Hard to believe that in just a few miles of hiking you’ll see the oldest rock formation in western Colorado, evidence of massive sand dunes that once covered the area, radioactive rocks that now house dinosaur bones and learn a thing or two about the sheep and cattle wars in Mesa County.
But that is exactly [...]

“A bit of the past, linked to today can promise a brighter future for tomorrow. That is what Linda Villa was hoping to achieve for the residents of the Riverside Community.
In the early 1990s, Villa moved back to Grand Junction to be near family. Villa found her old neighborhood, the place she called home growing [...]

“The mining industry has been the backbone of revenue production for most of our state’s history. In the 1850s, prospectors headed for California discovered gold near present-day Denver. During the summer of 1858, Green Russell, among several other California prospectors, returned to Colorado in hopes of finding more gold. Discoveries were made along the foothills [...]

“Last month, you heard about the Lakeside Resort, huddled out-of-sight within the ridges between 12th Street and Horizon Drive. Yet, there is another story to be told about the old farmhouse sitting on the hill. This stately structure was there long before Lake Lenore was even thought of. No one knows how long the yellow [...]

Two very different looks for the Avalon Theatre. The Avalon was constructed in 1923 and heavily promoted by Daily Sentinel publisher Walter Walker. From the first performance by soprano singer Lucy Gates, the Avalon became the cultural center of Grand Junction until the 1940s. The Cooper movie theatre chain purchased the building [...]

The Palisade Historical Society will hold the inaugural “Palisade Reflections” program on Saturday, July 17 at 9:30 a.m. at the Veteran’s Memorial Community Center in Palisade. Long-time residents Bill Floryancic, Lucille (Phillips) Floryancic, Bill Beckwith, and Ed Maurer, Shirley (Rowley) Maurer will share their knowledge and memories to create a detailed map [...]

“There is a quaint, yet quiet community huddled within the northern part of Grand Junction, resting on the ridges between Twelfth Street and Horizon Drive. The name of this wonderful community is Lakeside. This beautiful neighborhood was the dream of William Thomas Carpenter, the founder of the Little Book Cliff Railroad, and the man that [...]

An early view down Main Street taken from 6th Street looking west.  The long gone Mandel Opera House (where Main Street Bagels is currently located) is the closest building on the left.  In 1885 Grand Junction’s population was 378 hardy souls.  By 1890 the population exploded to 2,030 in large part due to the arrival [...]

For two nights the Museum of the West came alive!
During the grand opening of the Cortez Calendar exhibit, strange things started to happen at the Museum. An electric problem cut out all but a few lights in the building and patrons were guided through the Museum by security guards. Along the way it was [...]

The Beacon ran a terrific article this month on the Interurban - a light rail service which ran in the Grand Valley in the early part of the 20th century. Read about the interurban.
For more history on our region, check out our Grand Junction History in Pictures Timeline. It’s a great informative source, as [...]