Historical exhibit to grace Garfield County Courthouse
Glenwood Springs correspondent
Aspen, CO Colorado
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GLENWOOD SPRINGS – Did you know that Garfield County’s first courthouse building in Glenwood Springs was a dugout log cabin, which for a while contained county records that moved to Glenwood from the original county seat, Carbonate, in the Flat Tops?
Or that the only crossing of the Colorado River at Glenwood Springs at one time was a toll bridge aligned with Cooper Avenue, before the Grand Avenue State Bridge was built?
Those historical tidbits and more will soon grace the walls of the Garfield County Courthouse. Officials plan to put up an exhibit of 87 photos culled from museums, historical societies and libraries around the county and state.
The initial collection is primarily made up of buildings, main streets, railroad depots, log cabins with families out front, old school houses and other landmarks, some of which are still in evidence in different towns.
In addition, there are a few photos of people, including an iconic image of Dr. John Henry “Doc” Holliday, famous gunslinger and dentist, who died of “consumption,” now known as tuberculosis, at the old Hotel Glenwood; and a lineup of ladies in Carbondale, circa 1915, holding rakes in preparation for a Main Street cleanup.
County Commissioner John Martin, who is spearheading the effort, said there will also be photo collections of county officials, judges and other personalities from decades past and not-so-past.
According to Linda Morcom, former administrative assistant to the county commissioners and a volunteer working on the photo exhibit, the pictures have been framed and are ready to go.
“Everything is ready to hang,” she said Wednesday, explaining that Martin is working on gathering some volunteers to hang the photos in the courthouse.
Then, Morcom said, there will be a grand opening on the Monday after the pictures are hung.
“What we want to do is remember our history, the way it was,” Martin said of the exhibits.
He invited the public to show up, either at the grand opening or any other time the courthouse is open, to “compare the Grande Avenue Bridge traffic jam from 1922 or ’23 and now,” and other interesting images.
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