Early History of Elk Meadow Lodge & RV Resort
Elk Meadow Lodge & RV Resort (formerly known as
Blue Arrow Campground) has a fascinating and colorful
background. Estes Park, nestled in the Rocky Mountains
at over 7,500 ft. altitude, has been a playground
for the historical famous for well over 100 years.
The RV Resort is located just outside the entrance
to the Rocky Mountain National Park in some of the
most beautiful surroundings to be found anywhere in
the world.
The Arapaho Indians spent their winters on the present
site of Elk Meadow. Several artifacts were found by
workers while digging and grading for the different
commercial and camping sites that have been on the
33 acres.
The property was purchased in the early 1960's by
a film company, to be developed into a movie "ghost
town" and tourist attraction. The buildings were
brought in, piece by piece, and reconstructed on their
present sites. Many celebrities came to Estes Park
and visited the property; James Drury of "The
Virginian", Irene Ryan "Granny" from
the Beverly Hillbillies, Dan Blocker & Lorne Greene
from "Bonanza" and Fess Parker, Davy Crockett
& Daniel Boone. Some filming of Bonanza was done
on the property and shoot-outs/movie stunts were presented
to tourist that visited the property.
The Lodge and Historical Cabin were originally located
at Bear Lodge in Rocky Mountain National Park. Each
log was numbered as the buildings were disassembled
and photographed to insure perfect reconstruction.
The Mahogany Bar in the lodge came from the West's
most fabled hostelry, the Windsor Hotel. The Windsor,
built in 1879-1880 was located in Denver. It was five
stories high and as fine a hotel as any from New York
to San Francisco. In its day the sixty-foot bar was
studded with 3,000 silver dollars and stocked with
10 brands of champagne along with other spirited drinks.
It is said that Calamity Jane once shot holes in the
wall of the barroom, after being told that women could
not be served at the bar. Eugene Field, a noted poet,
swapped an original copy of one of his poems for a
taste of Windsor's whiskey. Many famous people including
four presidents stayed at the hotel. Over the years
several attempts were made to restore the hotel, but
in 1958 the doors closed. There was an auction and
now half of the 60-foot bar resides in the Lodge at
Elk Meadow. Come look at the bar, lean on it, and
imagine all the great, famous people who did just
the same.
The red two-story building, now used as the office
and gift shop came from Central City, and is "reputed"
to have been used as a brothel. If you look closely
when you come into the park, you can still see the
"ghost" of the madam in the second floor
window. The garage was once the telegraph-post office
in Estes Park. Additional buildings were moved to
the property in order to complete the old western
movie town. Apparently at one time a wonderful museum
was assembled containing antiques and, at the time
was considered the world's largest collection of buggies,
wagons, and other horse drawn conveyances, including
the hearse that reputedly carried President Lincoln
to his resting place.
The property was sold in 1970 and converted to a campground;
but sadly the buggies, antiques and many of the buildings
were auctioned off. The Lodge, Historic Cabin ( which
is available to stay in), the "brothel"
and the Windsor Bar still remain at the park.
Even its former name has a history. It was called
Blue Arrow Campground after someone found a cave near
the property containing many Indian artifacts; among
them were arrows all dyed blue!
Please come savor and enjoy the atmosphere of the
wild west and the comforts of today-truly the best
of both worlds at Elk Meadow Lodge & RV Resort.
|
|
