and Arapahoe Counties adjoining Denver. Shows ownership of rural land.