Interview with Agnes Ruth Kiefer and Jerome A. "Jerry" Kiefer

Description

Siblings Agnes and Jerry Kiefer talk about the history of their pioneering family in Mesa County, Colorado. They speak about the arrival of their great uncles Joseph and Frank Kiefer in 1883, and about their purchase of land that they eventually platted and developed as the town of Cleveland (now absorbed into Fruita). They remember their great grandmother Caroline (Witt) Kiefer, a Fruita pioneer for whom Caroline Avenue is named. They describe their uncles’ founding of the Fruita Canal and Land Company, which built the Kiefer Extension Ditch and irrigated land between Fruita and Mack, allowing for agriculture. They talk about the Mesa County Mail, a newspaper founded by Ben and Frank Kiefer in 1892 that later became the Fruita Times. They recall the role of their uncles in building a pipeline from Pinon Mesa to bring drinking water to Fruita, and in starting and developing the Redlands Water and Power Company, which was located near their mother’s homestead. They recount the life of their father Charles Kiefer, who homesteaded near Loma, ran a commissary for the Uintah Railway, purchased Ute horses for sale to the Army, and farmed. They tell the story of John Otto’s friendship with Joseph Kiefer, who was the best man at Otto’s wedding. They speak about the difficulty of transportation from Mack to Fruita on rough, rural roads. They reminisce about the people of Mack and New Liberty, and about their family’s farm. The interview was conducted by the Mesa County Oral History Project, a collaboration of Mesa County Libraries and the Museums of Western Colorado.