Stagecoach Stations
Waneka Stagecoach Station
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Before the arrival of the railroads, travel in the West was done on horseback or by wagon. A vital part of the development of the frontier was the network of stage stops that existed along the established trails, including two in the Lafayette area.
Adolph Waneka came to the Colorado Territory in 1860 and built a two story stone structure which served as his ranch house and a stage stop. Stagecoaches would come to Denver from Fort Morgan, then head north along the old Cherokee Trail, to Longmont, Loveland, Fort Collins and Cheyenne. People traveled from the Fort Collins area, stopping off at the Waneka Station to rest and eat before continuing on to shop in Denver.
Mary and Lafayette Miller established the Rock Creek Station along the Denver-Cheyenne route at Rock Creek in 1863. In 1865, as special rider was sent along the stage route to bring the fateful news of President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. One day in the summer of 1867, a man got off the stage and asked Mrs. Miller if she could feed the circus troupe that would be arriving soon. She got to work and served hot meals to 100 performers from the John Robinson Circus, which was the first circus to come to Colorado.
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