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Program: Mile Houses along Cherry Creek
November 21, 2022 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
MILE HOUSES ALONG CHERRY CREEK
Monday, November 21, 2022 6:30 pm Book Signing, 7:00-8:30 pm program
Highlands Ranch Southridge Recreation Center,
4800 McArthur Ranch Road, Upstairs Auditorium
$3 Donation Suggested at Door for non-HRHS members
The Cherry Creek Valley has long served as a major transportation corridor, from Native American footpaths to the proposed route of Interstate 25.
In the 1860s, six “Mile Houses” along Cherry Creek provided food, lodging, and other services for travelers heading to, or returning from, Denver and the “Pike’s Peak” gold fields.
Named for their distance from Denver, the mile houses sat on the combined Smoky Hill and Cherokee trails.
17 Mile House
The fate of the six houses varied greatly.
Two remain, open to the public as living history farms.
A third was converted into a garage of a private residence.
Two houses are completely gone, one replaced by urban sprawl, the site of the second now under water.
The sixth house was moved to a small eastern Colorado town, where it served as a liquor store.
20 Mile House
Lee Whiteley is a 4th generation Coloradan who now lives in Centennial. He graduated from the University of Denver and spent two years in the U.S. Army, including a year in Vietnam. Lee took a very early retirement from the City and County of Denver, where he was a computer programmer-analyst. He and wife Jane have authored seven books on transportation history in the West, including books on the Cherokee Trail and Smoky Hill Trail. This is Lee’s fourth presentation to the HRHS.
Lee will have some of his books for purchase and signing at 6:30 pm and after the program. Cash or checks.
Monday, November 21, 2022 6:30 pm Book Signing, 7:00-8:30 pm program
Highlands Ranch Southridge Recreation Center,
4800 McArthur Ranch Road, Upstairs Auditorium
$3 Donation Suggested at Door for non-HRHS members