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Last month, Palisade observed its 41^st Annual Peach Festival. What you may not know is, that was our valley’s SECOND mouthwatering manifestation highlighting the peach. While investigating the roots of my 1895 firemen’s tournament ribbon, I learned the original festival started in Grand Junction, way back in 1891.

By 1886, the Grand Valley Canal system nourished about 45,000 arid acres. The first fruit trees had traveled here by “prairie schooner” and were planted east of Grand Junction. After some bountiful harvests, orchards cropped up from one end of the valley to the other. Encouraging this trend, The Grand Junction News proudly related stories of lemon-sized strawberries, tantalizing peaches in shades of “sunset,” six-foot branches laden with pears, and clusters of grapes weighing nearly ten pounds.

For a decade, boosters had tirelessly informed the world of our valley’s fertility.

Their efforts were highly successful due to a combination of grass roots efforts and brochures mailed to every corner of Colorado. Lavished with such prose as, “The never failing sunshine which in summer with ardent kisses brings blushes to peach and pear and nectarine,” appetites were whetted and immigration to the Western Slope increased.

Adding an incentive, farmers sent boxes of luscious fruits and vegetables to newspaper publishers around the state and, as hoped, Grand Junction was written about as if it were the Land of Milk and Honey.

By 1891, the town’s population had burgeoned to over 2,000. George A. Crawford, Grand Junction’s founder, died that year at the age of 64, living long enough to see his dusty Utopia blossom. Recent milestones included the newly-built St. Mary’s Hospital on Colorado Avenue and the organization of a volunteer fire department.

In conjunction with the Mesa County Fair, the first Peach Day event flooded the fairgrounds, then just west of today’s St. Mary’s Hospital 7^th Street location. The Little Book Cliff Railroad laid tracks to the entrance, and from its depot brought thousands of visitors. Excitement sparked the autumn air as the Pavilion housing the colorful exhibits was opened. The crush of guests made it “almost impossible to move back and forth.” Tons of free fruit were handed out, and the peaches were praised as “big and fair and fat,” all music to city boosters’ ears. Picture right is of the 1891 Exhibition, First Peach Day, courtesy Grand Junction News

Peach Day became so popular it quickly expanded to a three-day extravaganza. A typical schedule included “road races for wheelman,” utilizing a specially prepared ten mile bicycle course, a street parade highlighting “maskers,” cowboys, firemen, and performing citizens, a “cowboy tournament,” rifle shoots with cash prizes, and an exhibition baseball game. One game, in 1897, was between “full blood Navajo and Apache Indians,” while the Colorado Midland Band accompanied the excitement. Each evening either ended with a band concert at City Park (now Whitman Park) or high-class entertainment at Park Opera House, across the street (where the museum parking lot is now).

1895 firemen winners, courtesy Museum of Western Colorado, Loyd Files Research Library

The most popular events were the firemen tournaments on Main Street. Teams from Aspen, Ouray, Telluride, Georgetown, Cripple Creek, and Canon City competed against Grand Junction’s capable volunteers. Contests staged included foot races, ladder drills, and fire fighting skills. 1895 was a banner year, as our town’s team broke two records for the straight-away and the wet tests. The straight-away consisted of a three man team, each with his own job. One man connected hose to hydrant, one dragged the hose and connected it to another, and then the third ran 150 yards shooting a stream of water at a target. Drenching spectators was part of the fun. Grand Junction’s team set a new world’s record at 16 2/5th seconds, and won $75, a fortune. They also set a state record for the wet test at 27 2/5th seconds.

It wasn’t unusual for political royalty to make appearances. Usually, state officials were invited to give speeches, but in 1909, President William Howard Taft was the honored guest. After docking his train at the depot, he led the street parade and spoke to a packed crowd at the new fairgrounds at 12^th Street and North Avenue.

Another memorable event was when the local Woman's Christian Temperance Union brought in Carrie Lane Chapman, suffragette and founder of the League of Women Voters. She spoke to the crowd against “intoxicants,” while the WTCU distributed literature.

Coddling moth, Peach Mosaic disease, and poor farming habits led to less than stellar crops, and eventually cessation of Peach Day in Grand Junction. The effects of the boosters’ efforts, though, have proliferated. Today, the Grand Valley’s reputation thrives for producing some of the finest fruits in the world.