Big Thompson History

Idlewild Lodge - idlewildlodge.github.io - 1905-07-05 - The Loveland Register - Johnson Brothers Advertisement

Stage Line to Idlewild

The completion of the Riley Road in 1903 marked the beginnings of a tourist boom in the Big Thompson Canyon. For the first time a road went through the narrows, which would allow travelers to bypass…

Idlewild Lodge - idlewildlodge.github.io - 1882-02-25 - National Police Gazette - Frank Marvin Mugshot - Red Background HD

Frank Marvin the Murderer of Idlewild

In 1878 Frank Marvin, the trapper of Idlewild, was tending to his traps in the Buckhorn canyon when he came across a mule. Not seeing anyone about he took the mule back to his camp, and was…

Idlewild Lodge - idlewildlodge.github.io - Marvin Flats c

Frank Marvin the Trapper of Idlewild

One of the first persons to be documented living in the Big Thompson Canyon was a trapper by the name of Frank Marvin. Frank was born in Ohio around the year 1829. At the age of 29 he made his first…

Idlewild Lodge - idlewildlodge.github.io - Post Card - Witches Curve

Forgotten Rock Formations of the Big Thompson

The Big Thompson Canyon is an ever changing landscape. Rock falls, floods, and human development have dramatically changed the canyon in the last hundred years. So many landmarks that were once…