The Eastern Plains include the small communities of Peyton, Calhan, Ellicott, Hanover, Peyton, Ramah, Rush, Simla, and Yoder. Ranching is the lifeblood of these eastern communities. Heading out east from Colorado Springs, a traveler passes abruptly from the foothills of the Rockies to the rolling hill country that introduces the great Eastern Plains of Colorado. The agriculture here centers on livestock - range cattle, dairy cows, horses - and the land is given to range rather than farmland. To the eye of someone just passing through, the grasslands seem to stretch endlessly, an unremarkable sea of sameness. Hard to imagine that within a single square yard of range, more than a dozen different varieties of grass can flourish. The seemingly unremarkable landscape is, in fact, a wonderland of diversity.
These rural communities, not very distant from Colorado Springs, are almost as diverse as the range grasses. They began as railroad stops or way stations or crossroads. Today, some still are barely more than that. Can they even properly be called towns? A more accurate term might be "township." Among country folks, this concept extends even to "real" towns. A person "from Peyton" might be from within the town limits, or from seven miles south. The small settlements can be called peaceful destinations for savvy pilgrims, community-driven, or quixotic refuges of individualism.
The people also are fairly diverse. Much of the Calhan and Ramah areas were settled a century ago by Eastern Europeans, whose legacy includes numerous road names that challenge the unfamiliar tongue. And today, many upright residents are first-generation from the likes of Greece, Holland and Mexico. Even the weather varies greatly within the region. Ramah may suffer a devastating hail storm, while five miles away, the folks are praying for any kind of moisture at all. Peyton and Ramah, behind their highway facades, are charming old-timey villages. Calhan, home to the El Paso County Fair, bristles with business and growth.
The towns, of course, have many commonalities. With few exceptions, they all have a post office, a volunteer fire department, a school, and perhaps an historic cemetary. And every rural grocery store has a meat counter or deli, reflecting perhaps the importance of meat and dairy to the local economy. To the passer-through, none of this may seem very remarkable. But no city develops in a vacuum; the character of Colorado Springs can be read in the land that underlies it. And just "passing through" can become so much more meaningful if one takes time to stop and smell the grasses.
If you would like to perform your own search of homes currently on the market in the EASTERN PLAINS AREA, click on the previous link or my photo to the left for access to the Pikes Peak area Multiple Listing website.Or, try the following link for a comple MLS search through the Keller Williams Clients' Choice Realty website
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Terry Galloway Keller Williams Clients' Choice 1283 Kelly Johnson Blvd Colorado Springs, CO 80920 Office: (719) 535-0355 Home Office: (719) 488 0009 Fax: (866) 845-6372 Toll Free: (877) 535-0355 E-Mail: Terry@realestatebyterry.com
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The Eastern Plains include the small communities of Peyton, Calhan, Ellicott, Hanover, Peyton, Ramah, Rush, Simla, and Yoder. Ranching is the lifeblood of these eastern communities. Heading out east from Colorado Springs, a traveler passes abruptly from the foothills of the Rockies to the rolling hill country that introduces the great Eastern Plains of Colorado. The agriculture here centers on livestock - range cattle, dairy cows, horses - and the land is given to range rather than farmland. To the eye of someone just passing through, the grasslands seem to stretch endlessly, an unremarkable sea of sameness. Hard to imagine that within a single square yard of range, more than a dozen different varieties of grass can flourish. The seemingly unremarkable landscape is, in fact, a wonderland of diversity.
These rural communities, not very distant from Colorado Springs, are almost as diverse as the range grasses. They began as railroad stops or way stations or crossroads. Today, some still are barely more than that. Can they even properly be called towns? A more accurate term might be "township." Among country folks, this concept extends even to "real" towns. A person "from Peyton" might be from within the town limits, or from seven miles south. The small settlements can be called peaceful destinations for savvy pilgrims, community-driven, or quixotic refuges of individualism. 
The towns, of course, have many commonalities. With few exceptions, they all have a post office, a volunteer fire department, a school, and perhaps an historic cemetary. And every rural grocery store has a meat counter or deli, reflecting perhaps the importance of meat and dairy to the local economy. To the passer-through, none of this may seem very remarkable. But no city develops in a vacuum; the character of Colorado Springs can be read in the land that underlies it. And just "passing through" can become so much more meaningful if one takes time to stop and smell the grasses.
