Dove Creek was always just a place to drive through - going back and forth between Colorado and Utah. And, as we drove through Dove Creek the speed limit needed to be strictly observed or else we would most likely get a ticket. And sometimes when driving through Dove Creek, we would stop to buy a bag of pinto beans. Dove Creek is known as the Pinto Bean Capital of the World.
It was not until I started working on family history that I realized our family had a long history with Dove Creek. Ancestors from both my paternal and maternal lines were early settlers in Dove Creek.
Martin and Nancy Hatfield
1916
Our first ancestors to move into the Dove Creek area were my paternal 2nd Great-Grandparents - Martin Monroe Hatfield and his wife, Nancy.
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| View from cemetery towards Hatfield's land |
Martin and Nancy moved to Dove Creek from Oklahoma in 1916. Just two years later in 1918, Martin died at his home in Dove Creek. According to Martin's obituary, "A plot of ground was selected on his farm for a cemetery" and he became the first person buried in the new Dove Creek Cemetery.
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| The plaque attached to the headstone reads: Martin M. Hatfield 1857-1918 First Grave in Cemetery |
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| Martin M. and Nancy Hatfield |
Obituary for Martin Monroe Hatfield:
The funeral services of Martin M. Hatfield, who died suddenly at Dove Creek Friday, were held at the Dove Creek school house Tuesday afternoon and were conducted by Rev. C. L. Flanders of the Dolores Baptist church. Music was furnished by a mixed quartet composed of O. J. Shultz, wife and daughter and Mr. McConnell. A large concourse of people were present to bear testimony of the esteem in which the deceased was held. His remains were laid to rest in the new cemetery at Dove Creek.
Martin Monroe Hatfield was born in Boone County, Iowa, April 18, 1857 and died at his home in Dove Creek, Colorado, May 31, 1918, at the age of 61 years, 1 month and 13 days. In early manhood he became a Christian and united with the Baptist Church and proved himself a good true Christian man. At the time of his death, he was superintendent of the Dove Creek Sunday School.
On New Year's Day, 1879, he was married to Nancy Abbagel McNeil at Smith County, Kansas. He leaves a wife, nine children, twelve grandchildren, three brothers and a host of friends to mourn his departure.
The deceased was a member of the Farmers Union of Dove Creek, which organization took charge of the burial. He took an active interest in all the affairs of the community that were for the benefit and uplift of the same.
The day before his death, he was at the farmer's meeting at Cahone and in the morning of his death ate a hearty breakfast and went about the place doing his usual chores. About the middle of the forenoon he was stricken with neuralgia of the heart and passed away before medical aid could reach him.
He was conscious to the last and realized his time had come and he gave directions to his loved ones as to his burial and their remaining together in this new country.
A plot of ground was selected on his farm for a cemetery and he was laid to rest amid the scenes of his hearts greatest desire while in this life.
Mr. Hatfield has been three times a pioneer. His first being in Kansas, then Oklahoma, and two years ago he came to Colorado. He loved the pioneer life and it is fitting that he should become the pioneer in the new "City of the Dead" at Dove Creek.
Descendants of Martin and Nancy Hatfield through their son Charlie Hatfield still live in the Dove Creek area. To see a 1924 photo of the Charlie Hatfield family standing on the front porch of their Dove Creek home, click here.
Charles and Pearl Wilson
1918
According to a family record, the Wilson family lived in Dove Creek in 1918 when their son, Clayton Ervin Wilson, was born. Their last son born 10 years later was also born in Dove Creek. Below is a copy of the family record of births for the Wilson family written by Minnie Pearl Hatfield Wilson.
The Wilson family lived in an area called Bug Point just outside of Dove Creek. Below is a photo of the Wilson family taken at Bug Point about 1926.
Charles "B" Wilson and Minnie Pearl Hatfield Family
Back row: Alma, Buck, John, Maymie
Front seated: Dad Wilson, Pat, Pearl
Picture taken at Bug Point, Utah about 1926
Elmer Martin
1920s
By 1920, my paternal grandfather Elmer Martin had settled in Dove Creek. Elmer, an amateur photographer, took several photos of early Dove Creek. At that time, the Post Office seems to be the one of the few buildings in town. The top photo is of the Dove Creek Post Office in about 1920. The next photo titled Dove Creek Main Street, shows the Post Office as the first building on the right.
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| Dove Creek Post Office Early 1920's |
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| Dove Creek Main Street |
Some years later in the late 1920s a new Post Office was built. This next photo shows the Post Office sharing a building with the General Store. Elmer was part owner in the General Store. Below that photo is another photograph of Main Street Dove Creek in the late 1920s. The Post Office/General store building can be seen in the far distant center just left of the larger log building.
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| New Dove Creek Post Office |
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| Dove Creek Main Street |
Elmer had a large farm just north of Dove Creek and farmed potatoes. Below is a photo of Elmer's potato cellar and trucks loaded with bags of potatoes from his farm. Next is a photo of Elmer's Case tractor, said to be one of the first tractors in Dove Creek area. Elmer and his Case tractor were featured in the "Case Eagle" magazine. To read, click here. Elmer and his family moved into Cortez, Colorado in the 1930s, so that their sons could go to school in Cortez.
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| Elmer Martin Winner of Dolores County Fair |
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| Elmer's Potato cellar and trucks loaded with bags of potatoes One mile north of Dove Creek |
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| First Tractor in Dove Creek |
Layne Leffel
1930s
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San Juan Record
02 Nov 1939 |
Crazy picture of downtown Dove Creek. There are only a couple buildings! -Chase
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