Call NumberCPHOTO141-2024-1538CreatorJessen, KennethDateApril 23, 2004SummaryExterior view of an abandoned wooden hotel with boarded up windows and doors. A sign reading "Danger" is affixed to the door. Snow is on the ground and on the roof of the building.Physical Description1 digital file : colorBorn-Digital or AnalogBorn-digitalSubjectHotels--Colorado--BransonAbandoned buildings--Colorado--BransonGeographic AreaBranson (Colo.)Las Animas County (Colo.)Finding Aidhttps://archives.denverlibrary.org/repositories/3/resources/2088Type of MaterialDigital photographsOriginal Material Found in CollectionC PHOTO 141. Kenneth Jessen photo collectionNotesDerived title. Photographer's note: "During the late 1860s, Madison Emery pioneered a road up Toll Gate Canyon from New Mexico to bring grain to Colorado markets. The pass became known as Emery Gap. In 1888, the Denver, Texas & Fort Worth constructed a rail line through the gap, and on the Colorado side, established Wilson Switch. Section hands lived at the switch where they maintained the tracks. Livestock pens were erected for shipment to outside markets. The livestock business boomed and a little town called Coloflats was established at Wilson Switch. Coloflats got a post office in 1915 and the following year, Lawrence Athey made a formal application for a town site. The site was sold to Josiah Branson, and in 1918, the name was changed to Branson. In 1921, Branson was incorporated. Grain elevators became the main industry, and wagons lined up to the town limits to be weighed and unloaded. Homes were built and businesses opened. The new town of Branson got it own bank and newspaper. By 1923, there were 1,000 people living in the town. The future looked bright so a two-story schoolhouse was constructed, and the town got a water system. The prosperity ended during the extended drought and Great Depression of the 1930s. Dust blew in over much of the farmland, and people began to leave the area. The grain elevators closed along with the railroad depot. Branson is located on Colorado Highway 389 at its intersection with County Road 4."DonorGift; Kenneth Jessen; 2020.Languageeng
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Rights Statementhttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/CopyrightDPL holds copyrightCreditDenver Public Library Special Collections, [call number]Digital Reproduction Available for PurchaseYes
Jessen, Kenneth, Branson hotel (April 23, 2004). Denver Public Library Digital Collections, accessed 13/05/2025, https://digital.denverlibrary.org/nodes/view/1826621
