Bedford Furniture and Upholstery

Crossroads Preview Take a quick tour of our latest exhibition, Crossroads: Change in Rural America, a Museum on Main Street exhibition produced by the Smithsonian Institution T...

Thursday is Colorado Day! Admission to the museum will be free all day!
AT 10:30 a.m. the Overland Trail Museum will be unveiling and dedicating our beautiful 1876 American Flag! Followed by the grand opening of "Crossroads-Change in Rural America."
While you're at the museum pick up a Barn Quilt Trail Guide and discover the eight beautiful barn quilts that tell the unique story of the Colorado plains!

Join us this Thursday, Colorado Day, August 1, at 10:30 a.m. for the unveiling and dedication of our beautiful 1876 American Flag!

Following the dedication, stay for the grand opening of "Crossroads-Change in Rural America." Our special exhibit from the Smithsonian Institute, which will remain on display through September 14, 2024, in the High Plains Education Center.

Free admission all day!

Home Find your place here for action sports, hunting and fishing, bird watching, hiking, biking, shooting sports, golfing, boating and more.

Happy First Day of Summer!

A photo of some businesses in Crook, CO, dated 1967 to early 1970’s based on logos present. Shown: Kuskie’s Auto Supply, Jo’s Hair Styles, Nelson’s Café, and the Crook Grocery.

Sterling was incorporated on December 13, 1884. The City of Sterling Charter was adopted on May 2, 1950 and became a Home Rule City on January 1, 1952.
Explorers such as Stephen H. Long passed through what is now Logan County on June 26, 1820. He referred to this area as “The Great American Desert.” The Overland Trail (a branch of the Oregon Trail) the most heavily traveled road in the country. Between 1862-1868, thousands of brave and adventurous people pressed across the unmarked prairie in search of gold and silver in the snow-capped Rockies. Men like John Wesley Iliff recognized the wealth of the prairie and developed enormous ranching empires. Other enterprising men established freighting businesses, started newspapers, opened general stores, etc.
William Shaw Hadfield from Derbyshire England, arrived in the area in 1871 and established his home on an island in the South Platte River, a few miles south of present day Sterling. Mr. Hadfield is credited with being the first permanent white settler in the area. Other settlers came.
And homesteaded the area. In the late 1860s they heard that the Union Pacific Railroad was going to extend its line from Julesburg to LaSalle. The members of the Southern Colony at “old Sterling” knew that if a railroad came through this territory, a town would be established. They offer the Railroad 80 acres of land for a right-of-way if shops and a roundhouse were located there. The offer was accepted.

The new town consisted of 19 blocks.
After laying out the new town, most of the settlers from the old Sterling settlement moved to the new locality. Mr. King and Mr. R.E. Smith entered into a business partnership and opened the first lumberyard and general store. As soon as the railroad went through in 1881, a section house and depot were built. It was not long before the Pacific Hotel near the depot was built.
Other businesses sprang up. With lumber now available, “stick” houses were built. The R.C. Perkins family built the first frame house near what is now the south edge of the city. It was destroyed by fire shortly after being built.
By 1884, the city had grown and articles of incorporation were completed. George Wilson was the first mayor. Other knowledge of the early history of Sterling is limited by the fact that there were no city records saved before 1887. The records were apparently lost en route from Weld County, which Sterling was part of at that time. In 1887, Sterling was made the county seat by then governor, Alva Adams.
Source: Colorado Encyclopedia

Colorado Then and Now Photos History Colorado Logan County Colorado

BIG THANK YOU to Spelts Roofing Company, LLC. for being a Platinum Sponsor for Rockin The Plains 2024! Buy your tickets at holyokechamber.org now!!! 😎🎶

Enjoy your weekend!

Coffee Secrets ☕

Mattress liquidation sale.
Every in stock mattress is 20%-30% off!!
See store for details and mention this ad.

Bedford Furniture and Upholstery Bedford Furniture & Upholstery has been a family owned business for two generations!

Sterling Volunteer Fire Department with new fire truck, photo postcard, 1912. From left to right: George Chapman, N. C. Davis, O. V. Chipman, Frank Merrill, J. C. Backes, J. W. Arnold, J. E. Koenig, L. R. Goodwin, George Breil, George Green, O. B. Holman, W. E. Greenman, Charles E. Bauman, Frank Mentgen, ?, Bill Johnson, J. D. Lieboe, and George Holcomb. Ray Goodwin was a charter member of the department and served continuously for 39 years.

Available at the Overland Trail Museum
"Ghost Towns: Eastern Colorado" by Kenneth Jessen
$40.00
Covering 27 counties from the Colorado foothills eastward, this is a history of ghost towns on a sea of grass—from stage stations, military forts, and once-thriving towns along the cattle trails to agricultural communities and railroad-financed towns. It is a tale of homesteaders hoping for the return of prosperity they once enjoyed during the wet years; the story of one wave of settlers forced out by drought only to be replaced with optimistic newcomers, until the Dust Bowl of the 1930s dealt the final blow for many of these towns and communities.
Nearly 1,000 abandoned sites
Over 500 contemporary photos/illustrations/maps
Extensive bibliography and index

Short on space but want to go big on style? Our compact yet comfortable Collegedale collection is just what you’re looking for 👀 Available in both fabric and leather!

Calling all 4-H students!!! Go to www.nostalgicceramics.com to sign up.

Stop by and get your Valentine a Valentine! 11:30 to 4.

"My God, I ate myself bowlegged." One of the last roundups on the open range of northeastern Colorado in 1903. All Croft from the Tamarack Ranch near Crook Co. runs his chuck wagon (mobile kitchen)at the Propst Ranch, Merino Co. Note the beef hanging at the back of the wagon. Assistant cookie on the left was Gothlet Pike.

Credit: Uncommon Men and the Colorado Prairie by Nell Propst.