Hans Von Hagen

Marilyn

Cox

A Step Back

In Time

“Ridgway, the Town that Refused to Die” by local historian Doris Gregory, was a book being sought by Jean Campbell of Visalia, Calif. a few weeks ago when she walked into the Montrose County Historical Museum. I was so glad I was working there that morning. Campbell explained that she was looking for information on Hans Von Hagen, her grandfather. She also asked if I had any idea where the Von Hagen house was located, and I immediately replied “747 South Second.”

You see, my husband’s grandfather, T. H. Cox, rented a room in that house from Mrs. Von Hagen when he first came to Montrose in 1909. He told us many times about the Von Hagens and how the home was a boarding house for female school teachers, but Mrs. Von Hagen broke the rules to rent to him, the “nice young man from Kansas.”

Otto Von Hagen, Hans father, came from Germany in 1869, with his wife, Adelheid, and their five children. In 1876 they came to Ouray County and settled west of Ridgway, naming their property the Pleasant Valley Stock Ranch.

In Germany the family lived in a large rambling masonry castle surrounded by a moat with a draw bridge. In writing about early experiences in his life, Hans Von Hagen told of the thrills he experienced, wandering through the basements and hallways of the castle, recalling stories passed down in his family over several centuries.

His favorite was that of a 15th century monk, being pursued by a mob, who was allowed to enter the gates and the draw bridge raised for his protection. The monk was Martin Luther, who had objected to Catholic domination and was fleeing from the wrath of the Catholic clergy. For a short time he was given protection at the Von Hagen castle, then safely escorted to a nearby castle where he completed the translation of the Bible, which before that time was only written in Latin.

The Von Hagen family immigrated on the last steamer permitted to leave Germany before the Franco Prussian War, landing in New York. When they arrived in Denver on the Kansas Pacific railroad, there were no street cars, no electric nor gas lights—just a few kerosene lamps in some store front windows. The next day, his father and oldest brother bought two covered prairie schooners and teams of horses to take them to Manitou where they engaged in the stock business for several years before migrating west to Ouray County.

Before his death in 1893, Otto Von Hagen had encouraged his sons to buy land in the valley. His wife passed away four years later and was buried beside her home. In her will she requested that her children bury her there under the trees, “level with the soil where mother nature may grow grass and flowers over it.”

Hans and his brother Curt managed their parents’ ranch as well as their own land until 1901 when Curt died at the young age of 45 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Grand Junction. Hans continued to run the ranch, eventually acquiring 2,500 acres where he ran numerous thoroughbred cattle and horses.

Hans married Lucy Woodhouse in February, 1895, and they had four children. Their daughter, Alma, married Leo Dunbar, and they became the parents of Jean Campbell.

The Von Hagen family lost their Pleasant Valley home to fire in 1899, but apparently rebuilt. In 1908, the ranch was badly damaged by flood waters when a 50-foot wall of water broke through the old High bridge on the Rio Grande Southern railroad. Heavy, frequent cloudbursts were unable to be contained, causing the angry flood. In fact, all of the bridges on Pleasant Valley creek were washed out, causing damage to other ranches as well.

In 1906, the Montrose newspaper stated that H. A. Meredith secured a contract to build a $4,000 residence for Hans Von Hagen on his lots in the eastern part of the city. It would be modern in every way, including steam heat and was considered a wise investment for Von Hagen. This home, among others in the 700 block of South Second, will be featured in the soon-to- be released walking tour book of Montrose, “Take a Closer Look.”