MCDERMETT CANYON HOMESTEAD - 1934
A branch of the Britton family migrated by covered wagons from the Andrix/Kim area of southeastern Colorado to the north end of McDermett Canyon in 1934. The ____ mile journey took 21 days. William Isaac "Ike" Britton drove one team of horses and his son, Clarence Custer "Cub" Britton, drove the other. Cub's wife, Ellen Lovicy Waters Britton, and their 9 month old son, Clifford Clarence Britton rode in a car driven by Ellen's father, Harry Lee Waters. The reason for the car was that Clifford was so young. The fear was that the wagon journey would be too hard on him.
Their journey took them to the upper end of McDermett Canyon, near the head of the canyon, in the north end of the Picnic Flats region. Ike and Cub each homestead 160 acres, Ike's being just south of Cub's. They first cut and hauled enough pinion logs to build Ike a 12' x 12' cabin. The roof was made of pinion poles covered in cedar bark and dirt. They all lived in that while a 14' x 14' cabin was built for Cub, Ellen and Clifford using the same means of construction.
Because it took several years to ready for crops enough land to make a living, Cub worked for other people during some spans of time during those years. The first summer there, he found work for several weeks, haying 12 miles to the west (on Red Mesa?). His employer didn't provide accommodations, so Cub brought a bedroll and slept under a cedar tree during the week. Saturday evenings he walked home to check on his family and spend some time with them. Sunday afternoons he would walk back, ready to start his next 6-day work week on Monday.
In those days, horses grazed on open range, although they did keep a saddle horse at home in case there was an emergency and Ellen needed to go somewhere. Picnic Flats never had a post office or store of any kind. The nearest post office was in Breen, some 15 miles away. They had a rural route mailbox, to which Ellen rode every so often to check the mail.
CABIN NORTH OF BREEN - 1935
Sometime in 1935, probably in the spring, Cub took up temporary residence in an empty cabin near Breen, having found work in that area. It appears that Ike, Ellen and Clifford joined him there around May of that year, because its location was closer to a doctor. Ellen was near her due date with their next child. This cabin was about halfway between the Breen Merchantile and the junction of CR 140 and CR 141, on the east side of CR 140 (the opposite side as the Breen store), and about 100 yards off the road. When Ellen went into labor, Cub went to go get the doctor. However, Philip Lee Britton was born before he got back, delivered in that cabin by Ike, 15 May 1935.
MITCHELL CABIN - PICNIC FLATS - SUMMERS OF 1935-1937 (or 1934-1936?)
Cub had other jobs at various times, such as working for the WPA for $1/day. For three summers he worked for sheep ranchers south of Picnic Flats. While working there, the family lived in an abandoned house they called the Mitchell cabin, so named for the family that once lived there. It had been abandoned for quite some time. Cub walked to work each day from there.
The first summer it consisted of only one 7' x 14' room, with a dirt floor and a tarp for a door. Water was carried from a spring about 100 yards from the cabin. The second summer, Cub got permission to tear down the nearby goat barn and used the logs to double the size of the cabin to 14' x 14'. It then had two rooms rather than one, and he made a proper to replace the tarp one.
LOST CANYON - SUMMER 1937
Cub was able to find employment at a dairy and later doing fruit harvest near Dolores. During the time he worked in that area, the family lived in a cabin in Lost Canyon, and dug coal for fuel from an outcropping up the canyon. It was in this cabin that their next child, Ruth, was born, 18 Jul 1937.
A branch of the Britton family migrated by covered wagons from the Andrix/Kim area of southeastern Colorado to the north end of McDermett Canyon in 1934. The ____ mile journey took 21 days. William Isaac "Ike" Britton drove one team of horses and his son, Clarence Custer "Cub" Britton, drove the other. Cub's wife, Ellen Lovicy Waters Britton, and their 9 month old son, Clifford Clarence Britton rode in a car driven by Ellen's father, Harry Lee Waters. The reason for the car was that Clifford was so young. The fear was that the wagon journey would be too hard on him.
Their journey took them to the upper end of McDermett Canyon, near the head of the canyon, in the north end of the Picnic Flats region. Ike and Cub each homestead 160 acres, Ike's being just south of Cub's. They first cut and hauled enough pinion logs to build Ike a 12' x 12' cabin. The roof was made of pinion poles covered in cedar bark and dirt. They all lived in that while a 14' x 14' cabin was built for Cub, Ellen and Clifford using the same means of construction.
Because it took several years to ready for crops enough land to make a living, Cub worked for other people during some spans of time during those years. The first summer there, he found work for several weeks, haying 12 miles to the west (on Red Mesa?). His employer didn't provide accommodations, so Cub brought a bedroll and slept under a cedar tree during the week. Saturday evenings he walked home to check on his family and spend some time with them. Sunday afternoons he would walk back, ready to start his next 6-day work week on Monday.
In those days, horses grazed on open range, although they did keep a saddle horse at home in case there was an emergency and Ellen needed to go somewhere. Picnic Flats never had a post office or store of any kind. The nearest post office was in Breen, some 15 miles away. They had a rural route mailbox, to which Ellen rode every so often to check the mail.
CABIN NORTH OF BREEN - 1935
Sometime in 1935, probably in the spring, Cub took up temporary residence in an empty cabin near Breen, having found work in that area. It appears that Ike, Ellen and Clifford joined him there around May of that year, because its location was closer to a doctor. Ellen was near her due date with their next child. This cabin was about halfway between the Breen Merchantile and the junction of CR 140 and CR 141, on the east side of CR 140 (the opposite side as the Breen store), and about 100 yards off the road. When Ellen went into labor, Cub went to go get the doctor. However, Philip Lee Britton was born before he got back, delivered in that cabin by Ike, 15 May 1935.
MITCHELL CABIN - PICNIC FLATS - SUMMERS OF 1935-1937 (or 1934-1936?)
Cub had other jobs at various times, such as working for the WPA for $1/day. For three summers he worked for sheep ranchers south of Picnic Flats. While working there, the family lived in an abandoned house they called the Mitchell cabin, so named for the family that once lived there. It had been abandoned for quite some time. Cub walked to work each day from there.
The first summer it consisted of only one 7' x 14' room, with a dirt floor and a tarp for a door. Water was carried from a spring about 100 yards from the cabin. The second summer, Cub got permission to tear down the nearby goat barn and used the logs to double the size of the cabin to 14' x 14'. It then had two rooms rather than one, and he made a proper to replace the tarp one.
LOST CANYON - SUMMER 1937
Cub was able to find employment at a dairy and later doing fruit harvest near Dolores. During the time he worked in that area, the family lived in a cabin in Lost Canyon, and dug coal for fuel from an outcropping up the canyon. It was in this cabin that their next child, Ruth, was born, 18 Jul 1937.
