Martin & Zelda Capehart Genealogy Website

Martin & Zelda Capehart Genealogy Website

Genoa, Lincoln County, Colorado

Genoa is located in Lincoln County, Colorado, in the Great Plains section of East Central Colorado, This includes a part of the area known as the Arkansas Divide. The county is principally made up of rolling prairie.

With the exception of nomadic Indian tribes and rare Spanish incursions, the first human visitors to the area were hopeful prospectors. They crossed the area by the thousands on their way to the gold strikes in the Pikes Peak region. Just North of Hugo is the old Smoky Hill Trail and wagon ruts remain visible in some places.

Cattlemen came in the late 1860's and were later followed by sheep growers. The earliest homesteads were claimed in the 1880's. In 1900 the county's population was just under 1,000. By 1920 it had reached 8,273. Since then it has declined and since the 1970's stays around 5,000. The closing of the open range led to the gradual change in the cattle industry from Texas longhorn stock to purebred stock.

In 1889, Lincoln County was named in honor of martyred President Abraham Lincoln, with Hugo as the county seat. Hugo, named for Hugo Richards a railroad official, sprang out of the prairie soon after the Kansas Pacific (Union Pacific) Railway construction arrived on July 5, 1870 at what was the former site of the stage coach station known as Willow Springs. In 1889 the Rock Island Railroad was built across northern Lincoln County, crossing the union Pacific at Limon. Later the major highways -- Highway 24, Highway 40/287 and Highway 71 all intersected at Limon. They were joined in the 1960's by Interstate 70 and thus came about the nickname for Limon, "The Hub City."

In the early homestead days, land seekers arrived by covered wagon or "immigrant cars" on the railroad. Many came from Missouri, Nebraska & Minnesota. They tried to duplicate their farming experience in Lincoln County with little success. Many of them found the climate too harsh and dry, the soil unable to support such crops beyond a season or two and the homesteaded acreage too small and they left. The few who stayed adapted their skill and their products to the land and many did very well. Dry land wheat, feed crops and cattle remain the primary agricultural products. Corn and sunflowers are also grown where they have irrigation. Agriculture continues to hold a prominent place in Lincoln County.

Genoa is a small village of about 211 people, according to the 2000 census. It is located on Interstate 70, 10 miles East of Limon. Genoa was established in 1888 in Elbert County as Creech and renamed Cable in 1895. The Cable post office was moved in 1903 and renamed Genoa by Mrs. Echternacht, the postmistress. The town was laid out by her and John Nolan and was incorporated in 1925.

Walk's Camp was named for John Walk, a buffalo hunter who had a camp at the location. In 1915, after a series of failures at homesteading, the land was bought for a park. The agricultural community north of Limon has operated the park as a recreational complex since the creation of the Walks Camp Park association.

Walk's Camp Cemeteries and Park

The grandstand was built in 1930 It exemplifies a basic design type common in the first half of the 20th century and provided seating for sporting events and community celebrations.

In 1944 the Recreation Hall was moved from the former Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Hugo. It is of typical CCC design and provides sheltered space for a variety of community functions.

Walk's Camp Cemeteries

There are two Walk's Camp Cemeteries in the area -- the Walk's Camp Methodist Cemetery and the Walk's Camp Lutheran Cemetery. We visited both cemeteries during our trip to Colorado in May 2005.

Walk's Camp Lutheran Cemetery

The church still stands at the Walk's Camp Lutheran Cemetery. There was no sign and we did not take a picture. We understand that mostly people of Norwegian descent are buried there.

Walk's Camp Methodist Cemetery (photos on cemetery page)

The information on this website has been compiled from many sources. We have tried to document and verify all information as much as possible and will continue to do so. If you find an error or have additional information please contact us.

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Walk's Camp, the Walk's Camp Methodist Cemetery and Walk's Camp Lutheran Cemetery are all located in the Limon, Colorado vicinity.

Walk's Camp Methodist Cemetery is located on the right hand side of Hwy 71, north of Limon, CO.

Walk's Camp Lutheran Church is located near intersection Road 3Y and Road 27.

Walk's Camp is located at 73551 County Rd 27.

NOTE: We visited Walk's Camp and the two Walk's Camp cemeteries in May of 2005 and took the photos shown here. The first time we heard of Walk's Camp was in reference to the burial place of my great grandmother, Mary Jane (Briggs) Burton. Since she was of native American ancestry we thought Walk's Camp was possibly an Indian burial ground. We have since learned that she and her sister's husband, Thomas Wigant, are both buried in buffalo nests in Walk's Camp Methodist Cemetery. Her grave is unmarked. There is a Love Funeral Home Mortuary marker in the cemetery with the name M. Wigant and date of death of 1918 on it. This would be 4 years later than Thomas Wigant's date of death. We wonder if the marker was placed a few years later and the T in Thomas was misread for a M and the 1914 date of death was misread as 1918. Since no one knows of any other Wigant family member being buried there we think there is a good possibility this is Thomas Wigant's gravesite. We will probably never know for sure.

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Background by Zelda: Photo of Walk's Camp, Genoa, Colorado