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For nearly 30 years, Mead was a bustling community. At its peak, Mead had
three general stores, a hotel, a combination grocery store and meat market, two saloons,
butcher shop, filling station, two auto garages,
farm implement company, two livery stables, a
lumberyard, blacksmith shop, drug store with the post office
in the back, lunch room, pool
hall, bowling alley, hoe and harness repair shop, bank,
newspaper, Ford Car Dealership, pickle factory, hay mill,
pea hulling factory,
Kunner's cucumber factory, library, movie
theater, fire department,
and two doctors offices.
The original Main street
was Rd. 7. Most of the stores and businesses were located on
the east side of the road as they were not subject to the
"dry" clause in the property deeds that forbade the use or
selling of alcohol beverages on land that lay within Paul
Mead's original platted town. The first ordinance of the
town addressed the need for liquor licenses for these
businesses and at the same meeting that the ordinance was
passed, three out of the seven applicants were awarded
liquor licenses. The license was good for only six months
after which the town trustees would revisit the matter.
In 1963, Pansy Ballinger
remembered that the town was first built on Third Street
(now WCR 7) and
contained a store, saloon, barber shop, jail, livery stable,
drugstore and hall, and a hotel. Sometime after 1913, the
businesses were moved to Fourth Street.
The Colorado Telephone
Company was granted a franchise for 25 years in Sept. 1908.
In March 1914, the Town
Board signed a contract with George Sethman for the
construction of the Municipal Water Works system. They voted
$11,000.00 of bonds for this purpose. People paid $5.00
for a year for
each cistern and $1.25 per year for each lot for water used
on the garden, trees or lawn.
The first fire hose was
bought April 1915 from Eureke Fire Hose Company.
The first electricity was
furnished by Western Electric and Light and Power Company in
Oct. 1915.
The town Library was was
started by the Rev. Slatterback, pastor of the United
Brethren Church. Mrs. Hazel Trimble and Mrs. Beulah Baxtrum
served on this board. Books were collected and the library
was kept open by the Extension club donating their time.
After being closed for several years, the books that were
usable were given to the school. The rest were sold and
$96.00 was given to the Mead School for a file cabinet to be
used in their library in 1961.
The town lost most of its
businesses in the early 30s during the Great Depression.
Cars made it more possible for people to go to Longmont to
trade, bank and see a doctor. |