| What makes it historical? |
John and Sophia Holzwarth came to the Colorado Valley as a direct response to Prohibition, which crippled their Denver saloon! They built a homestead cabin near the headwaters of the Colorado River in 1917 but didn’t file their homestead claim until March 1, 1919! They worked on this area for a few years until they made it their permanent home in 1920 and invited friends to fish and drink in the mountains away from the laws.
Sophia and John, Jr. quickly got tired of John Sr’s freeloading friends, and Sophia wanted to turn their getaway into a German mountain inn, which they did and charged $2.00 per night and $11.00 per week. The lodging was informal at first—mattresses on the floor—but Mrs. Holzwarth’s cooking was supposed to make the whole thing worthwhile! In the off season, the Holzwarths trapped and taxidermied animals, sometimes poached from the national park. The Holzwarths ran their trout lodge and dude ranch here until 1923 when they moved to the other side of the valley to create the Never Summer Ranch! |
