Hahns Peak, CO Summer Headquarters History: Pearl Lake Legacy

Cow Creek and Pioneer summer headquarters were located in Hahns Peak, CO. Initially, the range wars kept the sheep company from establishing a permanent headquarters in the cool mountains of Colorado. By 2011, that changed and the entire Hartt family spent summers in the Hahns Peak area for generations. For more details, please see my page Pearl Lake State Park History: Abridged Version Of The Legacy and Story

The photos that follow are from a family album that my Aunt Marge compiled in the 1990s. The captions are her words.

Early Summer Headquarters 1916 & 17:  Located on Lester Creek and now under the waters at Pearl Lake. From L to R:  Aunt Etta Spragg, Lou & Marie.  
The Little Green House in the Village of Hahn’s Peak (Where the family spent the summers of 1918 & 19.  From L to R: Pearl, Granddad Spragg (Minnie Pearl Hartt’s father), Lou, Marge, Grandma Spragg (Minnie Pearl Hartt’s mother), Catherine (Kay), & Marie.    
For the next four or five summers the Hartt family lived at the Old Ranger Station east of Hahn’s Peak Village, which is now under the waters of Steamboat Lake.  From L to R:  Grandad Spragg (Minnie Pearl Hartt’s father), Pearl, Marie & Lou.
In the summer of 1926, the Hartt family moved into their very own “Hartt Family Headquarters” on Lester Creek. This is a 1979 photo – Originally the entire house was covered with split slabs.  By the mid 1930’s the wood peckers had made many holes in the upper part so the green shingles were added.

In those early days (’26-40’s) they used kerosene lanterns – cooking was done on a big coal and wood range – cold water was piped into the kitchen sink from a sunken barrel in a nearby ditch.  The house was “modernized” through the years, but never really changed.  

Visit Pearl Lake State Park History: Abridged Version Of The Legacy and Story to see what the “Hartt Family Headquarters” cabin is used for now!