© 2007 by Bob Coulson. [Bob is one of our Heritage Writers, a native of Arriba, and founder of the Arriba Museum. The following is an adaptation of his script for a DVD about Arriba & the Museum. The DVD will soon be available for viewing and purchase at the museum (see Sponsors)]  

For a quick history lesson about our town, we will begin our tour - starting in 1887. One hundred twenty years ago, there was nothing here, except for buffalo grass and maybe a few prairie dogs.

Back then, the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railroad was laying its track from east to west, but the rails ended abruptly - 11 miles east of here, near the town of Flagler.

Both my father's parents and my mother's parents were original homesteaders in this area. I was born in 1925, in a sod house a few miles north of here. My great grandfather, Alonzo Billings Lucore was a Union Civil War veteran, who lost an eye in the Battle of Vicksburg. He, along with his two young sons (Bob and George) rode the train to the end of the line in Flagler. They set out on foot in a northwesterly direction, and 15 miles later, they arrived at a bend in Hell Creek. They carved out a cave in the side of the creek bank for shelter. They soon built a sod house, on that 160 acre homestead, 10 miles north of what soon would become the town of Arriba. Alonzo's homestead grant was issued when William McKinley was President.

That same year, a miner by the name of Charles Creel brought his tent from Cripple Creek Colorado, and erected it on the parcel of land, now known as 48 Elm Street. He knew that the railroad would soon be coming through this area, and that about every 10 miles, steam engines needed to stop and take on water, for their boilers. He deduced that a water tower would be built here and people would soon arrive. So, Creel built this 2 story house to replace his original tent. This structure is still occupied, and has the distinction of being the oldest house in town. Creel became a real estate agent and laid out streets on the north side of where he thought the railroad tracks were soon to be placed. Sure enough, on August 23, 1888 the Chicago Kansas and Nebraska railroad placed their tracks right through this area, and immediately named this water stop - "Arriba", meaning "high ground." That's with the correct pronunciation - however most natives today say "Ar uh bah" - with only the TV announcers voicing it correctly. The elevation here is within a few feet of being exactly one mile above sea level. A few years after the tracks were laid through Arriba, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad purchased the assets of the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska Railroad. Folks around here simply called this new railroad: "The Rock Island", and it serviced Arriba for over 90 years, until it went into receivership, in the 1980's.

Creel and his wife Elizabeth soon become wealthy selling local real estate. They planned on living happily ever after - that is, until February 26, 1904 when a man by the name of C. C. Coleman purchased forty acres just one hundred fifty feet east of Arriba's boundary. You see Creel (then - the mayor of Arriba) was a teatotaler, and Coleman was not of the same persuasion. He thought a fella was entitled to a drink, now and then, and he certainly couldn't wet his swaller pipe in the dry town of Arriba. To solve this problem, Coleman decided to establish his own town. He called it: "Frontier City." The first thing he did was to appoint himself mayor. Secondly, he built a saloon within a stone's throw of Creels back porch. Third, he dedicated a complete city block as a park. And fourth, to spite Creel, he gave his east and west streets completely different names.

As you can see by this current map, Arriba's Elbert Street became Frontier City's Lincoln Avenue. Arriba's Front Street became Frontier City's Colorado Avenue and Arriba's Railroad Avenue became Frontier City's Rock Island Avenue.

Creel was furious, and he decided to erect a fence between the two towns, so as to keep Arriba's citizens apart from the evils of alcohol. Local citizens called this fenced area "No Man's Land". Of course, the fence did no good, because thirsty people in dry Arriba would simply cut it, and cross over, at night. In the morning, Creel would have it repaired. The next night, it was cut again, and so on. In Creel's frustration, he contracted to have a huge ditch dug which was 8 feet deep. It was complete with several strands of barbed wire. The ditch didn't work either, and so the feud continued on, for the next l4 years, until the citizens of both towns had had enough. They agreed to vote on a merger. The election results showed 90 votes for - and one against. Do you suppose the one opposed, was Coleman? In 1918, the towns became one, and to this day, the east and west streets, retain their original and different names!

We have no photograph of Coleman. All we know is that he eventually moved to Idaho Springs Colorado.

Around 1900 the school children were educated in a corner of Nixon's grocery store. Arriba's post office operated in another corner of that same store.

By 1905, Alonzo's son, Bob Lucore (That's my mother's father) had married, raised a family, and built this beautiful two story home. This home stands 10 miles north of Arriba, and is presently owned by Raymond Enderson. In 1906, Bob Lucore took the train to Iowa and purchased six heifers, which became Colorado's first registered Angus herd. The very next year, he and eleven other men, founded The National Western Stock Show in Denver.

The following year (1907), my father's parents (Andrew and Anna Coulson) homesteaded 160 acres, 9 miles northwest of Arriba. There, they raised wheat, using horse drawn equipment. During a blizzard in 1910, my grandpa Andy was rescuing his blind mare, and caught cold. That turned into pneumonia, and he died. Grandma Annie then tried - unsuccessfully - to keep the farm in operation. After two years she surrendered - sold the Coulson homestead to the neighboring Anderson's - and moved to Arriba. For the next 7 years, she rented this little white frame house at 303 Pine. With the farm proceeds, Annie purchased the 43 acres immediately to the east of what was Frontier City. Annie laid out the streets in what is now called "THE COULSON ADDITION TO ARRIBA." She named one of the streets HILLER after her maiden name. It took Annie five years to accumulate enough money from the sale of her lots, to buy a "kit" home from a mail order house. My dad (Earl) and Uncle Art assembled the kit house for their mother which resulted in this two story home, standing on the southeast corner of Church Street and Colorado Avenue. Today, that home is occupied by our current postmaster, Don Pilgrim and his family. Annie lived in this home just 9 months before she died in 1920. She is buried in the "new" cemetery 2 miles southwest of town. The "old" cemetery, 2 1/2 miles west of Arriba is called the Evergreen Cemetery, where Annie's husband Andy was buried in 1910. Prior to her death, Annie instructed her sons (Earl and Art) to dig up their father, and replant him the new cemetery, so that she and Andy could spend eternity close together. My father and Uncle Art obediently carried out their mother's wishes, and today grandpa and grandma Coulson are peacefully resting side by side in the new cemetery.

In 1907, the Lincoln State Bank was established. The building is on the northwest corner of Front and Pine. However, on November 10, 1928 (just twenty one years later) the bank failed, leaving my parents, and all the other depositors, holding the sack. The building was vacant for a time, then, in the late 1940's, Bob Moffett bought the building and converted it into a drug store. Later on, Glenn McCue purchased it to be used to store wheat. Today, it is a private residence.

During World War I, Arriba's population was around 600, with 50 businesses, a two story brick schoolhouse, a couple of hotels and two doctors. Our population today is one third that number.

In 2006, President Bush renamed Arriba's Post Office, the "William H. Emery" Post Office. Bill Emery was born in Arriba, attended all 12 grades of the Arriba school, then became Arriba's rural mail carrier - first, by horseback, then motorcycle, and eventually, an automobile. He retired after 50 years of service - reporting only one accident. That was when he swerved his motorcycle to avoid hitting a farm dog - bit the dust - and broke his nose. That's Bill's nose, not the dogs!

By 1956, the new diesel trains no longer needed to stop here for water, so they simply rushed by dusty little Arriba. In addition to the loss of train service to our town, the interstate highway was now complete, and those two changes caused our freight and passenger service to nearly cease. As a result, Arriba has been slowly shrinking in population. Local farmers and ranchers still raise wheat and cattle here, but other than the gas station, our post office, Legacy Lane Antiques and Grandpa Jerry's Clown Museum - our town has almost "gone out of business". The decline in our student population, resulted in a school consolidation, so now, our few school aged children, are bussed to Flagler. The familiar words: "Arriba Aces" and the Purple and White school colors were reluctantly retired in 1983.

Some folks have discovered the pleasant fact, that real estate and property taxes here, are much less expensive, than in the big cities. Many folks have decided to move here from the hustle and bustle elsewhere; kick back, relax and enjoy the friendliness of our local citizens.

In our museum, you will find four fine art prints, which were donated by the Eastern Colorado Preservation Society. In the 1980's, the Society commissioned artist Dennis Reynolds to produce these paintings to help us recall our past. The first print shows the Arriba train depot as it looked in the mid 1900's. Another illustrates one of the many cattle drives which were common in this area, prior to the arrival of the railroad. And by the way, during those cattle drives, some calves were born (and abandoned) by their mothers. Local homesteaders were quick to rescue these orphans and raise them until they matured, at which time, they ended up on the dinner table. The third print shows early natives harvesting buffalo for their food and clothing. And finally, there is one which explains how a family would endeavor to protect their home against the invading dust storms, which were so common here during the 1930's.

This is only part of the Arriba story, and that of the surrounding area. Please feel welcome to visit our museum, located at 317 Lincoln Street - there you can take your time, browse around, and look at the old photos and read about our past. We have some items available for purchase, like: books and magazines telling of our heritage; a map of Arriba, showing "No Man's Land", also a copy of our DVD.

Well, thank you for visiting our web site! If you have enjoyed your online visit, be sure to stop by in town when you are in our area. Bring your friends and enjoy the hospitality of small town Colorado on the Eastern Plains.