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Noe family lives simply on 110-year-old ranch
Editor's note: This article is the second in a weekly series profiling Douglas County's seven official Colorado Centennial Farms. The ranching families will be honored Aug. 4 during the grand opening of the Douglas County Fair.
In conjunction with the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners and the Douglas Public Library District's Local History Collection, the News-Press recognizes that the ranches represent the foundation of Douglas County's historic economy and way of life.
Ida May Noe remembers when cooking a meal for the family and ranch hands began with chopping wood for the stove and getting water from the well. Electricity came late to rural Douglas County in the 1950s, the 79-year-old lifelong Douglas County resident said.
By By: Christine McManus
Editor's note: This article is the second in a weekly series profiling Douglas County's seven official Colorado Centennial Farms. The ranching families will be honored Aug. 4 during the grand opening of the Douglas County Fair.
In conjunction with the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners and the Douglas Public Library District's Local History Collection, the News-Press recognizes that the ranches represent the foundation of Douglas County's historic economy and way of life.
Ida May Noe remembers when cooking a meal for the family and ranch hands began with chopping wood for the stove and getting water from the well. Electricity came late to rural Douglas County in the 1950s, the 79-year-old lifelong Douglas County resident said.
Ida May Noe's late husband, Issac John Noe, and his 74-year-old brother, Jim Noe, were two of 10 children born just south of Larkspur to rancher Charles Fred Noe and Kate Higby. Their families continue working the property as a ranch with about 130 head of Shorthorn-Hereford cattle.
Eagle Mountain Ranch was purchased in 1890 by Ida and Jim's grandfather, Issac J. Noe, who worked as the manager of the historic Greenland Ranch before he invested in his own property. He bought Eagle Mountain Ranch from the Union Real Estate Livestock and Investment Co. The family has added acreage through the years.
Tall, healthy willow trees shade the 110-year-old house and barn. The active spring on the property was once known as "one of the coolest springs in the county," Ida May Noe said.
Many more eagles used to nest in the nearby mountain, punctuating the sky with their screams decades ago, Jim Noe said. He said he does not see nearly as many anymore.
Stewardship of the land is one of ranchers' greatest responsibilities, Jim Noe said. To take care of the land, ranchers must not overgraze by letting a high density of animals eat grasses to the roots. Rotating crops is important. Subdividing the land for development is the worst way to be a steward of the natural landscape, Jim Noe said. But the economy of ranching and farming puts ranch families in a difficult position, with inheritance and property taxes escalating in one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation. The Noes said careful budgeting and resourcefulness is the way they are able to keep the ranching lifestyle. Family members often get jobs in towns to supplement income while still working the ranch.
One of the most vivid memories of the ranch, Ida and Jim said, is of a night in 1962 when they woke up to the scream of a mountain lion. The lion had attacked the chicken coop and was ready to lunge after family members before Ida May ran a rifle out to her son Ken Noe. Ken Noe, who was in high school at the time, still carries the picture of the slayed lion in his wallet.
More than 10 well-preserved, historic structures stand on the original homestead. A large barn was the site of community dances. A windmill, smoke house, cow barn, buggy house, spring house, granary and original houses are used by descendants of the families who built the structures.
The structures no longer are necessarily used for their intended purposes. For example, the smoke house was used until 1945 to smoke meats and is now used for storage. And community barn dances are no longer a part of the picture. The mix of suburban and rural neighbors is not conducive to cooperation in the community, Jim Noe said. Southern Douglas County neighbors used to help each other out on each others' ranches, combining resources.
Mules, horses, cowboy hats and cowboy boots have mostly been replaced by trucks, baseball caps and hiking boots. But there are still long hours of physical labor.
One of the traditions that remain at Eagle Mountain Ranch is the kinship of family, the Noes said.
The Noe family applied for Colorado Centennial Farm designation 10 years ago, in time for the 100th anniversary of Eagle Mountain Ranch. Family members came from near and far to celebrate in 1990.
The Noes will be at the grand opening of the 2001 Douglas County Fair, when the seven Colorado Centennial Farms are recognized by the county. The Colorado Historical Society certifies operational, 160-acre or larger ranches that have been in the family continuously for 100 years.
Ida May Noe remembers when cooking a meal for the family and ranch hands began with chopping wood for the stove and getting water from the well. Electricity came late to rural Douglas County in the 1950s, the 79-year-old lifelong Douglas County resident said.
By By: Christine McManus
Editor's note: This article is the second in a weekly series profiling Douglas County's seven official Colorado Centennial Farms. The ranching families will be honored Aug. 4 during the grand opening of the Douglas County Fair.
In conjunction with the Douglas County Board of County Commissioners and the Douglas Public Library District's Local History Collection, the News-Press recognizes that the ranches represent the foundation of Douglas County's historic economy and way of life.
Ida May Noe remembers when cooking a meal for the family and ranch hands began with chopping wood for the stove and getting water from the well. Electricity came late to rural Douglas County in the 1950s, the 79-year-old lifelong Douglas County resident said.
Ida May Noe's late husband, Issac John Noe, and his 74-year-old brother, Jim Noe, were two of 10 children born just south of Larkspur to rancher Charles Fred Noe and Kate Higby. Their families continue working the property as a ranch with about 130 head of Shorthorn-Hereford cattle.
Eagle Mountain Ranch was purchased in 1890 by Ida and Jim's grandfather, Issac J. Noe, who worked as the manager of the historic Greenland Ranch before he invested in his own property. He bought Eagle Mountain Ranch from the Union Real Estate Livestock and Investment Co. The family has added acreage through the years.
Tall, healthy willow trees shade the 110-year-old house and barn. The active spring on the property was once known as "one of the coolest springs in the county," Ida May Noe said.
Many more eagles used to nest in the nearby mountain, punctuating the sky with their screams decades ago, Jim Noe said. He said he does not see nearly as many anymore.
Stewardship of the land is one of ranchers' greatest responsibilities, Jim Noe said. To take care of the land, ranchers must not overgraze by letting a high density of animals eat grasses to the roots. Rotating crops is important. Subdividing the land for development is the worst way to be a steward of the natural landscape, Jim Noe said. But the economy of ranching and farming puts ranch families in a difficult position, with inheritance and property taxes escalating in one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation. The Noes said careful budgeting and resourcefulness is the way they are able to keep the ranching lifestyle. Family members often get jobs in towns to supplement income while still working the ranch.
One of the most vivid memories of the ranch, Ida and Jim said, is of a night in 1962 when they woke up to the scream of a mountain lion. The lion had attacked the chicken coop and was ready to lunge after family members before Ida May ran a rifle out to her son Ken Noe. Ken Noe, who was in high school at the time, still carries the picture of the slayed lion in his wallet.
More than 10 well-preserved, historic structures stand on the original homestead. A large barn was the site of community dances. A windmill, smoke house, cow barn, buggy house, spring house, granary and original houses are used by descendants of the families who built the structures.
The structures no longer are necessarily used for their intended purposes. For example, the smoke house was used until 1945 to smoke meats and is now used for storage. And community barn dances are no longer a part of the picture. The mix of suburban and rural neighbors is not conducive to cooperation in the community, Jim Noe said. Southern Douglas County neighbors used to help each other out on each others' ranches, combining resources.
Mules, horses, cowboy hats and cowboy boots have mostly been replaced by trucks, baseball caps and hiking boots. But there are still long hours of physical labor.
One of the traditions that remain at Eagle Mountain Ranch is the kinship of family, the Noes said.
The Noe family applied for Colorado Centennial Farm designation 10 years ago, in time for the 100th anniversary of Eagle Mountain Ranch. Family members came from near and far to celebrate in 1990.
The Noes will be at the grand opening of the 2001 Douglas County Fair, when the seven Colorado Centennial Farms are recognized by the county. The Colorado Historical Society certifies operational, 160-acre or larger ranches that have been in the family continuously for 100 years.
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