Broomcorn
Pritchett, situated in the far southeastern
corner of Colorado was at one time considered the capitol of broomcorn. There was a factory there to manufacture
brooms for shipment across the corner. Broomcorn
became an important cash product for the farmers. The flat land was excellent production ground
for growing crops and the farmers grew and grew.
Drive through Pritchett today and
one would not even consider its importance to the region. There are numerous empty building on Main
Street and lots of vacant lots where there had been stores and shops. There are a few businesses that operate, the
grain elevator, a saloon and the Post Office, the school still teaches. But life is much slower in the little
country village that survived the “Dirty 30’s.”
The east/west highway sees the
occasional traffic as it bends through town.
No longer are there brooms to be shipped around the country, today it is
grain products. Yet for the person that
wanders through town, all kinds of past moments ripple through the
imagination. The workers that worked in
the rural factory, going to an from work, pausing in the saloon, the few cars
cruising main. It would make a great
Hollywood backdrop for a movie.
Neat old gas station on the corner,
classic movie house, the saloon and a park on the corner to hang out in, the
flappers from the 20’s or the Hot Rodders of the 50’s. Any of these would fit right into the fabric
of Pritchett. Cruise down the street to
where it turns, flip a U and cruise back to the other end of town. Music rolling out of the saloon. It is a western town on the eastern plains of
Colorado.
Today the farming and ranching in
the area keep the little town school open insuring the town has some life. The tumbleweed can roll down the street not bothered
but by the light breeze.
The link
takes one to the Baca County History, stories about broomcorn.
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