CHS road marker program : Marker text

AKRON

Colorado Historical Society (CHS) marker located at Town Roadside Park, intersection of 1st and Custer streets, installed 1998

PANEL 1: AKRON
Here--seemingly far from everywhere--the Lincoln Land Company, a division of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, thought this place a likely site for a new town. It was, after all, the highest point between Chicago and Denver, and "Akron"--the Greek word for summit--seemed an appropriate name for a railroad division station. So it was done. Platted in 1882 and incorporated in 1887, Akron developed as a railroad, farming, and ranching hub. Through dry and rainy cycles, and a few tornadoes, too, the town thrived, growing beyond its railroad origins. In 1907, the U.S. Department of Agriculture created an experimental station a few miles east of town; and, since 1952, a range cattle station examines grassland conservation. In the 1990s, Akron's great airport--including a 7,000-foot, 100-foot wide runway, 24-hour weather station, and signal beacon used by pilots to chart cross-country courses--makes Akron a crossroads of the nation's interstate air carriers.

The Iron Horse
It must have been a sight, that first steam locomotive, chugging, clanking, smoking, screeching its way across the wide-open high plains country. Every once in a while, this terrifying or wondrous machine--it depended on who or what you were--had to stop to take on water; hence the origin of Akron, a way stop along the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad. By 1887, railroad officials made it a major division station, complete with roundhouse, tool sheds, depot, and crew headquarters. The railroad eased the moving of cattle and crops to market, but the romance of freight trains paled before the excitement of the great passenger liners that stopped here. Beginning with the 1890 Denver Special, a succession of "fast trains" whisked passengers through Akron on the Denver and Chicago route, including the world-renowned Zephyr, which could reach speeds of 112.5 m.p.h. Today, the Akron depot, located a block east of here, stands quiet, but freight trains still rumble along these tracks--a reminder of days gone by.

Also found on this panel:
Drawing of Akron
(Caption) Akron, 1888
Colorado Historical Society

Photo of Hardware Store
(Caption) Yeamans Hardware Store, 1912. Akrons' oldest business, Yeamans still is serving customers from its original location on Highway 34 and Main Street.
Courtesy Denver Public Library, Western History Collection

Photo of Experiment Farm
(Caption) Established in 1907 and located just east of Akron on Highway 34, the Colorado Experiment Farm researches agricultural problems related to farming the high plains.
Courtesy Washington County Museum

PANEL 2: INDIAN WARS 1864-1896
Battle of Summit Springs, July 11, 1869
Approximately twenty miles north of here at Summit Springs, the Fifth U.S. Cavalry, commanded by Maj. E. A. Carr, and a force of Pawnee Scouts attacked Chief Tall Bull's Cheyenne Dog Soldier village. Also prominent in the fight was chief of scouts William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, and the famed North brothers--Major Frank North and Captain Luther North. When the fighting was over, fifty-two Cheyennes lay dead. The Battle of Summit Springs--a great victory for the army--broke the military power of the Dog Soldiers and ended Indian-white conflict on Colorado's eastern plains. Shortly after the battle the United States removed the Southern Cheyennes to reservation lands in present west-central Oklahoma.

1865 Indian War
In November 1864, in southeastern Colorado, U.S. Volunteer troops attacked Black Kettle's peaceful band of Cheyenne Indians at Sand Creek. In retaliation for the massacre and mutilation of 163 Cheyenne men, women, and children, Cheyenne warriors with their Arapaho and Sioux allies struck military and civilian targets along the South Platte River Trail. On January 7, 1865, 1500 warriors attacked stage and telegraph stations, ranches, and wagon trains on a 100-mile front between Julesburg, Colorado--ninety miles northeast of Akron--and Denver. These great South Platte River raids closed Denver to the outside world and resulted in over 250 army and civilian deaths, diverted 8,000 Union troops from battle lines in the East, and cost the government some $30 million.

Also found on this panel:
Photo of Dog Soldier artwork:
(Caption) Fighting the Wolf Men Cheyenne Dog Soldier Ledgerbook. Found in the aftermath of the Battle of Summit Springs, was a ledgerbook of colored drawings depicting the battles of the 1864-1869 Indian War. Rendered by Cheyenne warrior-artists, this particular image shows Chief Tall Bull and Wolf with Plenty of Hair. Both Cheyenne were killed at Summit Springs.
Colorado Historical Society

Photo of William Cody:
(Caption) William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, c. 1867
Colorado Historical Society

Photo of Sand Creek Massacre:
(Caption) Sand Creek Massacre by Robert Lindneux 1936. The Sand Creek Massacre, which took place in southeastern Colorado on November 29, 1864, united the Plains tribes in an unprecedented war against white soldiers and civilians, including the Battle of Summit Springs, and other engagements along the South Platte River.
Colorado Historical Society