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What's In a Name?
Imagine standing here 150 years ago. You observe a red rock wilderness, no settlement nearby and footpaths traveled by American Indian people for centuries. What would you name this place?
Back in 1859, not long after the "Pikes Peak or bust" gold rush began, a group of men explored the nearby area to determine a place for townsite at the base of Pikes Peak. They named their new town Colorado City, as "colorado" is Spanish for "red," like the surrounding land. As they looked over this area of cathedral-like rock spires, one man, Malanethon Beach, commented that the spot would be a great place for a beer garden some day. His friend, a poetic young man named Rufous Cable, replied that it was a place "fit for the Gods." The name Garden of the Gods has expressed the awe and admiration felt by Cable and by visitors ever since. |