Cherry Creek Camp

In 1846 the unsettled area that is now Parker, Colorado, consisted of wild open plains, inhabited only by local Indian tribes and passing trappers and traders. The Crosby-Brown Company, otherwise known as the Mississippi Saints, and detachments of the Mormon Battalion of lowa Volunteers camped here along Cherry Creek. The route along the creek was then known as the old “Trappers Trail” and later became known as the “Cherokee Trail.”

Brigham Young had agreed to meet the Mississippi Saints on the Oregon Trail as he trekked with the Advance Pioneer Company. In July 1846, the Mississippi group discovered that they had been missed. As winter approached, they traveled on to Pueblo, Colorado. There, under a cottonwood tree, Sarah Emma Kartchner was born; the first Caucasian child born in the unorganized territory.

That year, at the dawn of the Mexican/American War, 500 Mormon men volunteered in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to serve in the United States Army of the West (Infantry) under General Stephen W. Kearney. Having suffered severe religious persecution, the Mormon men welcomed the opportunity to move west as they defended their country. On the Santa Fe Trail, three sick detachments were sent to Pueblo to winter and recuperate, aided by the Mississippi Saints. They spent nearly a year in Colorado, making them the first group to establish a religious colony in the West since the eighteenth century.

In early May 1847, seventeen members of the Robert Crow and George Therlkill families left Pueblo before the rest of the Battalion. They traveled through present-day Parker on their way to Fort Laramie, Wyoming. These families were ultimately among the first pioneers to enter the Valley of the Great Salt Lake with Orson Pratt’s Advance Company on 22 July 1847. There were six women with them: Elizabeth Brown Crow, Elizabeth Jane, twins Isa Vinda Exene and Ira Minda Almarene Crow, Mathilda J. Crow Therlkill and Harriet Blunt Crow.

On 24 May 1847, the sick detachment of the Mormon Battalion received their orders and “took up a line of march” to meet Brigham Young’s company at Fort Laramie, accompanied by the remaining Mississippi Saints. Their substantial wagon train included 60 wagons, 350-375 people, 300 cattle and 100 horses. They encountered severe thunderstorms and hail. After seeking shelter, they camped once again on Cherry Creek. During that time, a child, John Taylor Brown, was born. He is believed to be the first Caucasian born in what is now Douglas County, Colorado.

This is Daughters of Utah Pioneers historic marker #559, erected by the Douglas County 20 Mile Camp of the D.U.P. in 2010 on a walking trail west of Parker Road in Parker, Colorado.

Town of Parker Landmark

Hood House

In September of 1911, Fredrick B. Hood had come to Parker not only as a stock holder in the newly formed Parker State Bank, but to serve as the bank’s cashier, and manager as well. He purchased land on what was then called Rural Road (now Pikes Peak Drive) from Dr. Walter Heath. Immediately securing a builder, Hood began construction on this two-story home. The Hoods moved into their new house in December of 1911. He and his wife, Myrtle, had three children, Winfred, Helen, and Florence.

Hood immersed himself in local business and social activities. He and another bank director, Harold Senter, acquired a Ford distributorship for the local area and sold Model T Fords out of the bank. He was a trustee of the Ruth Memorial Episcopal Church and assisted in the efforts to build the church building. He was the secretary of the Parker Coronet Band, and occasionally clerked at farm and ranch auctions. Hood made a successful run for Douglas County Commissioner against Edgar Gerber and won by twenty-three votes. In 1918, Hood was the director from the Pine Grove Precinct of the Liberty Loan Committee organization for Douglas County. Hood continued with the bank until its demise in 1922.

This home was one of only two buildings in Parker that were undamaged by a flood in 1912. It was saved from demolition by the Town of Parker and moved from its original location on 11024 Pikes Peak Drive to Parker Preservation Park in 2008.