Sept 8: Craig, CO

Craig is a large town. It's a 'home rule city' that is the county seat of and the most populous municipality in Moffat County, Colorado. The city population is just over 9,000. Wikipedia says that Home rule gives local municipalities the power to make legislation relevant to their areas, exercising control over issues of local concern while minimising state intervention in municipal affairs. The immediate area is home to the largest power generation plant in Colorado and several coal mines, from which long trainloads are dispatched via the Union Pacific RR. According to the local chamber of commerce, Craig is the "Elk Hunting Capital of the World", and this may not surprise, given that Moffat County is home to two of North America's largest herds of migratory elk. The region is also a prime spot for hunting antelope, deer, and small game.

The town is the terminus of a Union Pacific Railroad branch line that connects with the UP main line at Bond, CO, although trackage extends another 25 miles out to a couple of coal mines. The line was originally built by David Moffat's Denver & Salt Lake Railway to connect Denver with Salt Lake City (later gaining the name 'The Moffat Road') but was only completed as far west as Craig. The story around this is fascinating history. As of August 2024, the Colorado Department of Transportation is studying a proposal for a state-run passenger train service between Denver and Craig via Winter Park (the western portal of the Moffat Tunnel) and Steamboat Springs.

Craig is transitioning from legacy extractive industries and has a significant agricultural base. Moffat County's agricultural economy is built around livestock ranching, particularly cattle--due to the county's vast rangeland environment and semi-arid climate--and related feed production, especially hay.

As with all the places I visit on this whistle-stop tour, my time in Craig is limited. Were I to be staying here on a longer vacation, I'd be able to visit ancient dinosaur territory, wild mustang country, and legendary outlaw locations, such as those of Butch Cassidy and his Wild Bunch (not to mention the ranch of the two Bass sisters, both of whom he romanced). Do you remember the opening words on the screen title card in the 1969 movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid... "Most of what follows is true"? ... well, in the Museum of Northwest Colorado in downtown Craig, you can find out what was and wasn't.

For me though, although I was most impressed with the compact and beautifully curated display of 'old west' history and paraphernalia, my museum visit was focused on gleaning any ancestral material on Colorado financier, businessman, and millionaire railroader, David Moffat. I've long wanted to examine his ancestral beginnings in Scotland and to see where they might have connected with those of my family. As the current Chieftain of Clan Moffat--Madame Jean Moffat of That Ilk--has written in her history of the Moffats, anyone with the family name, regardless of the spelling, is related.

So I went to the museum and met the Director, Dan Davidson (who reminds me of someone... was it Capt. 'Trapper' John in the Mash TV series?), and Claire Ketterman, the Asst. Registrar, and in so-doing I struck gold. Dan scanned a couple of documents he'd received from a lady who lived back along the highway in Steamboat Springs and was a distant relative of David's wife, Francis. I rang and spoke to her, but decided not to intrude, as she was busy with Meals On Wheels. We'll stay in contact though.

So, I've now got David Moffat's family tree that takes his ancestry back as far as Ireland. I've also received a copy of a family history booklet written by David Moffat's Great-Uncle, Hector Moffat, in 1907. He recounts, correctly, the religious struggles and persecution in the late 1600s that resulted in many Presbyterian Moffats (including some of ours) being driven from Scotland to Ireland. Hector Moffat suggests that his family--as does ours--can be traced back to Robert de Moffet and Thomas Moffet, both of Dumfriesshire. For us, this is getting very 'close to home'. Mr Moffat is also aware that, "the Moffats had become a numerous and powerful border clan of Scotland", and informs us that, "many of the ancestors of American Moffats were less than 50 years in Ireland before departing for America and that many others were there less than 100 years before high rents, the potato famines, and religious unpleasantness made another move imperative. Strong emigration to America began in 1729; in 1770-1780 the yearly emigration from Ulster was a perfect flood of people. Many Moffats have come direct from Scotland and others from England."

This material provides me with fertile substance to look deeper into Moffat family connections in that ancient Scotland, and this I'll do. Thank you very much, Dan and Claire, for everything!Leia mais