Celebrate Pine Grove Day: More Than Just Homebaked Pies

By Cynthia Shaw

On Saturday of Labor Day weekend, a trio of ardent volunteers joined "Celebrate Pine Grove Day" in the North Fork National Historic District to promote awareness of local preservation efforts within Jefferson County.  From their booth at this popular annual event sponsored by the Pine-Elk Creek Improvement Association (PECIA) since 1988, Lee Katherine Goldstein, Deborah Andrews and Cynthia Shaw took pride in educating visitors about past, present and future projects sponsored and supported by both the Jefferson County Historical Commission (JCHC) and History Jeffco (HJO) organizations. Working together since the non-profit History Jeffco (created in 2011 as a fundraising "Friends" group for the County-managed Historical Commission), the two groups have collaborated with a variety of history-focused societies, associations, commissions, educators and museums not just in our cities and towns but also in the more rugged and rural areas within unincorporated Jefferson County).

Conversing with a steady stream of visitors throughout the day, the group handed out brochures, past and present copies of Historically Jeffco magazine and other informative items.  A key topic of interest was progress of the ongoing South Platte Hotel project, located precariously near the banks of the North Fork of the South Platte River. Originally built in 1887 as an overnight stop for tourists traveling on the Denver, South Park & Pacific Railroad completed in 1880, the structure was destroyed by an arsonist bend on harming the hotel owners in 1912 and rebuilt the following year. Struggling through the Depression era (which curtailed both train transit and tourism in the area, the hotel managed to accommodate overnight guests traveling by automobile until 1953, at which time it was adapted as a fly-fishing store up to 1969.  Although Denver Water acquired the property in 1987 with plans for demolition, the dilapidated building still stands, untouched but in dire need of rehabilitation. Listed on Colorado Preservation Inc.'s Endangered Places List in 2023, hope springs eternal that this unique landmark (recently given a festive facelift on its facade) will be restored to its former stature within the community (insert video link).

In short, this fun-filled, sun-drenched day was the epitome of camaraderie and connections...proof that this popular Pine Grove event attracts people from all over Colorado...and not just to savor its coveted strawberry-rhubarb pie!  To all of you who visited our booth, filling our sign-up sheet with three pages of signatures, we thank you for your interest and support and will keep you posted on our upcoming activities and success stories! For more information visit:  www.historyjeffco.org and/or jeffco.us/historical-commission.