Jimmy Camp Today

During his more than a half century of ownerhsip rancher Raymond Lewis had always insisting on two regulations for Jimmy Camp Ranch: 1- "No Tresspassing," 2- "No Hunting." The strict enforcement of these regulations must be credited not only with preserving Jimmy Camp, but also with undoing the ravages of the previous decades. Were a mountain man of the 1840's or a gold seeker of the 1850's to return today, they would have no difficulty in recognizing their favorite campsite along the old Cherokee Trail.

Antelope still bound over the pastures. Coyotes yet skulk through the bushes. Deer, even today, bed down under the trees to escape the midday heat. As in any game presrve, birds sing, jackrabbits run, hawks soar overhead.

Water continues to flow from Jimmy Springs. It is still pure and pleasant to the taste, though perhaps not quite as cold as the thirsty gold seekers might have remembered it. The circular reservoir that contains the springs today is still surrounded by a barbed wire fence. The pipe leading to the nearby water tank is broken now, but the water still flows through it. The water in the small reservoir is covered over with cattails and other marsh grasses. A giant weeping willow tree stands guard to one side. The spring water flows down the right bank of the creek and - for hundreds of yards in both directions - gives life to the otherwise sandy bottoms.

Just to the side of the springs is the original Jimmy camp. The campground itself consists of several acres of grassy meadow lying between the creek and a ridge of pine-covered hills. On the creek side of the meadow, about 100 feet from the springs, are the flagstone foundations of a two-room house. Four weathered posts still stand in front, mute evidence of a former garden fence or perhaps an old corral. This may have ben the location of the grout house built by Matt France. There is no immediate evidence of the two early graves, nor is it known if anyone has yet made a systematic search for them based on the map drawn for Cragin by early resident, Mrs. William Atkins.

Campground at Jimmy Camp

A deep ravine connects the hills with the creek to serve as the southwestern boundary of the campground. To the northeast is the "defile of hills," first written of by Rufus B. Sage. This defile is formed by two circular hills of rock about seventy-five yards apart. Through them the old trail used to wind on its way up the long, gradual hill toward Black Forest. Part way up this hill, not very far from the remaining traces of the old trail, is an upper spring that is half-hidden in a group of trees. A rusty pipe leads from this spring to an abandoned water tank and corral. Nearby is the shell of a story-and-a-half frame house. This house was probably built after the turn of the century as there is evidence of wooden lathes once used in plastering.

Not much is left of the old trail that once passed through Jimmy Camp. It is easy enough to trace its route on the old 1866 survey maps; but physical evidence is much harder to come by. Present ranch roads cover parts of the trail. Here and there are swales: gentle depresions that now mark the terrain where once wagons passed. Perhaps the clearest evidence of the old trail is on the gentle slope that leads north out of the vally. Here the steel-rimmed wagon wheels long ago cut into the soft earth, creating deep ruts, and starting the process of erosion that has resulted in the many ravines which scar the hillside to this day.

No historical marker remains today to point the way to Jimmy Camp. The bronze plaque, which had been attached to a 3,000 lb. granite boulder and placed at the side of Highway 24 in 1949, is thought to have disappeared sometime in the mid-1970's. This plaque had been erected by the Kinnikinnik Chapter of the D.A.R. in cooperation with the Colorado Springs Pioneers' Association and the Colorado State Historical Society. It had read in part:

"One mile southeast...is the site of Jimmy Camp, named for Jimmy (last name undetermined) an early trader who was murdered there. A famous campsite on the trail connecting the Arkansas and Platte rivers and variously known as Trappers' Trail, Cherokee Trail, and Jimmy Camp Trail. Site visited by Rufus Sage (1842), Mormons (1847), and many goldseekers in 1858-59."

A couple miles to the south of Jimmy Camp, across Highway 94, the old boxcar still sits atop Jimmy Camp Bluffs. On the northeast end of these bluffs is a sandstone formation known as Balanced Rock. Into its sides are carved several names from the 1880's and 90's. Most of these names were probably inscribed by 19th century coal miners from the nearby site of McFerran. Among the more legible names are: M. Baujet 1884...H. Newcomb 1890...M. Garet 1887...Jack Asbaugh M.D. 1895...Hutchison 1888...Art Simshauser