Fraser Colorado
The location of Fraser on U.S. Highway 40 makes it easy to find – it’s the next town northwest of Winter Park and some very popular ski resorts. Originally established in 1904, the town was set up in expectation of the Moffat Railroad and the train coming through the Fraser Valley on it’s way toward Granby Colorado. As the timber industry was booming, the town grew and prospered, and was finally incorporated in 1953. The Moffat tunnel was one of the most outstanding railway achievements of its time. It’s a stretch of tunnel 6.2 miles long beneath the Continental Divide which ultimately linked Denver with Salt Lake City. David Moffat, a wealthy business man from Denver was the visionary for this railway project and funded the majority of the route over “The Top of The World.” Today, you can see the west portal of the Moffat Tunnel at the Winter Park Resort.
More Fraser Town Facts
| Region: Northwest | County: Grand | |
| Latitude: 37.0625 | Longitude: -95.677068 | Elevation: 8,550 ft. (2601 m) |
Fraser Colorado, located in Grand County, resides at an elevation of 8,550 ft. and is called the “Ice Box” of the Nation. It’s nickname is deserved as the average low temperature in the Fraser Valley is often below zero during colder months, and even in the best months is barely above the freezing mark. Of course the daytime high temperatures can be quite pleasant and reach low 70′s at the end of summer. The average mean temperature is 32.5 °F and that makes Fraser the coldest incorporated town in the lower 48 states.
The Fraser Walk Through History Park
Many moments in Colorado and American history can be found in the Fraser Walk Through History Park. It tells the stories of many parts of history including notable residents of Fraser including the “Buffalo Soldier: Meet one of America’s greatest unsung heroes – the black American soldier of the 1800′s. These cavalry and foot soldiers often marched 40 to 50 miles a day carrying heavy packs. Following the Civil War, a regiment of black solders, the Ninth, bivouacked 20 miles from Fraser and was called upon to rescue another cavalry unit pinned down by Ute Indians at the Milk River. The Ninth took heavy casualties but broke the stalemate. The company commander was even awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for bravery. Indians actually coined the term “buffalo soldier” due to the men’s dark skin and curly hair.”
“The Lawman: Bill Cozens was a sheriff in Central City – a wild and wooly Colorado town with a bad case of gold fever. The Cozens settled into their ranch, in what is now Fraser, where they operated a stage stop and a post office. When the railroad planned to lay tracks through his meadow, Cozens sat on his front porch and shot out the surveyors’ stakes. Sure enough, the tracks were moved west, giving the ranch a wide berth on their way to Salt Lake City. The original, wooden sculpture has been replaced with bronze.”
“Dr. Susan Anderson: Better known as “Doc Susie,” this gutsy woman was one of the country’s earliest female physicians. She cared for the sick and injured of this Colorado mountain town in the early 1900′s. She often traveled by snowshoe through blinding snowstorms to reach lumberjacks, railroad men and women who needed emergency medical care. The original, wooden sculpture has been replaced with bronze.”
Tributes to The Cowboy and The Rancher are also memorialized in this history walk. Another interesting feature of the Fraser history was the WWII German POW camp that existed here between 1945-46. The captured soldiers from Anzio beachhead in Italy lived and worked in Fraser loading an average of 24,000 feet of lumber on rail cars daily. History recounts the good treatment that the prisoners enjoyed and the activities they were involved with. Photos and memorabilia of the time can be seen on display at the Grand County Museum in Hot Sulphur Springs.
