Ivywild, Colorado facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ivywild
Neighborhood
Ivywild Location in Colorado
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Municipality	Colorado Springs
Founded by	William B. Jenkins
Time zone	UTC−7 (MST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−6 (MDT)
Zip code	80905
Area code(s)	719

Ivywild, Colorado, is a neighborhood located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It's found south of the city center, near Cascade Avenue and along Cheyenne Creek. As of 2015, the United States Geological Survey officially calls Ivywild a "Populated Place," meaning it's an area where people live. It's also known as one of Colorado Springs' oldest neighborhoods, where many working families have lived for a long time.

Early History of Ivywild

Before European settlers arrived, the Cheyenne people often set up their tepees near where the Fountain and Cheyenne Creeks meet. This was a common travel route for them. Around 1859, Irving Howbert and his family were among the first European settlers near these creeks. The next year, John Wolfe also settled along Cheyenne Creek. By 1879, the area was already known as Ivywild.

Ivywild was officially started in 1888. A rancher and miner named William B. Jenkins divided his land into 43 lots to create the town. His wife, Annie, gave the town its name. Annie was a major investor in the Ramona Mining Company. Her father, William Iles, managed the first hotel in Manitou Springs, Colorado, called La Font. Ivywild even had its own post office by January 1892.

The Ivywild Improvement Society held yearly meetings by 1898. They discussed issues like high water rates and taxes. In 1917, this group even filed lawsuits about public services for the community. Dorchester Park in Ivywild is named after Joseph Dorr. He was a lawyer who helped secure water rights for Cheyenne Canon and Ivywild. Dorr, who was from Iowa, started a hay farm in the area in 1874. The park is located right across the creek from where his farm used to be.

John H. Bacon, who was the mayor of Colorado Springs in 1880, lived in Ivywild by 1900.

Ivywild in the Early 1900s

The Ivywild Elementary School opened in 1901. It started with two small bungalow buildings. In 1916, a new brick building was constructed for the school. The two original bungalows were moved. One became the Edelweiss Restaurant, and the other became the Ivywild Presbyterian Church.

In 1902, Winfield Scott Stratton and Thomas F. Burns bought 10 acres of land along Cheyenne Boulevard from William B. Jenkins. They paid $16,000 for the land, which would be about equivalent to $541,169 in 2022 today. They planned to build a baseball park called Boulevard Park. This park was just west of Jenkins Pond, which is now near Tejon Street and Cheyenne Boulevard.

Stratton started building the baseball park, but it wasn't finished until after he passed away. The Burns brothers, James and Thomas, bought a baseball team called The Millionaires. Thomas F. Burns became the president of the club. The Colorado Springs Millionaires baseball team played at Boulevard Park, which could hold 3,500 people. The park was also a quick 5-minute trolley ride from the center of town on the Colorado Springs and Interurban Railway's electric trolley route.

In 1902, Ivywild residents met at Jenkins' house to talk about creating their own local government. At the time, the community was managed by El Paso County, Colorado. People felt it was the right time because the "pretty suburb" was growing steadily. Plans were made later that year to officially incorporate the town.

John Coughlin, a political leader from Chicago, bought property in Ivywild in 1903 to invest in its growth. In 1904, he donated a carriage with fire equipment to the town. Coughlin also built an amusement park called Cheyenne Springs Park and Zoo in 1906. It was located at Alsace Way and 8th Street and cost $75,000 to build, which would be about equivalent to $2,442,778 in 2022 today. A play called Ivywild: The True Story of John "Bathhouse" Coughlin has even been written about him.

Charles Maddocks, who built houses in Ivywild, bought Boulevard Park in 1904 after the Millionaires baseball team broke up. He used wood from Nikola Tesla's old laboratory to build some of these homes, including mail-order houses. By 1916, the Ivywild Pharmacy and Ivywild Grocery and Market were both open for business.

Becoming Part of Colorado Springs

In 1960, Ivywild had 10,608 residents. It was part of the Cheyenne Mountain Division, which was a census area in El Paso County, Colorado. In 1977, residents voted against forming a new village called Cheyenne Mountain. This proposed village would have combined Broadmoor, Skyway, Cheyenne Canon, and Ivywild.

In 1978, a bill was proposed to combine these suburbs with Colorado Springs. Ivywild was one of five Colorado Springs suburbs that officially became part of Colorado Springs in 1980. The others were Broadmoor, Skyway, Cheyenne Canon, and Stratton Meadows. This change added about 6.5 square miles (17 km²) and 20,000 people to Colorado Springs. The Colorado Supreme Court confirmed this annexation in 1982.

Ivywild School: A New Community Hub

The Ivywild Elementary School and Ivywild Community Church closed in 2009. In 2013, the old elementary school building was transformed into a multi-use center called Ivywild School. This remodeled building is about 20,000 square feet (1,900 m²) in size. It now houses a delicatessen, a brewery, a pub, a bakery, a coffee shop, a gift shop, and an architectural office. The city helped fund this project as part of an urban renewal effort.

Ivywild Park

Ivywild Park, located at Navajo and Dorchester, was officially opened in 2005. This park is the only neighborhood park in Ivywild. The money for its creation came from a federal grant.

Notable People from Ivywild

• Jean Stafford, a famous short story writer and novelist.

Images for kids

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  William B. Jenkins (1848-1917)

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  Anne Maria Iles Jenkins (1861-1940)