DID YOU KNOW
Steamboat Springs got its' name when people heard a sound which reminded them of a steamboat. It actually came from the natural mineral springs at the far end of town now named the Steamboat Springs. The sound quit when the railroad was constructed.
Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club is one of the oldest and most recognized ski clubs in the United States and was named the 2000 United States Ski & Snowboard Association's Club of the Year! The club is dedicated to providing top-level coaching and instruction to recreational and competitive winter sports enthusiasts.
Yampa is a tuber like plant that grows along the river and is as edible as a carrot.
The location of the original hospital in town is now the Old Town Pub.
James Crawford was one of the first settlers in Steamboat Springs in 1875.
The Cabin Hotel was at the site of the present day library, (13th & Lincoln). It had 100 rooms, mainly for visitors who came to enjoy the natural hot springs via the railroad. The hotel burned down in 1939 and claimed two lives.
Buddy Werner was a Steamboat Springs native and Olympic skier who was killed in an avalanche in Switzerland's Alps in 1964.
Norwegian Carl Howelsen introduced ski jumping in Steamboat Springs in 1914.
Steamboat Springs boasts more than 47 and counting Olympians who started their careers here. Not all are skiers though!
Ranching is one of the valley's mainstays. Cattle were introduced into the area around 1860. In later years, cattle were gathered to an area north of Steamboat to be shipped by the railroad.
In 1911 nearly 9,000 crates of strawberries were shipped out of Strawberry Park, 3 miles north of Steamboat Springs, thus how it became known as Strawberry Park.
The Yampa River begins in the Flat Top Wilderness to the southwest of Steamboat Springs. When it leaves this area, it goes west to join the Green River in Utah, then south to join the Colorado River west of Grand Junction.
WHAT'S IN A NAME
First settled in 1876, the town of Steamboat Springs was named for a pulsing geyser which shot hot mineral water several feet into the air every few seconds. As one historian wrote, the springs made "a puffing sound, resembling that made by the exhaust pipes of a steamboat as it approaches the warf". It's rumored that three French trappers first named the "Steamboat Spring" in 1865 after they mistook the chugging for that of a steamboat coming around the bend in the river.
The Steamboat Spring was an early landmark for the Ute Indians, who used it and many of the more than thirty other mineral springs in the area for medicinal and social purposes. These springs attracted the Indians during the lush summer months when they enjoyed good weather and good hunting.
The mineral springs also attracted the first white man, said to be a Jesuit missionary who lived in an adobe hut near the Yampa River in about 1835. It took almost fifty years until the springs and the plentiful waters of the Yampa enticed more permanent trappers and settlers. By the late 1800's, the town of Steamboat Springs was well established on the stage route through Northwest Colorado.
At that time, the first tourists began arriving in Steamboat Springs to enjoy the fine hotels and beautiful scenery as well as the many hot springs. Among them, in 1914, was a Norwegian traveler named Karl Howelsen, who happened to have brought along a pair of hickory skis. Howelsen liked Steamboat Springs in the summer, but he loved it in the winter. He created the first ski jump in the western U.S. and organized the first annual Ski Carnival which featured jumping and racing. Locals called him the "Crazy Norwegian".
When the railroad reached Steamboat Springs in the early 1900's, the town boomed. Ranchers, miners and upstart skiers began building the downtown commercial district, which even today retains much of the old western style architecture and original store fronts.
In 1958, the first ski runs were cut on Storm Mountain, later renamed Mt. Werner following the tragic death of local Olympian Buddy Werner who died in an avalanche in Switzerland.
The creation of what is now one of the U.S.'s best known ski areas changed things in Steamboat Springs, but even as the town plays host to nearly a million visitors per year, the folks on the street still offer friendly smiles and a genuine "howdy".
SKI TOWN USA
Steamboat Springs' tradition in the sport dates back to the 1800's when local ranchers used skis to get to stores, school, neighbors, mail and livestock.
In the early 1900's, a high flying Norwegian, Carl Howelsen, showed locals that skis could be used for fun as well as work. The fun became organized when the town hosted its first Winter Carnival in 1913. The Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival, the oldest continuing winter carnival west of the Mississippi, celebrates its 93rd annual event this season. Carl Howelsen could never have imagined the impact he would have on this small northwest Colorado town.
Steamboat is known simply as Ski Town USA because it has produced more winter Olympians than any other town in North America, record 56 and counting, participating in over 95 Olympic events. Steamboat's tradition dates back to the 1932 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, at which the Valley's first Olympian, John Steele, placed 15th in nordic jumping.
Nelson Carmichael became the first Steamboat Olympian to win an Olympic medal, a bronze in mogul at the 1992 Games. During the 1998 Nagano Games, Steamboat Olympian Shannon Dunn became the first American woman to win a medal in snowboarding. Steamboat sent 15 athletes to the 2002 Winter Games. Over 20 athletes from Steamboat attended the 2006 Winter Games in Italy.
Steamboat's 70-year tradition of generating more Olympic athletes to the US Ski Team has earned it the moniker Official Supplier to the US Ski Team.
The Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club has played an integral part in the development of young athletes by providing the support, experience and encouragement that they need in order to achieve their Olympic dreams. For information about this seasons Winter Sports Club Events call 879-0695, or visit www.sswsc.org
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