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Grover Colorado Townsite - Ghost town

Photos courtesy of Mike Sinnwell 2005

The large two story building is one of a very few two story railroad buildings ever built to house employees and act as a rail station. It now houses a nice museum with a real hands on approach. If you get here make sure you stop and wander though. The people are friendly. Do us all a favor and make sure you leave a donation. Lot's of folks still living in the town.

A viewer writes - My name is Daniel Piron, i'm 35years old and i live in Belgium. My mother's name is Gilnay LucienneI know that one or two members of my family leave Belgium many years ago . I have search on the net and i have found that John-L Gilnay died at 95years old in 1976  and is in the Grover cementary . Could you check if this informations are correct and if somebody has know him and if he has progeny in Colorado. It would be very kind of you.  Daniel from Belgium.

The Answer -

Daniel,

  

THANKS for visiting my site. I appreciate it. It is very possible these photos are of your relatives graves.  I live about 90 miles from Grover so it is not a short drive for me. I decided to see what I could find on the internet. Looks to me like you may have a connection to Grover and the great state of Colorado.

http://hollyhockfarms.com/coweld/cemetery/Grover/images/Gilnay,%20John%20Louis.JPGhttp://hollyhockfarms.com/coweld/cemetery/Grover/images/Gilnay,%20Mike%20L..JPG

 Mike Sinnwell (AKA) Rocky of Rocky Mountain Profiles www.rockymountainprofiles.com

The Viewer writes - Thank you very much .  Mike L. Gilnay was my mother's grandfather and John Louis was the brother of Mike. I have esked to my mother more details. Her grandfather went to America around 1914 .He was 30years old . his brother John-Louis was 33 .  In 1949 Mike died at 65years old (cancer). Many times he wrote to my mother and was always speaking about all his friends (the neighbors).  His brother John died at 95 years old!!  Sorry my English is not perfect. Here we speak French! Daniel

A viewer writes - Monday, March 01, 2010 Hi, like the pictures of Grover Colorado I grew up there in the 80's and my family owned the Colorado's finest bar and cafe in Grover  and Pawnee high school known as Pawnee jackrabbits.

Rocky writes, does that me free drinks for me???

A viewer writes -  Tuesday, July 06, 2010 -  I live in one of the old houses pictured in Grover, Colorado. We love it here!  I am also a member of the historical society here and know (or can easily find out) about a lot of the families that have lived here.  Our Depot museum has a lot of information about the many people have lived here.  Cheryl  email me at  Clososky@yahoo.com

Rocky Says - WOW what a great offer. I hope people take her up on it and copy me with the results so we can share it with those interested here on this page.

A viewer writes - Monday, October 11, 2010 - Thank you for the nice pictures of Grover, CO.  I was on extended business in Colorado Springs in 2002 and one December morning decided to travel north and explore Weld County with a Colorado guidebook on the passenger seat.  It was a chilly but sunny day and on the way to Grover I stopped to look at some abandoned homesteads.  The area around Grover is pretty wide open and the town was a welcome sight.  I remember stopping in a store and getting some coffee before driving the streets of the town.  There was a mixture of inhabited dwellings and abandoned buildings and the town and people had a charm that makes the experience stand out almost eight years later. I just wished I had stayed to see the museum, but that is now an excuse to go back. I moved on from there to visit an old cemetery near by and then the Pawnee Buttes before heading back to Colorado Springs. David - Williamsburg, VA

A viewer writes -  Friday November 12th 2010, - Hey, I am listed on the Grover site with my email address.  I just wanted to let you know that I have gotten quite a few emails.  Most of them are from people just looking to find out if there is lodging or if they can camp out there.  There have been a few people wanting to bring out their metal detectors.  But over the summer I got an email from a woman (who's 76) who's grandmother homesteaded out here.  She had a box FULL of pictures of the town from 1900 and on, senior pictures from the graduating class of 1916 and 1920, lots of pictures of the people and the buildings, and newspaper clippings and obituaries.  After lots of correspondence, she sent me all these things to put the in the museum.  They are the most amazing pictures!  So I just wanted to say thank you for making it happen.  Love the website!

Rocky Says - You are welcome - that is part of why I started the site.

A viewer writes - Monday, April 04, 2011 -- I went to school in Grover 6th grade in 1959-1960.  Government was building missile sites in Grover area and Pines Bluff WY area.  We lived on a sheep ranch owned by Art Bard about 7 miles {i think} from Hereford and took the bus to Grover everyday. I can remember one students name there. His dad was a cattle and wheat farmer/rancher.  Boys name was Randy Peters.  My name is Michael Christensen and now reside in Defeated Creek Tennessee

A viewer writes Friday, October 28th 2011 - My Grandfather, Charles Roberts, raised a large family on a dry land farm just outside Grover. When my Mother, Maxine, had a stroke and had to relocate to Texas to live with me, I took her to Grover.  We stopped at the store and talked to the owner while my mother recalled her childhood.  Tough times during the depression; my mother recalled several families who came to her Dad's farm to eat and to pick vegetables to get by.  She won an award for Outstanding Student from Grover High School.  Grover is a tough town that refuses to die!  Thanks for keeping it going.  John Easterwood.

A viewer writes - Thursday, December 29, 2011 -- My family lived in Grover when I was born in 1951. My dad was Mayor and my mom City Clerk.

A viewer writes - Saturday July 14th, 2012 - My Grandparents had a farm in Grover, Co. Wade Helms, Most of his family is buried in the Cemetery, Baby son, Ike, Thelma, Loratla, Wife Laura, And Ashes Of Pauline Herman.

 We use to go up there in summers. Older brother helped save Grandma from Rattle snake bite. She got bit on the tractor , she made sure it was died by driving all over it. She flagged down my brother Jim he was 13, they met at the gate . They pack it with ice , my brother learned that from boy scouts. Then grandpa came back home and they ran to Ault to the nearest doctor, she was in Hospital for days. It bit her finger ,her finger was all swollen.

 We stand there one year Linda, Neal and Mark went to school .My classmates Lesley Lambertson,.

 There was one day that me and Mark were the only ones @ school The bus drivers husband picked us up as the bus driver would have to come to our road, when we went to get on, the driver almost fell out the door of his truck, That's when I got scared. We made it to school to find out school was canceled, but he had to do some work before he can drive us back home. There was a big snow storm that week.1976-77.   I still write to Shirley Wiggins.

A viewer writes - Wednesday 7/17/2013 A Grover Connection - Paul Thompson was my uncle. His wife, Alta, was a teacher in Grover. The family lived in Hereford, on the Findeisen ranch, then moved to a ranch nearer to Grover. (Sorry, I do not know the location, exactly). They are now deceased. The kids are scattered:  Clifton, a retired minister, and family live in Missouri, Russell, the house builder, and his wife, Rosie live in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and Carolyn, a retired nurse, lives in Arizona and remarried after her husband Charlie Hammen passed away. Her new hubby is Mark Parthe.   

Alta was remarried, after my uncle passed away, to Grant Rucker and lived at Florrisant, Colorado, until her death.

Joyce Thompson Carr

A viewer writes - Saturday, February 01, 2014 -- Very interested to find this site.  My family and I lived in Grover during the early 60's.  There was an oil lease on the Gillette's land.  My father, Grady Hedge, was the "pumper"/manager of the lease.  The owners were in Denver, I believe.  One owner's last name was Pepper.  We lived 7 miles from Grover, but rode the bus, I believe 50 miles to get to school.  My mother's name is Maxine.

Some of my classmates were Eileen ?, Joyce Ayers, Cheryl ? (her mother was a teacher there), Randy Peters.  One of my teachers was Mrs. Riley.  My brother is Mac Westmoreland.  He was married to Norma Jean Lingelbach.  Their son is Justin Westmoreland. My older sister was Terry and younger sister was Kathy.  (Both now deceased.)  Some other names I remember are the Koenigs, the Egglestons, the Hillmans. I had a teacher named Mr. Bauer.  There was Mrs. Barrett also.

Correction - Teacher name was Mrs. Bashor, and Mr. Hauer, not Bauer.

My name is Betty Hedge.

A viewer writes - Tuesday, September 01, 2015 -Hi Rocky!  I stumbled across your website and love the info about Grover. I can give a lot more. My Gr-Gr-Gr Grandparents settled in Grover after they became the first postmaster. Neal and Dolly (Grover) Donovan came from Laramie to settle in a town called Chatoga, later renamed Grover by Neal. The lived there for many years and ran the post office, later relocating to Greeley where they and some of their children are buried in Lynn Grove Cemetery. I went and visited Grover twice, meeting with some of the locals talking about the town and our connection. They thought it was fascinating I was actually related to the Donovans. They even showed me where the old post office was (now a tool shed) and the Donovan house was (now a church or school house, I think). Someday I want to go back and run the Train Depot. I am a librarian and would love to organize it and bring it up to museum standards...there is so much lovely stuff there! Anyway, if you can get up there and poke around, it is well worth the visit. Cheers!

Ruby Nugent  rubyslippers76@comcast.net