Glendale, Colorado Territory
Glendale, Colorado Territory is a former settlement that was established in the 1860s as a stagecoach stop and then a farming community and school in the Beaver Creek area of Penrose, Colorado. First known as the settlement of Beaver Creek, it became Glendale, and finally Penrose.
Settlement
Settlers followed the Pike's Peak gold rush. Farmers were incentivized by the Homestead Act to come to the area. It was known as the Beaver Creek settlement initially, with a post office there by 1868. Then, the settlement became known as Glendale. In 1870, 22 families lived in the community, and more in 1880.Stage coach station and hotel
A stage coach stop was established along Beaver Creek, on a stage road from Old Colorado City. A two-story stone building with eleven bedrooms was constructed in 1868 by John McClure. It became known as McClure House and the Glendale Stage Stop. It is also known as the Glendale Inn Stage Coach Stop and Glendale House and Stagecoach Inn. It had a restaurant, orchards, and a garden. Corrals held 1,000 horses and mules for the stage line. The stage coach road was built by William McClelland and Bob Spotswood. The stage delivered up to 100 people per day, food, supplies, and the mail. Trappers and scouts stopped by. Cowboys and Native Americans on cattle drives from Texas camped nearby.In 1869, the business was renamed Glendale House and, operated by its new owner Rev. John Jeffries, and by 1874, it took in boarders. Church gatherings, parties, and weddings were held there.