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THIS
COUNTY IS OPEN FOR ADOPTION.
IF
YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADOPT IT, PLEASE CONTACT THE STATE
COORDINATOR
If you have any information to share
about Carbon County Wyoming please feel free to email me:
Rebecca
Maloney
Far From the Heart of Texas
There
exists a large swath of land running through
Northwest Colorado and Southern Wyoming that
was once claimed by 4 nations, 2
territories, and 2 states all in the span of
just 55 years. In NW Colorado, it included
all of Routt County and parts of Moffat
(including Craig), Rio Blanco, Grand,
Jackson, Eagle and Garfield Counties. In
Wyoming it was largely Carbon County.
Perhaps even more interesting about this
area of land in our own backyard is that it
was all once a part of Texas.
Beginning
in the early 1500s, most of the western
slope of present-day Colorado was claimed by
Spain (Nation #1). After remaining in the
same hands for roughly 300 years, Spain
relinquished control in 1821 after the
Mexican War of Independence- it was now a
part of the new nation of Mexico (Nation
#2). Just 14 years later, in 1835, Mexico’s
province of Texas revolted. The result
caused a swath of Mexico’s Rocky Mountain
territory to become part of yet another new
nation in 1836- The Republic of Texas
(Nation #3).
The land claimed by the
Texans in 1836 created a great “stovepipe”
on the map that extended from the headwaters
of both the Rio Grande & Arkansas rivers
(both in southern CO) straight north to the
42nd parallel (just north of Rawlins, WY).
Nine years later, in 1845, Texas was annexed
by the United States (Nation #4) and became
the new State of Texas (State #1). In 1850,
Texas agreed to cede all lands North of
36°30′ (the line that divided slave/free
states west of the Mississippi) in order to
remain a slave state. Thus, most of Texas’
land in present-day Colorado became part of
the newly-organized Utah Territory
(Territory #1).
With the discovery of
gold on Clear Creek in 1859, there was great
interest in the areas surrounding the new
gold fields. In 1861, with the threat of a
civil war looming, the Territory of Colorado
(Territory #2) was formed and solidified
ownership of this minerally-rich area by the
Union. Finally, on August 1, 1876, Colorado
was admitted as the 38th state to the U.S.
(State #2) where it has remained for 140
years.
And here’s a truly amazing
coincidence for you to ponder: the western
boundary of the Texas stovepipe ran right
through the present-day town of Craig,
Colorado. It ran almost perfectly down, wait
for it… Texas Avenue. No joke!
*Portions
of the stovepipe that reside east of the
continental divide were part of slightly
different nations/states/territories.
Do
you have information you'd like to share? Or would you
like to help us?
Please
volunteer
to help the WYGenWeb Project.
The
WyGenWeb Project
Colleen
Pustola,
State Coordinator
Rebecca
Maloney,
Assistant State Coordinator
AVAILABLE
– County
Coordinator
Being
a County or State Administrator is fun and rewarding. If you
have an interest in the history of Wyoming and the genealogy
of it's residents please consider it. If you think "there
is no way I can do this" there are many people ready,
willing and able to help you. It's not near as difficult as
you might think.
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