The Newlands came to Colorado around 1860 with the intention of mining for gold. As this didn鈥檛 pan out as expected, they bought 240 acres of land just north of the Boulder city limits for $5,000. By 1876, they had established one of the most important fruit farms in the area. While they grew the largest crop of strawberries in the area with eleven acres devoted to the berry, the Newlands were also known for their grapes and apples. Unfortunately, William Newland was gored to death by an angry bull in 1886 leaving their real estate venture in the hands of Mary.
Mary Newland was known for her perseverance and taste and her real estate venture was described in an early promotional campaign for the City of Boulder called the Irrigation Era:
鈥淢rs. Newland has here 140 acres of very valuable land, divided into town lots and blocks. There is about twenty acres of orchard on the land, in different tracts, and the land is in a very fine location for residence. Mrs. Newland and her husband came to Boulder county over thirty years ago and were amongst the earliest pioneers. Their residence is one of the finest, and everything about their farm presents an appearance of prosperity, which is usually the lot of those who have the courage and foresight to breast the dangers and hardships that area always an accompaniment of life in a new country for the first few years.鈥� (The Irrigation Era, 1898 courtesy of The Carnegie Library for Local History)
From gold miners, to fruit farmers, to real estate developers, the Newland family experiences are a microcosm of local history. The subdivision Mary Newland managed still bears the name 鈥淭he Newland Addition鈥� and extends from Alpine to Grape avenues between 2nd Street and Broadway.
Top photo: Mary E. Newland. Photo courtesy Carnegie Library for Local History/Museum of Boulder Collection.
Bottom photo: Within five years, Mary Newland had organized for their property to be divided and platted for inclusion into the City of Boulder. She handled the sale of lots to neighborhood developers and settlers looking to build homes. In 1889, Mary built the Newland mansion at 3011 Broadway, where she lived with her daughter and son-in-law who also helped manage the orchards and business ventures. Some residents even believe that the Newlands planted an apple tree on each of the divided properties to increase value. Photo courtesy of Carnegie Library for Local history.