History

In May of 1866, little Malachi's body was removed from the cemetery in Golden City and reinterred in newly consecrated ground on a small island in the center of Big Solace. While standing in the chill spring winds of Potts Island during the services for Malachi, Fedora heard an eerie wind through the trees on the western ridge. The sound reverberated from the rocks on the northern ridge and she said it must be the echo of spirits welcoming her infant home. After that day, the L-shaped ridge became Echo Ridge.

Over the next few years, and with the help of W.A.H. Loveland and the other owners of the Colorado and Clear Creek, Ezra Potts was able to acquire the entire six square miles of the meadow and ridge for less than a penny an acre.