NPS Photo by Sheena Grabski
A volunteer teaches park visitors about the life of homesteaders during the Hornbek Homestead Days in 2010.
The Historic Hornbek Homestead
Colorado's Florissant Valley lies 35 miles west of Colorado Springs on the flanks of Pikes Peak. To the north and east, the Rocky Mountains dominate the skyline. To the west lies high meadow land with large expanses of undulating native grasses so beautiful that early fur trappers to the area referred to it as a park. In the summer the grassy meadows are filled with the colored mists of thousands of wild flowers. In the center of this lush valley stands the Hornbek homestead complex, the home of a strong, determined woman who came to the area with her four children in the 1870s. Claiming land under the Homestead Act, Adeline Hornbek defied traditional gender roles to become the owner of a prosperous ranch.
For more information, ask for the Guide to the Hornbek Homestead in the Visitor Center
To learn more about Adeline Hornbek visit http://www.nps.gov/flfo/historyculture/adeline-hornbek.htm
