THE OLD THOMPSON PLACE
104TH AND LOWELL

Thomas Thompson came to the United States from England in the late nineteenth century. He was a chef.

In 1882 he homesteaded 320 acres north of Denver.  The land was located in what was then Arapahoe County. Thomas constructed a dugout at what is now 104th Avenue and Lowell.  His wife and three children lived there while he continued working for the Santa Fe Railroad.

The homestead laws at the time Thomas and his family homesteaded required them to live on the land for three consecutive years, and Thomas had to break sod on sixty acres of land.  The sod was so tough that the horses could not plow up hill.

Thomas ran cattle on the land in the 1880’s and 1890’s, and also raised hay on part of the land to feed the livestock.  Thomas’ brand was the F bar 7.

Thomas soon improved on his family’s housing by trading 160 acres of his land for a house and

some buildings close to the western boundary of his land.  The location of the house is on 104th Avenue between Federal and Sheridan where Lowell would be if it extended that far.

One of Thomas’ sons, Fred, took over the land from his father when Thomas grew older. Fred decided to raise less cattle and to grow wheat.  He planted the first summer fallowed wheat in Colorado.

Over the years, the Thompson family bought more and more land and expanded their wheat farming. By 1930, the family owned 760 acres of land.  During the depression the selling price of wheat dropped to 25¢ per bushel, which was very low.  The Thompsons were forced to sell some of their land.  They sold what is now Highland Hills Golf Course to a man named Mr. Burkhart.

The Thompsons added onto the house and dug out the cellar by hand.  They never had electricity or running water in the house.

In 1955, the Thompsons sold the house and seven acres to a family by the name of Feller.  The Fellers added electricity and running water to the house.  They also remodeled the house, and finished the basement.  The Fellers later sold the house to another family.

The Thompsons still own about 250 acres of their original 760 acres.  A company called Mor Homes is building new houses near the site of the original dugout constructed by Thomas.

Over the years many interesting events occurred in the Thompson family.  Once when Fred was returning from market in Denver, he was held up by two men.  They found little money on him, so they shot him twelve times and threw him in an irrigation ditch, leaving him for dead.  But Fred wasn’t dead yet.  He was revived by the cold water running in the ditch and was able to crawl to his wagon and climb aboard.  The horses took him home where he recuperated.

Another interesting experience involved ten gallon cans, water, and gasoline.  The Thompsons carried water from the nearby spring up to the house in ten gallon cans.  Once, someone filled the tea kettle from a gasoline can, believing it to be water. Fortunately, the resulting fire did little damage.

Today, the house is considered one of the most modern houses in the country.  The basement contains a family room, bar, and a bandstand.  The house has three bathrooms and covers an area of 4800 square feet.

The Thompsons were one of the pioneer families of Adams County.  They were among the first wheat growers, and the first to plant summer fallowed wheat in Colorado.  They were, and still are, important landholders in the county.