In 1885, Colorado Springs voters approved the first bond issue in the city’s history, for the purchase of a 640-acre piece of land previously owned by Colorado College. That tract would become North Cheyenne Cañon Park, a scenic outdoor venue beloved by residents and tourists alike.

In 1990, a home on Nevada Avenue, set to be demolished, was instead moved by truck to the South Cheyenne Canyon Road, at the entrance to North Cheyenne Cañon Park. That house would be transformed into the Starsmore Visitor and Nature Center, an information hub with hands-on exhibits, nature programs for children and adults, and historical facts about the park and the center.

The park and the visitor center celebrated milestone anniversaries this year. North Cheyenne Cañon Park is now 140 years old; Starsmore Visitor and Nature Center is 35 years old in its current incarnation; the building itself was constructed more than 100 years ago.

“There is a lot of local history connected with these two places,” said Parks Operations Administrator Cathy Railton.

Initially the property of Colorado College Land Co., Colorado College Park (as it was called then) required a toll fee to access it, and the park was closed on Sundays.

“A lot of residents didn’t like that,” said Railton. “People who worked full-time, with weekends off, wanted to be able to spend their Sunday hiking or picnicking at the park, and they couldn’t.”

Local author and activist Helen Hunt Jackson spearheaded a grassroots effort to buy the park from the college. The issue was placed before the voters, who approved the $5,000 purchase. A 35-foot waterfall in the park, Helen Hunt Falls, was named to honor her.

In 1907, the original park expanded by 480 acres, courtesy of a land donation by the city’s founder, Gen. William Jackson Palmer.

“It was important to General Palmer that the park be free for anyone who wanted to come,” Railton said. “We’re proud that the founder of this city cared so much about parks.”

Today, North Cheyenne Cañon Park has grown to more than 1,600 acres and has 26 miles of trail. It remains free to anyone who wants to hike, marvel at the scenery, or have a picnic in a part of Colorado Springs that looks, for the most part, the way it did in the late 19th century.

“Colorado Springs is constantly growing, with new houses and buildings everywhere. But we work to make sure that the park stays the same,” Railton said.

For much of its existence, the visitor and nature center was the home of the Starsmore family and was located on the corner of Cheyenne Road and Nevada Avenue. In 1989, Mary Starsmore sold the land to McDonald’s, and the home was set to be razed to make room for a new fast-food parlor.

Everett Cranmer, the owner of a Calhan-based excavation business, had been hired to demolish the house. But Cranmer could remember when the old Antlers Hotel was torn down in 1964 to make way for the current hotel. He was just a boy at the time, but he told people that he stood in the street and cried as the building came down.

Not wanting to see another historic structure destroyed, Cranmer sold the home to a local house-moving company for the princely sum of $1.

On April 3, 1990, the company moved the house to its current location at the entrance of North Cheyenne Cañon Park. It was a massive effort, aided by the Colorado Springs Police Department, the Parks Department, engineers and dozens of others.

“There are still a lot of residents who remember that move,” Railton said. “People lined the streets to watch it. Traffic lights had to be moved. Bridges had to be shored up. Getting it over here was quite an engineering feat.”

Today, the park and nature center make the location one of the most welcoming places in the city, a quiet refuge for people looking to escape, just for a few hours, the hustle and noise from of the city.

“I have been coming here since I was little,” said park employee Coben Scott. “It’s just so jam-packed with all the beauty of Colorado in just one park.”

“Helen Hunt Jackson led the charge for the park to be purchased, and Mary Starsmore sold the house on Nevada Avenue,” Railton said. “Two great ladies had a lot to do with this place, and we’re lucky to have it.”