Ruxton Park
Ruxton Park is a park in Manitou Springs, El Paso County, Colorado at in elevation. The Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway, which departs from the depot at in elevation, climbs into Englemann Canyon along Ruxton Creek. It passes by the site of the Halfway Hotel and then Ruxton Park at mile marker 3 on the 8.9 mile trip to Pikes Peak summit.
In the late 19th century and early 20th century, it was a small town established along Ruxton Creek near Iron Springs, Colorado. Since 1925, it has been the site of a hydroelectric plant owned by the city of Colorado Springs and a weather station. Ruxton Park was only inhabited by a caretaker for the plant from 1930 to 2008, when the plant was fully automated.
History
In 1884, Thomas Palsgrove and his family lived in a cabin that was on a trail to the summit of Pike's Peak. They provided coffee and doughnuts as refreshments for hikers. He then began expansion of the cabin along Ruxton Creek that eventually was the Halfway Hotel with 22 rooms and was run by John Palsgrove by 1903.Thomas and his brothers developed the site and in 1890 platted the streets for a town named Ruxton Park below the timber line where Ruxton and Sheep Creeks meet. Cabins were built on several sold lots.
The Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway was built in 1890, which brought tourists to the top of Pike's Peak beginning June 30, 1891. The first third of the trip is alongside Ruxton Creek. A stop was made at Ruxton Park where tourists could eat a meal at the "pleasant" Halfway Hotel.
Ruxton Park was described as an area of aspen trees, pine trees and flowers—surrounded by Pike's Peak, Mt. Rosa, Cameron's Cone and other peaks. Wealthy families from the western states had houses in the town where they sought the cooler mountain temperatures during the summers. The town had a "fancy tourist hotel", water tower, and post office.
Hydroelectric facility
In November 1925, the city of Colorado Springs opened a water utility power plant in Ruxton Park, designated Municipal Plant No. 3, at a cost of. Fed by a pipeline from Lake Moraine, the Ruxton facility channels water down to Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs, generating electricity as Ruxton Creek descends the mountain.The plant was originally designed to be fully automated and remotely managed—an ambitious goal in the 1920s—due to its isolation, which required nearly a two-hour, drive from Colorado Springs over rough mountain roads, or a trip on the Cog Railway. Its valves were to be controlled from another plant in Manitou Springs, but the system never worked as intended.
In 1930, Colorado Springs Utilities began stationing caretakers at the site to oversee operations during the 6-month summer operating season. The caretaker's house, a simple white structure a few hundred feet from the plant, opened that same year. From 1930 to 2008, nine Utilities employees took on the challenge of living in Ruxton Park, operating the plant and taking measurements for the National Weather Service.
Rated for up to 1 megawatt, the Ruxton plant is relatively small, but it has remained in operation because of its key position in the city's water network. The facility connects reservoirs on the South Slope to the water systems serving Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs, where water pressure must be reduced before reaching distribution centers. The plant performs this function while also generating a modest amount of power.
In 2008, the plant was fully automated, ending the need for a resident caretaker, although city employees still occasionally stay in the house while performing maintenance due to the site's difficult access.