Brief History of Penrose and the Centennial

The Penrose Chamber of Commerce will celebrate the centennial of Penrose in 2009.The Centennial Committee has been meeting monthly and has developed a Centennial Logo. Vern Roberts spearheaded the Logo Committee, along with Tony and Holly Gleiforst, Bill and Ione Mc Guire, and Roberta Newton, with Dick Lane as Technical Advisor. The logo incorporates a large red apple with bright yellow and green design elements. The logo has been trademarked by the Chamber and can be used with permission for all Centennial activities.The history of Penrose begins on Beaver Creek in the early 1860’s. Settlers from Appanoose County, Iowa, travelled by wagon across the dusty plains to the lush banks of Beaver Creek., where they established farms and ranches. After the Civil War, Union and Confederate veterans headed west and homesteaded along the creek; building stone houses, digging irrigation ditches, and raising their families. By the early 1900’s, census records showed settlements such as Toof, Juniper, Woodriff, Upper Beaver, and Glendale along Beaver Creek. Farmers took their produce to the mountain mining camps, while the women tended children and gardens. Numerous schools, churches, post offices, and stores dotted the banks of Beaver Creek. In 1907, Spencer Penrose, a wealthy businessman from Colorado Springs, began buying water rights on Beaver Creek and later established the Beaver Land and Irrigation Company. His grand design was to sell city lots and acreages, with water and orchards. In 1908 he platted the Township of Fremont, and in 1909 the citizens petitioned the Federal Government for the Post Office, to be moved from Glendale, on Beaver Creek, up to the mesa where Penrose is mow located. The name of the new Post Office was to be “Penrose” – the first time that name was used in conjunction with the area.From 1907 to 1909 the Schaeffer Dam was erected, west of present-day Highway 115. The Penrose Beaver and Northern Railroad was built in 1909, with the depot just south of the Apple Shed, on Highway 115. Rodeos and agricultural fairs were held to accommodate the harvests of farmers and ranchers. Penrose School was built in 1916, with numerous additions, the newest one in 2006. The first Apple Day was held in 1935. Life in the Beaver Park/Penrose area flourished.Penrose never did become an incorporated town, but the name “Penrose” still identifies the community that is the gateway to Fremont County on the east and north sides of Fremont County. The Centennial Committee is composed of community organizations, businesses, individuals, school representatives, churches, clubs, and groups. “The mission of the Penrose Centennial Committee is to celebrate, promote, and preserve the heritage of Penrose.”
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