Mesa County history

Colorado Governor J. B. Grant appoints George W. Thurston, Thomas B. Crawford, and Benjamin Carey as first Mesa County Commissioners (until election is held in 1884)

First held in 1887, the Mesa County fairs were initially held at 7th and Patterson, then at Lincoln Park.

Grand Junction’s population in 1890 was 2,030, according to the Federal Census Bureau.

The 1891 grave site is the only surviving property associated with "Judge" John Petal Harlow, an early settler of the Grand Valley area.

The 1910 Cayton Guard Station is associated with federal management and conservation of natural resources during the early 20th century development of the National Forest system.

He was also the founder, and then enemy, of Grand Junction's Ku Klux Klan in the 1920's.

Completed in 1922 to accommodate the expanding influence and reach of the Roman Catholic Church within the Lower Grand Valley, the ministry of St Malachy’s Church sought to "build the prettiest church in the valley."

1938, the Claybaugh Cow Camp served as seasonal housing for the ranching family of J.B. (Bruce) Claybaugh, owner of the Cross Bar Cross Ranch in the Grand Valley, and their cowpunchers as they grazed over 2,000 head of cattle on the Grand Mesa during the summer months.