'09 a year of history worth celebrating

History buffs are going to love the Pikes Peak area in 2009, with its celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Garden of the Gods becoming a public park and, on March 13, observances of the centennial of the death of Colorado Springs' founder Gen. William Jackson Palmer.

Toss in the 150th anniversary of the Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush in 1859 and the founding of Colorado City, and you've got a historic bonanza.

Colorado Springs officials are deep into planning ways to spread the word in hopes of deepening the under standing of the region's rich history. And they are trying to cash in on the growing popularity nationwide of "heritage tourism."

Already, Matt Mayberry, director of the Pioneers Museum, has a gold rush exhibit planned. And he's won a federal designation for Colorado Springs as a "Preserve America" community, making it eligible for federal grants to help preserve and promote the city's cultural and natural heritage sites.

"Heritage tourism is a specific area of the tourism market and it's growing," Mayberry said. "Heritage tourists are a distinct group of people identified as overnight visitors who plan to visit historic sights and museums during their stays. They tend to be more affluent and better educated, and they spend more money while they travel.

"That's a good tourism market to aim for, and we're trying to develop a more refined way of going after it."

A "Preserve America" grant would be a good start. The 2007 federal budget contained about $5 million for grants to be used to develop management strategies for preservation and use of "heritage assets." Additional grants are to be awarded in September.

Mayberry requested money to help his Cultural Services Department better market key city historic sites on the Internet to attract more heritage tourists. His immediate goal is to do a better job routing tourists to the Garden of the Gods, Rock Ledge Ranch Historic Site, Red Rock Canyon Open Space, Monument Valley Park downtown and the Pioneers Museum.

"For example, somebody might be interested in the 150th anniversary of the Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush, so we'll suggest they go to the Rock Ledge Ranch because they interpret that era or go to the Pioneers Museum for an exhibit on the gold rush," Mayberry said.

In addition, the grants would be used to connect the dots for visitors.

Mayberry wants to do a better job telling the story of how the sites are related: The Pikes Peak or Bust Gold Rush (triggered, oddly enough, by the discovery of gold in Cherry Creek 60 miles north) led to the founding of Colorado City - now Colorado Springs' west-side historic district - which attracted thousands to the region, including Palmer.

The story will tell visitors that it was at Palmer's urging that fellow railroad magnate Charles Perkins bought the Garden of the Gods property. Rather than building an estate as Palmer suggested, Perkins opened it to the public. It was forever preserved as a city park after his death when his heirs turned over the deed, and the City Council passed a resolution accepting it on Dec. 22, 1909.

Meanwhile, Palmer went on his preservation kick, setting aside parks including Monument Valley.

Red Rock Canyon was the site of mills where gold was processed as well as quarries from the era.

When it comes to heritage tourism, Colorado Springs starts with a big advantage over many communities. Getting visitors here is not a problem. The Garden of the Gods boasts upwards of 2 million a year. Now it's a matter of distracting them from simply cruising around the rocks.

"We want people to know that if they are at the Garden, then the Rock Ledge Ranch is adjacent or they are only a few miles from Monument Valley Park and the museum," Mayberry said. "Improving way-finding to link these sites and area trails is a big component of this.

"Eventually, the program will encompass a variety of sites, but for now we're concentrating on just the sites I oversee."

He's been working with Experience Colorado Springs at Pikes Peak, which promotes the region as a worldwide tourist destination and recruits conventions and other events. Eventually, the plan calls for appointment of an advisory board that will oversee creation of a Web-based marketing program and site that will steer heritage tourists to Colorado Springs and its five targeted sites.

It's a project that excites Terry Sullivan, president of the visitors and convention agency.

"We realized about 10 years ago that heritage tourism was a potential revenue generator," Sullivan said. "The old days of sitting around the pool are being replaced by people who are active. They want to experience things. The heritage tourism trend is something we are marketing."

In fact, Sullivan has a staff member who specializes in selling heritage tourism packages to visitors and groups, and the 5-year-old Preserve America program is helping boost the effort.

"History as a marketing niche really took off in 2005 or so," Sullivan said. "The Preserve America initiative creates a potential new demand and could bring new visitors into our region. It attracts people looking for a different experience, an educational experience."

DETAILS

The discovery of gold in Cherry Creek in 1859, which led 100,000 fortune-hunters to Colorado, will be examined in a new Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum exhibit titled Going for the Gold: Pikes Peak or Bust!

The exhibit opens Nov. 15 and will run through Sept. 5, 2009.

Actually, the name of the gold rush is a misnomer, said Matt Mayberry, museum director. The discovery was 60 miles north of the Pikes Peak region, and later traced to the mountains west of Denver.

But it was given the name of Pikes Peak because that mountain was the most identifiable landmark for Colorado, Mayberry said.

And it became a local event because it led to the founding of Colorado City, the jumping off point for pioneers heading up Ute Pass to mines in Leadville and Park County, he said.

"The rush brought people, trade, trails and towns to this region," Mayberry said.

The museum will use historic artifacts, photographs, documents and the true stories of the men, women, and children who traveled to Pikes Peak to illustrate the intensity of the gold fever that struck easterners.

The exhibit will explore the economic and political conditions of pre-Civil War America that compelled ordinary people to pack a wagon and risk the long journey across the Great Plains through hostile Indian territory to hunt for gold.

Visitors will learn about the origin of Colorado City and El Paso County and the folks who went "bust" - punished by the harsh conditions and bad luck.

The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For more information about this exhibit or other museum activities call 385-5990 or visit www.cspm.org.

 
Preserve America

Here are the five Colorado Springs sites covered by the Preserve America designation:

Rock Ledge Ranch

An educational, nonprofit living history farm and museum. It depicts life in the Pikes Peak region from 1775 during the era of the American Indian to the 1860s as a pioneer homestead to the 1880s as home and ranch to 1907 as a country estate.

Garden of the Gods

A 1,319-acre city park. It is designated a National Natural Landmark Land for the park was assembled by railroad magnate Charles Elliot Perkins and donated to the city by his children in 1909.

Red Rock Canyon Open Space

A 785-acre park, one of the city's newest, featuring more of the sandstone formations visible in the Garden of the Gods.

Monument Valley Park

A 153-acre park donated by Colorado Springs founder Gen. William Jackson Palmer. It runs adjacent to Monument Creek, featuring walking and biking paths, a pool, tennis and basketball courts, fishing ponds, a geologic column and a horticultural demonstration garden.

Pioneers Museum

Located downtown in the restored 1903 El Paso County Courthouse at 215 S. Tejon St., the museum portrays the history and culture of the area.