About

History of Columbine Estates (as of 2005)

History begins for Columbine Estates in the late 50's/early 60’s. In 1954, Colorado Springs was selected as the site for the new United Sates Air Force Academy. The first cadets started classes at the Lowry Campus, Buckley Air Base, Denver, in July 1955; and by August 1958, the new facility in Colorado Springs was completed enough for occupancy of the Cadet Wing.

At this same time, the Interstate Highway was being constructed through the state of Colorado - the Gazette Telegraph headlines on June 21, 1952, read, “Route through Colorado Springs to cost $4 ½ million.” Then on February 25, 1959, the Gazette Telegraph’s front page read, “Woodmen interchange will cost $1.1 million. Charles Shumate, administrative engineer for the State Highway Dept. said, ‘We still hope to have the entire Colorado Springs freeway open to traffic by late fall of this year.’”

Things were changing. Air Force Academy personnel needed housing. Land east of the freeway was open space, owned by ranchers. Interstate 25 made living in the “suburbs” more accessible and attractive.

The plat of Columbine Estates was recorded on July 28, 1961. Our property records list the Sixty-Three Corporation as the first owner. Research is still underway to find out “who” the shareholders of this company were, but we suspect that they were Air Force Colonels with names such as: Shrider, Fuller, Grashio, Craigan, etc. These names, of course, are familiar to all of us who live in Columbine Estates. (We think that the names of our cul-de-sacs are the names of their wives Janice, Gail, Ruth and Cindy Places.” The Sixty-three Corp. was also involved with the development of the subdivisions that surround us – Falcon, Brookwood, and Yorkshire. We are still researching who the Sixty-three Corp. purchased the land from.

In 1964, the Sixty-Three Corporation transferred ownership of the lots to the Colorado Springs Finance Corporation. Then, in ‘65/’66, there was a bankruptcy threat that prompted Jim Walker of Walker & Co. Realtors to initiate an aggressive sales campaign to sell Columbine Estates lots. Many lots were sold to individual investors and real estate salesmen. During this sales blitz, in 1966, the lots were priced around $4,500. In 2005, 39 years later, lot sales are over $100,000, and rare.

There were two homes built in 1965; one at 2309 Fuller Road and the other at 2410 Fuller Road. The first house built on the east side of Union was 3020 Fuller in 1969 (owner: Oliver Cellini). As of this printing, the newest home in our subdivision is now being built at 2661 Fuller (owners: Don & Naomi Mueller).

Originally, there were 106 lots in Columbine Estates. Now there are 103. The lots are mostly 2 ½ acres +/-. As of August 2005, 92 homes have been built in this subdivision. The covenants, or the Declaration of Restrictions, Obligations, Conditions and Reservations, were recorded on January 21, 1965. The covenants created the Architectural Control Committee. (They approved building plans for 44 homes in the 70’s.) The Columbine Estates Homeowner’s Association came into being later – approximately 1968. On November 15, 1993, residents of Falcon, Columbine, Yorkshire and Brookwood Estates voted on the issues of annexation into the city of Colorado Springs; and these three subdivisions were annexed in 1994.

Columbine Streets

As late as 1984, all of Columbine Estates roads were gravel. The El Paso County Department of Transportation performed a “chip and seal” of the roads sometime in the early 80’s. Before we were annexed into the city, the county “paved” the roads. Residents were glad to have the roads treated with something that would keep the dust settled.

Once upon a time there was a little road in our subdivision named Bluebell Drive. It ran from Woodmen Road on the south to Tecumseh Road on the northern edge of our subdivision. Today that stretch of road is named Union Blvd. In 1978 and 1979, Cady Daniels III, president of the Columbine Estates Homeowner’s Association at the time, petitioned the El Paso County Commissioners on behalf of all Columbine Estates property owners to vacate sections of Bluebell Drive. This petition would have closed Bluebell Drive at woodmen and created a couple cul-de-sacs (one on Fuller and one on Shrider). The Commissioners approved the petition on January 4, 1979. However, the City of Colorado Springs was determined to run Union through our subdivision and Union Blvd. was completed by June 25, 1984. The Briargate Development Corp. paid for the extension of Union from Cottonwood Creek to Research. The median strip through our subdivision has never been maintained. Should anything ever be planted there it will have to be LOW growing so as not to obstruct our vision when turning on Union Blvd.

Did you ever wonder about Tecumseh Road? Where did that name come from? Tecumseh (1968-1813?) was a Shawnee chief, born near the present city of Springfield, Ohio in the 1768. In 1808, Tecumseh and his brother established a village in northern Indiana, (which became known as “Prophet’s Town”) and persuaded the Indians there to avoid liquor, to cultivate their land, and to return to traditional Indian ways of life. President William Henry Harrison induced a number of tribes to give up great areas of their land; Tecumseh demanded that the land be returned to the Indians – his demand was rejected. Tecumseh traveled to Canada and to the Southwest to enlist support of Indian tribes for his cause. In the War of 1812 he joined the British and was killed in 1913.

There was a buffalo wallow in our neighborhood once upon a time. It was located mid-way between Union Blvd. and Taos Drive, north of Woodmen Road. Art Indermuehle heard the story from some road workers who were talking the soil for personal use! It’s REALLY good dirt! (The soil was going to be removed anyway to extend Woodmen Road east of Taos Drive.) Apparently, there had been a buffalo ranch in the vicinity because the Stage Coach Stop which was once located at Woodmen and Grashio Roads use to get buffalo meat from a nearby rancher.

It’s easy for all of us to forget “how things use to be.” Trying to reconstruct the past is challenging. We hope that you enjoy this section of the directory; and, if you have information to the contrary of/in addition to anything stated here, please do not hesitate to let us know.

When did that open?

Woodmen Valley Center, Academy & Woodmen Road: 1979

Chapel Hills Mall: opened September 1982

Diamond Shamrock, Woodmen Road: 1991

Home Depot, 7166 N. Academy: opened October 31, 1997

Sam’s Club, 1850 E. Woodmen: opened November 1998