| Source | 1880 Census; Registration of Appointments for Postmasters in Jefferson County, Colorado, National Archives; "Waters Of Gold," Frontispiece ; Interview, Edie Perigo, granddaughter of Ruth Ann Haslip, 1993; "Rocky Mountain News," June 3, 1859; Steinel, Alvin, "History of Agriculture in Colorado," p. 463. |
|---|
| History | Francis James McQuiston from Erie, Pennsylvania, was on his way to Mankato, Minnesota, when he heard of the gold discovery in Colorado. With five others, he was one of the fifty-niners who changed course to seek his fortune. He returned to Mankato several times before he applied for a Homestead in 1864, in an area which became known as Ralston Crossing. Here he built a cabin and received his patent from the United States Government in 1870. He was in the right place at the right time for the development of a bustling village. This was the safest crossing for stage lines and travelers over Ralston Creek to the gold fields. A stage stop, blacksmith shop, supply store with post office, and Ralston Crossing School were built on Frank McQuiston's property. The McQuiston house at 6550 Indiana Street, built in the late 1880s, is all that remains of the early settlement. The house has been remodeled and has had several owners and renters, but is known as a well-kept house then and now. It was a two-story, frame house with fish scale decoration on the upper story, and gingerbread ornamentation around the front porch. A large screened-in porch has been added to the south, a second story has been added to the addition on the north and all of the windows are modern, large and with metal frames. When the stage stop was razed in the 1970s, newspapers from Mankato, Minnesota were found, being used as insulation and dated 1856 and 1861. This innovative man built a ditch with J.S. Kinnear and W. B. Alford in 1864, which is known as the Church Ditch. McQuiston was a postmaster, 1868-1870, and County Commissioner, 1887-1891. |
|---|
