Falcon could be compared to the phoenix, the mythical bird that came back to life from its own ashes.Falcon owes its birth to the railroad. As the importance of the railroad waned so did the importance of Falcon. Then, with the housing boom around the turn of the 21st century, Falcon sprang to life again and memorialized the railroad.As the Rock Island Railroad worked its way from Limon toward Colorado Springs, towns such as Calhan, Peyton and Falcon were established by the railroad at intervals along the right of way so the steam locomotives could take on water. The town of Falcon was established Aug. 31, 1888, as the Falcon Town and Land Co. on the site of an old deserted sheep camp. The name comes from the fact that nearby heights teemed with hawks.The town rapidly grew and the Falcon post office was established Oct. 10, 1888. The first train depot was built in 1890 on the site where Farmer’s State Bank is located. Soon, there were two general stores, a drug store, a meat market, a blacksmith shop, six restaurants and two lumber yards. By 1890, the population was more than 200. The Denver, Texas and Fort Worth Railroad came through Black Forest into Falcon and built a second railroad depot. The Falcon Herald, a weekly newspaper and the forerunner to The New Falcon Herald, came out every Wednesday; the subscription price was $1.50 a year or 5 cents a copy or some chickens.Falcon also had a public park.The school district they formed was known as the shoestring district because it was 3 miles wide but extended eastward 36 miles to the county line.The Hotel Falcon started as a boarding house serving railroad travelers who stopped overnight, cowboys on cattle drives, coal miners from the local mines and people waiting to buy land to settle on. It was soon followed by a second hotel, the Hotel Edna.By the early part of the 20th century, six passenger trains and six freight trains passed through Falcon each day. About 12 people a day might board the Rocky Mountain Rocket, the crack (high priority) passenger train of the Rock Island Line. The westbound Rocket left Chicago and traveled to Limon, where a section branched off to Falcon and on to Colorado Springs, while the rest of the Rocket went on to Denver. Eastbound, the Rocket came from Colorado Springs through Falcon to Limon, joining the Rocket section that originated in Denver and traveled on to Chicago. Freight trains delivered and carried away mining equipment, livestock, hay and farm produce.In 1935, a serious flood wiped out the Denver, Texas and Fort Worth tracks on both sides of Black Forest, and that line was abandoned.As air travel became more common, the use of the automobiles for passengers and trucks for freight became more widespread and highways improved. Rail use declined. The town of Falcon also declined.The post office was discontinued in 1942. In 1980, the Rock Island declared bankruptcy; its assets were liquidated and the rails were taken up. By 1985, the train depot, hotel, general store, newspaper and other businesses were gone.Around the turn of the 21st century, Falcon began a rebirth. Ironically, as the automobile had caused the decline of Falcon by making it easier to drive from Falcon to Colorado Springs, the automobile made it easy for people to work in Colorado Springs and commute from Falcon. Stores, shopping centers and subdivisions began to spring up on the open plains around the site of the old town.Today, the original Rock Island right of way that ran through Falcon has been converted into a hiking and biking trail complete with benches and footbridges. Mile markers were installed in 2011 by Boy Scout Preston Martinez of Troop 444 as an Eagle Scout project.Editor’s note: Information for this article was garnered from the book ìEl Paso County Heritageî by Juanita L. and John P. Breckenridge, published by Curtis Media Group in 1985; and two articles from The New Falcon Herald, ìThe Rock Island Railroadî by Cathy Griffen, which appeared in the January 2005 issue; and ìThe day Falcon had a paradeî by Jim Ozburn, which appeared in the March 2019 issue.
