Founded in the year 1871 by General William J. Palmer and some of his friends, Colorado Springs was first known as the Fountain Valley Colony. Anybody could join the colony who was temperate and of good moral character.
     The elevation is 6,000 feet above sea level. It is located six miles East of the foot of Pikes Peak, six miles North of Cheyenne Mountain and the city is most beautifully and spaciously laid out. [It] has a monopoly on pure air, pure water, 317 days of sunshine out of the 365 days of each year and the largest variety of the grandest mountain scenery of any place in America.
     It has the marvelous Garden of the Gods, the wonderful Cave of the Winds, the world famous Cog Railroad to the Summit of Pikes Peak, South Cheyenne Canyon and Seven Falls, nature's beauty spot; ancient Cliff Dwellings, a reproduction of the Mesa Verde Ruins...and many other beautiful scenic trips too numerous to mention.
     This is the cleanest city in the United States, and when I say clean I mean in every respect. There are no manufacturing plants that make smoke in the city limits, the people take pride in keeping their homes and yards clean, the streets are kept clean; there never was a saloon here.
     Mountain climbing, golf, polo, horseback riding and all kinds of outdoor sport can be indulged in any week, winter or summer. The summers are cool; the winters are mild. At no time is there any foggy weather or any malaria, nor any hot winds or mosquitoes. Flowers grow in profusion. Colorado Springs is a city of beautiful homes and the people who live here would not trade places with any city in the United States.
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     [I] spent two years in British Columbia, one year in old Mexico, [have] been all over the United States and part of Texas and after all of my travels and wanderings I have picked Colorado Springs as the place to live and die in and the longer I live here, the more I feel like the Missourian whom the preacher told if he did not change his ways he could never go to heaven. The man from Missouri said he did not care very much for he would just as soon live in Missouri. So it is with me, I like this place pretty well.