Our early settlers were tough and resilient. Even so, James Frank Gardner from Attica, New York, stood out. Tired of living with his parents at age 22, Frank came west seeking adventure.

First, he found surveyors work near Omaha. Still bored at 26, he joined that hardy wave of men lured by rumors of Colorado gold in 1858. Like most, he found none. In the process, he almost died of typhoid fever.

Changing strides, Frank labored at Thomas Bayaud’s sawmill near Russellville. There, his eyes were opened wide when he saw the size of Douglas County’s early settler flow. Since opportunities knocked daily, he acquired his own team of oxen to profit from the commerce that swelled along the Cherokee Trail.

In 1860, Frank chose to squat on government land at the juncture of Bayou Gulch and Cherry Creek, where Ponderosa High School is today. Once his ownership claim vested, he built a log cabin and out-buildings, naming his property “Frank’s Town.”

Two miles further south in 1862, Charlie Parkhurst had another business idea. Seeing profit in that same settler traffic, he opened a stage stop/hotel combination named California Ranche, which is today the intersection of State Highways 83 and 86.

Unlike fellow gold prospectors, Frank was an organizer, the type of leader who recognized what it was to build a community. His neighbors recognized this early on, and for a while, Frank’s small town was named the county seat.

Subsequent deeds and achievements quickly earned him greater positions: county clerk, recorder and then county treasurer. By 1863, Frank had added postmaster and county assessor to his resume and later yet, justice of the peace and state senator.

Since the California Ranche was at a key local crossroad, Frank moved county records to the California Ranche Hotel, the seemingly wise decision. Unfortunately, right after the transfer, the ranch buildings and records were destroyed by fire. Rebuilt in 1874, Frank purchased the buildings from Parkhurst and another 155 acres to boot. Simultaneously, Frank sold his first parcel off to landowner Samuel Brackett.

Around 1864, Frank formed a stockade perimeter around the newly rebuilt Ranche, to defend against attacks from native tribes. His defense plan allowed Cherry Creek’s waters to remain accessible. Awed by his leadership, Governor John Evans saw fit to appoint Frank as commanding officer of the newly formed regiment, the Third Colorado Volunteers.

Activity in and around the Ranche helped grow the area, and it was renamed Franktown. For the next decade, until 1874 when Douglas County was divided and Elbert County created, Franktown prospered. So significant was it commercially, it became the headquarters of the Denver & Santa Fe Stage & Express Company.

Frank Gardner had become the County’s recognized business and political leader. The California Ranche would burn to the ground once more, never to be rebuilt again. Frank would later settle into the business of farming and ranching. His notoriety and prominence were such that President Chester Arthur later appointed him as area Indian Agent.

 

By Joe Gschwendtner; photo courtesy of Douglas County Historical Society