Kathy Heicher - Early Eagle

BEFORE 1879

Eagles human history started long before the first ambitious pioneers erected tents and built cabins along the Eagle River in the 1880s. Archaeological evidence verifies the presence of prehistoric hunter-gatherers in the region more than 10,000 years ago. By 500 years ago, archeological records (tools, food, pottery, and campsites) reveal traits of the historical living patterns of the Ute people. The earliest residents of the valley probably lived here seasonally, rather than staying year-round.

Maps from the Hayden survey in the early 1870s show the Ute Trail, a network of prehistoric and historic trails used by early people to traverse the high plateau of the nearby Flat Tops. Early people used those trails to move about the territory roughly extending from Dotsero to Meeker, and as far north as Steamboat Springs. The Utes were one of the first groups of Native Americans to gain access to horses, which allowed them to greatly expand their territory.

Present-day archaeologists have recorded evidence of the Ute presence in the valley. In the pinion-junipercovered hills north of Eagle lay the remains of a game fence (a sort of hedge made of entwined branches) used to influence the movement of deer and elk toward waiting hunters. The remains of primitive wickiups (a temporary, ground-surface shelter built with woven mats of branches and brush) have been noted in the hills around Brush Creek. Other significant finds in the region include eagle traps, rock art, vision quest sites, arrow points, and other tools. Anthills on mesas near Eagle occasionally yield tiny trade beads from long ago.

Newspaper archives and other historic accounts dating to the early 1880s tell stories of trappers and miners encountering bands of Utes camped on Brush Creek. The Utes were not receptive to intrusions, which kept the newcomers wary.

There is no official historic record in the Eagle County archives of the Ute people being removed from this area. However, by the early 1880s various political policies and treaties were used to move the Native Americans out of their historic territory and onto reservations. The removal of the Utes cleared the way for the homesteaders and miners to come into the valley, starting a new era for Eagle.

This photograph, snapped in the 1920s near Eagle, shows a wickiup, likely built by the Ute people. Notes accompanying the image suggest the location is on what was once the Macdonell ranch, located on lower Brush Creek. Used seasonally, the primitive shelter, which probably dates back to the 1860s1870s, featured woven branches of pinion and juniper to create a structure that would shed some water. The woman posing inside the wickiup is believed to be Mary Hannah Buchholz Gamble (Johnston), along with an unidentified child. Local ranchers in the 1920s and 1930s reported finding primitive shelters and other signs of a Ute presence in areas such as the Three Sisters mountain formation on Brush Creek. Archaeologists have also recorded finds in the region that include eagle traps, game fences, and rock art. At one time, many local residents had their own collections of arrowheads and primitive tools. (ECHS; Ping-DeGraw Collection.)