Park County Local History Archives

01/17/2026

07/29/2025

With changes on the horizon for the U.S. Forest Service, it seems a good time to resurrect a story I wrote in 2013, about the beginning of our own national forest:
𝟭𝟴𝟴𝟬𝘀 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁

It was first published in the June 28, 2013, 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘬 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 & 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘍𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘦.

Within the next year, the government has plans to eliminate the nine regional offices of the U.S. Forest Service and consolidate them into five hubs in Salt Lake City, UT; Fort Collins, CO; Kansas City, MO; Indianapolis, IN; and Raleigh, NC.

PHOTO: In 1882 Alma, the fire water was the best defense against fire. (Courtesy of Park County Local History Archives, source: Burton Osborne Family)

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06/11/2025

◈ A Glimpse Back in Time ◈
• Highway 285 in Turkey Creek Canyon | 1929 •

Before it was the paved and busy corridor we know today, Highway 285 twisted its way through Turkey Creek Canyon as a narrow dirt road clinging to the mountain’s edge. This 1929 photo captures the route just outside Denver, offering a glimpse into early travel through the rugged landscape of Jefferson County. US Route 285 stretches all the way from Denver to Sanderson, Texas—this stretch would’ve been one of the first dramatic mountain passages travelers encountered as they ventured southwest.
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📸 Paul Hollowell. Park County Local History Archive Photographic Collection, Highway 285 folder, item no. 622
🗂 Identifier: ph000622
🔗 Archive Link: https://pclha.cvlcollections.org/items/show/1442