Johnstown - Paperback

by Sandy Bennett (Author), Johnstown Historical Society (Author)

The story of Johnstown did not begin with the founding of the town in 1902, nor did it end there. The story begins and ends with enterprising people. These people were determined to make a life for themselves despite all the hardships of living on the prairie of Colorado. These were the same people who were among the first Americans to go west. Trappers came for beaver pelts, and traders set up forts to trade for buffalo hides from the Arapaho. Gold miners whose claims went bust later settled in the Johnstown area. Cattlemen's herds found the prairie grass a natural food source, and they flourished. And, finally, the homesteaders claimed farmland that became rich and fertile with the use of irrigation. Johnstown is the story of people who established a new life in a new world.

Author Biography

Author Sandy Wailes Bennett, a descendant of the town's founder, is president of the Johnstown Historical Society. Both her mother and father's families were early settlers in Johnstown. The photographs used in this volume were gathered from the Johnstown Historical Society, the Greeley History Museum, the Colorado Historical Society, the Denver Public Library, and the private collections of the author and her family.