Eastonville, Colorado facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eastonville, Colorado
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 Eastonville, Colorado
Location in Colorado
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| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado |
| County | El Paso |
| Elevation | 7,235 ft (2,205 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Mountain Standard Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (Mountain Daylight Time) |
| Area code(s) | 719 |
Eastonville is a town that no longer exists in El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It used to have a post office. First, it was called Easton in 1872. Later, in 1883, its name changed to Eastonville. The post office closed in 1932. Today, Eastonville is not an official town anymore. Its old location is now part of the Colorado Springs area. It's close to the Black Forest.
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A Look Back at Eastonville
The area around Eastonville started to be settled around 1872. That's when a post office opened nearby. It was in the Black Forest region of Colorado. People found the land was great for growing potatoes. Many pioneers, or early settlers, built homes there.
In 1881, the Denver and New Orleans Railroad built train tracks through the area. They made a stop called "McConnellsville." This was near where Eastonville is now. This was the main train line from Colorado Springs to Denver. Soon after, in 1883, the post office moved north. It was named "Easton" after a local pioneer, John Easton. The town quickly became known as Eastonville. The railroad then asked the town to move a short distance to its current spot.
Eastonville's Golden Age
By the 1900s, Eastonville was a busy place. It had between 350 and 500 people. The town had three churches and three hotels. There was also a newspaper, a school, a race track, and a baseball field. Many businesses thrived there.
Nine to ten passenger trains passed through every day. Plus, many freight trains used the tracks too. You could hear the constant rumble of trains day and night. Eastonville proudly called itself the "potato capital of the world." Some years, they couldn't find enough workers to harvest all the crops. Colorado Springs newspapers would even print big ads. They offered good wages for work on the potato farms in Eastonville. It was one of the most successful farming towns in eastern Colorado. Many of these towns are now ghost towns.
Why Eastonville Disappeared
Eastonville stayed a strong town until the 1930s. That's when a long period of drought hit the west. The Great Depression also made things very hard for people. In 1935, the area faced a potato disease. There was also a flood that washed away many buildings in Elbert. Elbert was the next town north on the railroad.
The railroad tracks were then abandoned. The town couldn't recover without the trains. Especially since Peyton, a town 6 miles away, still had the Rock Island railroad. Today, only a few buildings and the cemetery remain. But as of May 2013, the United States Board on Geographic Names still lists Eastonville as a "populated place."
As the town faded away, the Eastonville school district joined with the Peyton School District. Eastonville is now part of the Falcon fire district.
Images for kids
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An abandoned house in Eastonville.
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The Eastonville Cemetery.
