John Gregory Country: Place Names and History of Ralston Buttes Quadrangle, Jefferson County, Colorado

A modest attempt to locate geological and historical reference points in and adjacent to the Ralston Buttes Quadrangle of Jefferson County, Colorado, to better understand the countryside of the Gregory toll road.

And in the process to learn all manner of curious things.

The toll road was occasioned by the discovery in 1859 of gold in the forbidding upheaval of mountains west of Denver—a discovery that put an end once and for all to the charges that the Pikes Peak gold fields were a hoax.

Early place names reflect a tendency for literalness, an attempt, in a region with no names, to be as specific as possible. Clear Creek is a good example. The river has been called Cannon Ball Creek for the large fields of boulders in its bed, Vasquez Fork for the fort located at the river's confluence with the South Platte, Long's Creek by the Long Expedition, Toughcuss for the tough terrain, and Clear Creek for the clearness of the water that flows into the muddy South Platte.

Many place names do not appear on known maps but persist in being handed down. Sheep Mountain, officially known as Centennial Cone, is a good example. Some names appear on early maps only to be cast aside later. Dry Creek is one of these. That drainage is now known as Van Bibber. The name Dry Creek, however, continues in common use.

Another name that stubbornly refuses to die is Mt. Tom. Although replaced from time to time with Golden Peak, the original name is holding its own on more recent quads. Then there's Indian Gulch and the unfortunate mix-up that resulted in the near loss of that important piece of Indian history.

A big chunk of missing information is in the dearth of Indian and Spanish names. These appellations did not survive the high tides of European gold seeker and settler long enough to be handed over to the archivist. To those dusty sojourners of bygone days who called it as they saw it, and to today's collectors of maps and stories, keepers of the flame, we are deeply indebted. May you be entertained and prompted to further investigation by this meager beginning. Additions and corrections are earnestly solicited for a second edition.

Charles Ramstetter was born in the old 8 mile house in Golden Gate Canyon. When he was seventeen, he joined the army to see the world. In 1979 he retired from the United States Air Force as a Master Sergeant and returned to the land where he is a fourth-generation rancher. His grandfather, Henry Ramstetter, Sr., married Matilda Koch, the daughter of homesteaders Ernest and Elizabeth Koch. His father, Otto Ramstetter, homesteaded between Tucker Gulch and Clear Creek Canyon, and was also a gold miner. Charles' mother, Bertha, taught school in Mountain House and Guy Hill schools in the 1920s.

Mary Ramstetter grew up in Golden. Her father, Owen Francis Acers, was for many years Golden's only electrical contractor. Her mother, Geneva, did the payroll for all of Jefferson County in the 1940s. Mary retired from the Colorado School of Mines where she worked as secretary for the Humanities and Social Sciences Department. She has written three historical novels: Over the Mountains of the Moon, Down the Valley of the Shadow, and Ride, Boldly Ride.

Together Charlie and Mary run a commercial cow-calf operation in Crawford Gulch. Their registered Colorado cattle brand, which is read by brand inspectors as the "c lazy three" brand, named their press. They have four children and four grandchildren.