In the late 1860s, suffering from rhuematism, Joseph Wescott became the first resident of Grand Lake looking to use the Hot Sulphur Springs of Middle Park as a cure and relief.

By 1868, pioneers began settling in Grand Lake as well. In 1879, Grand Lake was officially established as a township with 320 acres.  By June, the community had 31 residents and nine cabins. Mining grew the town of Grand Lake and the citizens wanted a political voice.  Elections were held in 1880 between Grand Lake and Hot Sulphur Springs for a county seat.  Grand Lake received 114 over Hot Sulphur Springs 83 but the votes were disputed.  This led to the July 4th, 1883 shootout in Grand Springs.  The facts are widely disputed and very unclear but in the end six people were killed.  It took Grand Lake a decade to recover politically.

From 1913-1920, Fall River Road was constructed as the first road over Continental Divide between Estes Park and Grand Lake.

Eventually the Estes Park and Grand Lake regions caught the attention of conservationists. On May 17th, 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt extended Wyoming's Medicine Bow Forest Reserve southward into Colorado, a reserve that included the land of today's Rocky Mountain National Park. In July of 1910 that section of the Medicine Bow Reserve in Colorado became the Colorado National Forest. Later, in 1932, it was renamed the Roosevelt National Forest.

A new regulation in 1919 gave exclusive permission to Roe Emery’s Rocky Mountain Park’s Transportation Company for driving visitors around the park. Local entrepreneurs around Estes Park and Grand Lake were incensed. Years of debate verging on acrimony followed. Mills championed the rights of "numerous resident local people who earned their living serving visitors." Nevertheless, the new National Park Service would not recant.

Credits and Sources:

“Rocky Mountain National Park: A History. Chapter 3: Searching for the Song of the Winds.” National Park Service. Park History Program. Accessed June 12, 2015. http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/romo/buchholtz/chap3.htm

“Rocky Mountain National Park: A History. Chapter 4: Dreams with Silver Lining.” National Park Service. Park History Program. Accessed June 12, 2015. http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/romo/buchholtz/chap4.htm

“Rocky Mountain National Park: A History. Chapter 5: For the Benefit and Enjoyment of the People.” National Park Service. Park History Program. Accessed June 12, 2015. http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/romo/buchholtz/chap5.htm

“Rocky Mountain National Park: A History. Chapter 6: Paradise Founded.” National Park Service. Park History Program. Accessed June 12, 2015. http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/romo/buchholtz/chap6.htm

“Timeline of Historic Events.” National Park Service: Rocky Mountain, Colorado. Stories. Accessed June 12, 2015. http://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/historyculture/time_line_of_historic_events.htm

“Rocky Mountain National Park: A History. Chapter 2: Into the Domains of Silence and Loneliness.” National Park Service. Park History Program. Accessed May 31, 2015. http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/romo/buchholtz/chap2.htm

“Rocky Mountain National Park: A History. Chapter 4: Dreams with Silver Lining.” National Park Service. Park History Program. Accessed June 12, 2015. http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/romo/buchholtz/chap4.htm