The Early History of Penrose Colorado

The lush banks of Beaver Creek, in Eastern Fremont County, were a welcome sight to twenty-two pioneer families from Appanoose County, Iowa. They settled there in the early 1860s, where they farmed, ranched, and raised their families. Other families also put down roots and small settlements grew up and down the sparkling creek. At the turn of the century, Spencer Penrose, businessman and investor from Colorado Springs, bought water rights on the creek. The Schaeffer Dam was built, water was diverted up on the mesa, and the new town of Penrose was born in 1909.

Join historian Skye Stuart on a journey through time as she tells the colorful stories of the Toof brothers, who built a small empire on Lower Beaver Creek and Lafayette Coffman, a dashing Civil War veteran. Meet Anna Belle Callen, an early suffragette and feel the energy at the once-bustling Glendale Stagecoach Inn. Learn about the magnificent engineering feat of building the Schaeffer Dam and the devastating Beaver Creek Flood of 1921. One-room schoolhouses, thriving apple orchards, forgotten cemeteries, a short-lived railroad, and community celebrations such as the annual Apple Day festivities are all part of this captivating book celebrating the history of Penrose, Colorado.