The keeper of all things Fruita: Lower Valley Heritage Room holds stories of Fruita’s history
Aug 29, 2017 11:07AM ● By C.J. Payton
Did you know that Fruita’s apples used to be as popular as Palisade’s peaches are today, and were shipped around the country—even to Paris?
Or that one night in the 19th century, Fruita’s fledgling post office suddenly disappeared overnight, carted off by supporters of a competing neighboring town?
Did you know that a public, interurban railway system used to connect Grand Junction and Fruita, transporting students and orchard harvests alike? It’s all true, and you can learn about these stories and more in the Lower Valley Heritage Room (LVHR).
A historical treasure
The LVHR is housed in the Fruita Civic Center, a building that plays an important role in the town’s heritage. Previously Central Grade School, it was condemned by the school district and slated to be torn down.
A handful of farmers warned civic leaders that they would meet anyone coming to tear down the building at the doorsteps—shotguns in hand. Incredibly, the ploy worked and the building was saved. It’s now home to offices for the City of Fruita and a precious window into the city’s history.
The caretaker of that room, Yvonne Peterson, is passionate about Fruita’s past. It was at her request that the former sixth grade classroom be preserved, with the squeaky wood floors and blackboards left untouched—another special piece of history.
She laid the groundwork for this “poor man’s museum” after serving on a committee organizing the 100-year reunion of Fruita’s high school. The committee had $4,000 left over after the reunion and wasn’t sure how to use the surplus. Peterson enjoyed hearing locals reminisce about Fruita’s history during the celebration and wanted a place to house those stories. At her urging, the committee used part of the money to archive memories from locals and create the Lower Valley Heritage Room.
Established in 1993, the museum is accessible to all people interested in local history as told by the people who lived it.
“Everything in this room can be copied,” Peterson said. “Anybody can come in and look through whatever they want.”
Settlers’ tales
The collection includes work by Renaissance man William E. Pabor, the founder of Fruita.
Pabor played a role in establishing many Front Range towns, including Greeley, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs. He’s also responsible for planting the hundreds of fruit trees that make Fruita, well... Fruita. His poetry and more information about his life can be found in the LVHR.
Also inside, visitors will find histories of local lodges, including the Masons, Eastern Stars, Rebekahs, Odd Fellows, Rainbows and more. The LVHR boasts a large collection of Fruita phone books, a disappearing part of history, and the only record of the city’s former street names and numbers, which changed in 1974 and are vital for residents looking into the histories of their homes.
The museum is packed with quirky stories about the town’s founding, including Pabor’s troubles with Frank and Ben Kiefer, brothers who established the competing town of Cleveland east of his proposed townsite. He and the Kiefers were in a race to get paperwork completed to establish their town first, and Fruita’s post office was a major step forward. But one morning, Fruita residents awoke to find that the office had vanished, steps and all.
Industrious Cleveland supporters had hitched up a team of horses and dragged the post office to their town in the night. Postal officials were not pleased and ordered the building returned to its original location. Pabor won the paperwork race in 1884.
Cleveland eventually became a town, too, but was incorporated by Fruita in 1905.
Preserving the past
The collection has taken decades to put together. For 20 years, Peterson has managed every piece of family, business and town history that has come through the door. She lugs home three or four boxes a week to sort through the memories inside. She puts artifacts and stories in archival-quality sleeves and creates a clearly titled notebook for easy retrieval, to be shelved in the Heritage Room.
Preserving history is an ongoing process. When the “Fruita Times” stopped publishing in 2014, volunteers joined Peterson to move, organize and archive the entire 123-year-old publication. They’re still working on it, and soon, she and her crew will ask for assistance purchasing the archive boxes needed to protect this irreplaceable piece of Fruita history.
From births to businesses, bridges to schools, cemeteries to streets, if it happened in the Lower Valley, you’ll find it in this humble but ever-expanding museum.
Peterson and a dedicated group of volunteers work in the Lower Valley Heritage Room from 1-3 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of every month. To talk history or visit the Lower Valley Heritage Room, contact Peterson at 858-3868.
