History

Fish Hatchery Courtesy Photo

Robert Austin and Beth Laura Thompson Totten

Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Robert and Beth farmed just east of Rye and owned the land the Rye Fish Hatchery was built on.Robert was born in Ontario, Canada in 1875. He was the sixth of seven children born to John and Isabella McEwen Totten. His father, John was born in Ireland; his mother in Ontario.

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The Rye Trout Farm and Fish Hatchery

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

“To tell the story of Rye properly, we have to talk about the Indians who lived here centuries before a white man ever saw it. One of their favorite camping grounds was near the big spring which makes the state fish hatchery at Rye possible.” (“Old Trails along the Arkansas” by G.A.

Herron, Virginia and Walter Courtesy Image

The Herron Family

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

Henry Herron, or sometimes spelled Herren, was born in Union County, Georgia in 1858, the seventh of eight children of Levi and Cloe Ann Picklesimer Herron. They moved to Pickens County Georgia just to the south of Union County where Henry began school.

Ballou William George Martha Gambell Courtesy Image

The William J. Gambell/Gambill Family - Part I of II

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

This family originated in Ashe County, North Carolina and therefore, is considered part of the ‘Georgia Colony’. The entire family came west, as far as Missouri. Many family members eventually settled in Colorado.William and Nancy Landreth Gambell were both born in Ashe County, North Carolina.

Conrad James Merril Courtesy Images

The Wilburn Boyd Burkett Family -

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

LOCAL HISTORICAL LOREPart I of IIBessie ‘Edna’ Burkett Snider Bondurant A few weeks after the flood waters took her family, the devastated Edna delivered their daughter, Lois, in their home on Greenhorn Road. Lois grew up on this dairy farm and attended the Rye School.

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The Wilburn Boyd Burkett Family -

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Tuesday, January 13, 2026

Part I of IIOne of the last families to come to Rye from Ashe County, North Carolina, Wilburn’s family grew up near Rye.Wilburn was born in 1862 in Ashe County, the second son of six children of Nathaniel David Jr and Catherine ‘Katie’ Hardin Burkett.

I225 E Main Street, Florence, Colorado Courtesy Image

The Wilbar Family - Texas

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Tuesday, January 6, 2026

LOCAL HISTORICAL LOREPart III of IIIPreston and Mary Jane Wilbar Tuttle’s last child, Romulus Morrison was born in Palo Pinto County, Texas in 1901. By 1910, the family had moved to Dallas where Preston opened a dry goods and notions store.

II Wilbar 108-110 Main Street Bowl Courtesy Image

The Wilbar Family - Part II of III

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Tuesday, December 30, 2025

Part II of IIIWilliam ‘Peyton’ Wilbar William met Laura Matilda ‘ Tillie’ Sayler while he was in Rye. The couple was married in 1891 and moved to Florence where William opened a grocery business. The couple had two children.The W.P. Wilbar Block at 108110 W.

Aztec Hotel, NM Courtesy Image

The Wilbar Family - Part I of III

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

One of the many southern families to move west after the Civil War, part of this family settled in southern Colorado with the other part in Texas. Family members from both branches became very successful in their new homes.

1884 Train in NM Courtesy Image

Charles Ellis Howell Family

Cheryl Johnson Huban

Tuesday, December 16, 2025

This family came to Rye in 1884 from Ashe County, North Carolina. They settled near their family and friends who had come before them.Charles was the eighth of nine children born to John Calvin and Louisa McMillan Howell. His father was born in Virginia; his mother in Ashe County.

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