Milton, Saguache County, Colorado

Milton is today a ghost town with only one building still standing, and that one soon to follow the fate of those which one time made up a busy little town. Located south of Saguache along Saguache Creek its history was well presented in the following part of an article “Early Saguache and Vicinity” by Mrs. Eugene Williams. The article was not dated.

“In 1870 the families living along the creek decided to locate a town, build a school house, a church, and have a store carrying general merchandise, for Denver was far distant, and only a few could leave their families and journey some eight days to buy provisions. A meeting was called, and an enthusiastic question decided by common consent. The new town would be located on the creek, and called “Milton” in honor of Absalam Pumphrey’s little son. Mr. Pumphrey built a residence and a two story store, the lower floor he stacked with general merchandise. The upper floor was reserved for meetings, dances, and social events.

A Methodist church was built by a man named Rickard, and later the county seat was located at Saguache and the church was moved to the new town and today is the leading place of religious meetings.

George Hodgson built the first hotel and was proprietor of it for about three years. It was a story and half building made of logs with a shingle roof. The hotel was located a few steps from the Ray Woodard residence. Mr. Hodgson was a native of Canada, moving with his parents to Iowa in his youth. He made three trips across the plains from Iowa to Colorado.

Mr. and Mrs. Hodgson were pioneers from 1868 and through the early seventies, having a wide acquaintance in the valley.

Ben Tuttle built and ran the first blacksmith shop, then a year later John McDonough took up land near Milton and ran a first class shop in the year of 1873. A number of residences were built at Milton in 1870 and 71. A log school house was built in a field east of Milton, by the men in the community, and when completed it was a good sized, comfortable building. The seats were made of rough lumber, and desks were high and often uncomfortable for little folks, but they were warm, and like the children of today, longed to read and write. Thomas J. Ellis taught the first winter term of school in 1870 and improved his ranch mornings and evenings. He was born and educated in Iowa, crossing the plains in 1864. His ranch was a mile northeast of Milton, and through his untiring industry was one of the most prosperous of the young pioneers. His faith in the new country was an inspiration to his many friends. He lived to be thirty-three years of age, and was County Clerk at the time of his death.

Some of the first land owners east of Milton were John Proffitt, James Coberly, Chris Hearn. W. D. Spencer, J. M. White, the Brown brothers and the Hartman brothers. These men were all Pioneers in the true sense of the word, and sent their children to the same school north of the Saguache Creek, and opposite the ranchers just named. John Ellis and sons located on homesteads. Jason Jacques’ land was farther north and east of their ranches. Andrew and John Slane lived on a large tract of meadow land well stocked with cattle and horses.

There were so many children of school age in the neighborhood for a distance of four miles east of the school house near Milton, that a meeting was called and a decision was made to move the school house nearer the center of the greatest population.

There had been four successful terms of school before the change was made. The teachers were Mr. Ellis, Miss Emma Wilcox, and Miss Kate Dyer. The change was entirely satisfactory and the men in the community moved the old log school house one and a half miles down the Scandrett lane. Miss Kate Dyer taught her second term with an enrollment of fifty pupils. All ages, from five to twenty were packed in the “new School” like sardines.

There was a class of ten in the Primary Grade, boys and girls in the same seat, with the tops of their heads just visible, over the high board desk. These little folks recited once in the forenoon and once in the afternoon. Miss Dyer’s time was like a limited express train with the numerous sizes and ages studying reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, geography and four spelling classes twice a day, for a head mark in those days meant as much to a real scholar as a silver loving cup does now days. Miss Dyer taught a wonderful school forty-six years ago, and brought her beautiful grand piano to the home where she boarded that year, the first one in that community. She married later and is still living in or near Del Norte.