Crossroads Through Time Heritage Park
Major Sections
Crossroads Through Time Heritage Park has two major sections: a Geology Time Trail, and a People and Places (History) Trail. By including educational, cultural, and artistic displays, each will augment campus activities, encourage public visitation, and enhance local lifestyle. From the Geology Time Trail, multiple geologic rock formations are visible in all directions, and it is in close proximity to the paleontological discoveries and excavations that put Fremont County on the map. The People and Places Trail begins at a time thousands of years ago with the Pre-Clovis/Paleo-Indians and runs to present time.
People & Places Trail
The objective of this approximately 2,000 foot People and Places Interpretive Trail is to present the story of the people, places, activities and circumstances that have touched, and been touched by, the Fremont County Region. Waysides along the trail will include informative signs, artifacts, representations and art pieces. PCC students and community members are encouraged to participate in researching and organizing displays. The Fremont Campus Colorado History courses will use the People and Places Trail for learning purposes and will be involved in classes that include development of possible future displays, activities, and K-12 curriculum.
The first section of the trail “From the Early Coloradans” will include the Paleo-Indians, the Spanish and the French. Displays will include information from the end of the last Ice Age, the first people in the region, and the Spanish that traveled through the area. One display will be designed to enlighten visitors about the Spanish battle against Greenhorn that happened just south of the campus.
The second section of the trail will cover highlights of the 19th Century “The 1800s.” Starting with early explorers, it will include stories of mountain men, fur traders, and international border disputes. Informational displays showing historical events such as the gold rush, the founding of villages and towns, railroad builders, cattlemen and farmers, and the silver boom will all be present. Displays will include a replica of the blockhouse that Zebulon Pike built within view of today’s PCC Fremont campus and a rock garden designed to represent the map Pike drew showing this region and his travels. Visitors will be able to walk the path that Pike traveled via this replica. The Railroad War and the Native Americans of this region will all be represented. An informational display about the Colorado Territorial/State Prison farms and ranches in the region has already been built and will be included.
“The 20th Century” (third) segment of the People and Place Interpretive Trail will include displays about the Progressive Era, the 1920s, involvement in the World Wars, the movies that were filmed in this region, and the booms and busts of the times. Displays regarding the Sand Creek Prison Gardens located at what are now the current grounds of the Fremont campus of PCC and another about when the prison gardens property was deeded to the college have been built and will be displayed.
The final section of the People and Places Trail, tentatively titled “The 21st Century,” will exhibit current and future “history.” The Iron Mountain and Royal Gorge fires and the construction of new schools (Harrison School and Florence High School) will be presented during this part of the trail.
The history of the people of the Fremont County Region, and those who passed through, will be chronicled. Stories regarding the land, the river, the towns and the wildlife will be told along this trail. Day-to-day activities, the circumstances the people lived under, and their connections with the past, the present, and the future will unfold as students and visitors take a stroll through the crossroads of people and places.
Geology Time Trail
In an effort to illustrate our rich geological and paleontological heritage, including events which occurred in Fremont County as well as in the global scene, a 2,300 foot trail will ring the perimeter of the field between PCC and Highway 50. At 1 foot equals 1 million years, this length corresponds to half the history of the Earth (2.3 billion years). This scale provides a perspective of the deep time involved in a way that participants can comprehend, and in the process educates our community and others about the formation and history of familiar venues in our own back yard, expanding peoples’ horizons and leading to an appreciation of our unique landscape.
A trailhead will be established to enable a general introduction to local geology, geologic time, trail use, and additional places to go for more information. The trail will include informational displays focusing on key milestone events important in our local geology story: dinosaurs, the ancestral Rocky Mountains, the Western Interior Seaway, and the earliest vertebrates on the planet. A variety of local rocks and boulders will be utilized along the trails in the time period they represent. Rocks, slabs, and boulders will be utilized as seating locations, creative landscaping, and informational displays. Small signs will call attention to geologic events not dealt with at waysides, and small markers will be placed on the bed of the trail indicating 100 foot/100 million year increments.
In addition to its educational offerings, over time, enhancements to the trail system will be developed to make it both fun and recreational. This will be achieved by a variety of projects and programs including a connection to the Arkansas River Walk, a labyrinth, a group seating area (small amphitheater), native prairie vegetation, a Jurassic plant garden, additional dinosaur sculptures, and rock art such as carvings or stacked stones. We will provide round or flat stones for visitors to construct their own stacked stones displays. Currently the area is utilized for Frisbee golf by college students and it is possible to incorporate this activity in new and creative ways.
This trail will enable introductions to other important local geology sites including the Royal Gorge, Garden Park Fossil Area, Red Canyon Park, and Skyline Drive. It will also maintain a strong connection to the Royal Gorge Regional Museum and other local trail networks. In the future the trail location has the capability to continue to grow, expanding to include additional rock walls, more geologic waysides, and additional campus access points.
