 "Mission
Viejo" was once near the shores of a vast inland sea during the
time of the last dinosaurs of the Cretaceous Period, 65 million
years ago.
American Indians first inhabited the area that is
today Mission Viejo, Aurora Colorado, some 12,000 years ago. These
"Ice Age" hunters made fluted spear points and pursued the
big game that once inhabited the area such as wooly mammoth, giant
sloth, camels and other now extinct animals.
Indians continued to pass through the area but it
wasn't until around A.D. 1100 to A.D. 1200, that peoples, whom
archaeologists call the "Woodland Culture", built
semi-permanent homes in the area. These homes were small "pit
houses". The new residents brought with them ceramic
technology, probably from the Midwest. Denver International Airport
revealed two of these structures and one was also found at Aurora
Reservoir.
The area was abandoned for permanent settlement
until around A.D.1600. The area then saw incursions of new Indian
groups such as the Ute's and Comanche's. Then suddenly starting in
the A.D. 1700's Arapahoe (which is what Arapahoe County is named
for) and Cheyenne Indians (both of whom originally came from the
Great Lakes region) made Colorado and the areas around "Mission
Viejo" their home.
Conflicts soon arose in the A.D.1850's when gold
was discovered near Denver and a new path bringing settlers to the
area, the "Smoky Hill Trail" cut through the lands once
frequented by the Arapahoe and Cheyenne Indians. The conflicts
culminated in the Sand Creek Massacre, which started the Indian Wars
and eventual displacement of the Indians.
The land that is today "Mission Viejo"
was once a homestead. The corner of Quincy Blvd. and Chambers Rd.
was established as the ranching town of "Melvin". A
prominent schoolhouse was
located a mile west of Parker Rd. in the current Cherry Creek State
Park. It was eventually moved to its new spot on the campus of Smoky
Hill High School and Laredo Middle School where you can see it
today.
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Paleo-Indian hunting
a Mammoth
Woodland pit house
excavated at DIA
Artists Concept of
Woodland Settlement
Arapahoe Indian Tipi
Village Artist Drawing
Pikes Peak or Bust
Pioneers
Melvin Schoolhouse on
the Smoky Hill High School Campus |
