Place Names
Many of the place names in New Castle commemorate people or events which are part of our history. The first honorees were the early settlers for whom New Castle’s three mountains are named. It is presumed that these three leading citizens exerted their influence to achieve this honor.
Colorow Trail The trail which traverses three miles of BLM land north of New Castle was built over three summers by the Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers. It was named for Colorow, the Ute chief who remained in the area after his people were forced to a reservation. He befriended Jasper Ward, New Castle’s first white settler.
Coryell Lane The short road on the west side of town recalls that this area was once a separate community called Coryell Town, established by Perry C. Coryell.
Faas Ranch Road Honors Faye Fass, the owner who annexed the property which is now Lakota Canyon Ranch & Golf Club into the Town of New Castle.
Hot Shot Park The Town conducted a contest to name the new park near South Wild Horse Road. The winning name dedicated the park to the Hot Shot firefighters, who battled the Storm King fire in 1994. Fourteen Hot Shots lost their lives in that fire.
Kamm Avenue Name for Fred and H.R. Kamm. Fred served as Mayor of New Castle in 1915; H.R. opened the dry goods and grocery store east of Ritter Plaza.
Kathryn Senor Elementary School The School was named in honor of Kathryn Senor (d. 1993), a beloved teacher at New Castle School, as well as Rifle High School and Riverside school.
Mattivi Plaza The small plaza sits in front of the Mattivi Building, which once housed Pete Mattivi’s Phillips 66 gas station and Studebaker dealership and Mattivi Avenue. Mattivi (1905-2009) served as Garfield County Commissioner from 1957 to 1977, and as Mayor of New Castle from 1954 to 1969 and again from 1974 to 1981.
Mt. Medaris The mountain in the middle of town was once New Castle’s northern border. It was named for Harry Medaris, the owner of the largest hotel on Main Street.
Ritter Plaza The downtown park honors the Ritter family. J.W. Ritter (1859-1944), with his partner John McCrae, operated a store in the building to the east of the plaza. J.W. served several terms as Mayor, as did John C. Ritter (1896-1991). Mary Ellen Ritter (1875-1969) also served as New Castle’s only female Mayor.
Roderick’s Ridge Milton Roderick owned ranchland south of town and operated the ferry across the Colorado River. Since most of the miners working for the Vulcan and Coryell mines lived in town, they needed to take the ferry to get to and from work. Roderick’s Ridge is now better known as Coal Ridge. Roderick Lane is also named in his honor.
Rollie Gordon Park Rollie Gordon moved from New Castle, Wyoming, to New Castle Colorado in 1948. He worked as a carpenter and owned property on both sides of 7th Avenue. In 1999 he donated the parkland to the town so a bridge to the Elk Creek School could be constructed. Rollie Gordon trail runs in both directions from the park along Elk Creek.
Vandeventer Avenue Merritt Vandeventer (1846-1919) served as the first Mayor of New Castle from 1888 to 1890.
Vix Ranch Park The large park on the north side of town honors the VIX Ranch, owned by the Rohr family, then by the Cline family. The ranch flourished north of Mt. Medaris before New Castle entered its period of growth in the later 20th Century.
Ward’s Peak Named for Jasper Ward, the first settler in New Castle. The mountain on the west side of town is now known as Burning Mountain, for the coal seam fire burning in the old Consolidated mine. In fact the entire Grand Hogback burns in the New Castle area, but the burn scar on Burning Mountain is the only one visible from Main Street.
Wheeler Lane The short road commemorates Jerome Wheeler, who is more gloriously recognized in the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen. Wheeler owned silver mines in Aspen, built a tramway to carry the coal and invested in the Colorado Midland Railway. He backed Walter Devereux’s development of mining in Burning Mountain, tapping the Wheeler Vein.
