Since I am here, I’ve been researching this area’s history. I thought it might be of interest to others… so here is a brief (highly summarized) history of this area based on videos, and Wikipedia. I am focusing on Florence (population 3,800) and Penrose (population 3,200) which are small towns near Canon City where I currently live (population 17,193.)
The Native American tribes were Arapahoe and Ute. Zeb Pike explored the area when he was following the Arkansas river in 1806. It flows through Canon City and surrounding areas.
In 1861 John C Fremont who was another explorer lead expeditions finding water ways and helped establish ranching in the area through a group called The Pathfinders. He was also on the national stage as a military officer, US Senator and first presidential candidate for the anti-slavery Republican Party. Canon City, Penrose and Florence are all located in Fremont county named after him.
In 1862 James McCandless struck oil on his land and with his wealth, a town grew. Florence was named after his daughter and incorporated in 1887. Florence was the first significant oil center west of the Mississippi.
The area of Florence benefited from the gold boom in Cripple Creek, CO in 1890. That in addition to agriculture, oil, and mining of local coal, Florence was at its most populated the end of the 1800’s.
Worker strikes, and WWII impacted economy and Florence turned to cement industry with arrival of Portland cement company east of town in 1905 which still operates as the Holcim cement company.
Penrose gets its name and early growth from Spencer Penrose, a business man from Colorado Springs, who bought land and water rights near Beaver Creek. The town steadily grew in population from his influence.
By 1930’s Florence and Penrose were at there lowest populations. The end of the war, an explosion in downtown Florence in 1925 which leveled a city block contributed, followed by the Great Depression and the dust bowl.
In modern times, the Fremont county area is known for its nearby prisons which include 6 state and 4 federal prisons. One of the Federal ones is ADX, a supermax prison. The areas in Fremont also have tourism, agriculture, local businesses and medical facilities. In addition to the large retired community, many of the younger residents live in Fremont county but commute to work elsewhere.
I can say from living here, it is highly Republican. There were people at the No Kings rally downtown in Canon City, but attendance was under 20 in count when I passed by. (Organizers would know the more accurate number in attendance.)
The top watched TV show based on my experience of meeting people (mostly elderly) is Gunsmoke. I can understand why since the history of the towns in Fremont have similarities to the history of Dodge City in Kansas which is the supposed setting for the Gunsmoke series.
If you are still reading this blog, thank you. Glad it was interesting enough to finish. Learning and giving are life-long. Whether my life path remains in these lands or carries me to others, I have very much enjoyed learning the land, and towns and meeting the people in Fremont county.