Editor’s note: Kenneth Jessen is starting a new series of columns today on places that show “History Lost — History Saved,” places where people can still see Colorado history and places of historic note that were lost.
Born in Missouri to a French father and a mulatto mother, Antoine Janis traveled on trading caravans with his father. He journeyed west on his own in 1844 and worked as a scout and interpreter at Fort Laramie. He married First Elk Woman of the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
On the return from one trip, he passed through the Cache la Poudre Valley and remembered what he called the loveliest stop on earth. At the time, it was not open to settlement. Nevertheless, Janis staked out a claim with plans to return once the area was free to be homesteaded.
When the Cache la Poudre area became part of Nebraska Territory, Janis returned and constructed a cabin in 1858. With him were his wife and two brothers. This was one year prior to the discovery of gold ore by John Gregory near present-day Central City and the start of the Colorado gold rush.
Janis settled among 150 Arapaho lodges. He founded the town of Colona along with members of his party.
Janis erected a cabin on his property in 1860 on the south side of the river. The following year, the Colorado Territorial Legislature selected Colona as the Larimer County seat — it was the only town in the area and was soon renamed LaPorte.
Janis opened a grocery store and a saloon.
Janis and his family lived in LaPorte until 1878 when his wife was ordered to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. This was part of the mandatory removal of American Indians from this part of Colorado.
He accompanied her and lived out his life among the Sioux passing away in 1890.
In 1939, the Janis cabin was moved from LaPorte to the Old Pioneer Museum adjacent to the modern-day Fort Collins Old Town Library.
It was reconstructed by the Work Projects Administration set up to provide employment during the Great Depression.
When the museum moved into the old Carnegie Library across the lawn in 1976, the cabin was moved to the fenced Heritage Courtyard where it remains today.
From May to October, the courtyard is open on Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m.
Kenneth Jessen has been a Loveland resident since 1965. He is an author of 20 books and more than 1,600 articles. He served on several Loveland boards and was an engineer for Hewlett-Packard for 33 years.
