The town of Iola, Colorado is an interesting case study for sociologists, despite the fact that it currently sits at the bottom of the Blue Mesa Reservoir.

I first became familiar with Iola, Colorado working with Island Acres Resort Motel. In short, we were coming up with ideas to help bring to life the history of the property in a place-making effort. As I was learning about the history of the property, I became fascinated with one of the rentals on the property called the Rippling River Ranch Cabin. As it turns out this particular cabin had been transported to Island Acres near Gunnison, Colorado, from its original location in Iola.

The Story of Iola, Colorado

As I mentioned, the story of Iola is an interesting one. Iola was one of three small towns located along the Gunnison River on the Blue Mesa. The other two include Sapinero and Cebolla. At their height these towns were a series of small ranches and resorts that provided hospitality and “Western Experiences” to celebrities and presidents. High profile figures, among others, would stay at these riverside lodges and resorts to experience the top notch fishing on the Gunnison River, but the ranches offered camping, horseback riding, family dinners and a host of other experiences for their guests.

Here is when it gets interesting. In 1956, the state of Colorado decided to build a dam and flood the Blue Mesa as part of the Colorado River Storage Project Act to create the largest man-made water project in Colorado, the Blue Mesa Reservoir. By the time the reservoir was complete in 1966, the project would displace about 200-300 people from their ranches. We have heard from people over the years that remember Iola, even people that grew up there, and there really is still a somber tone when talking about the experience of these families.

One of these ranches located in Iola, Colorado was called the Rippling River Ranch. From what I can tell the people that lived in these ranches, had to move all their stuff or burn it down to limit debris in what would soon be a reservoir. I believe there are a couple of structures around the town of Gunnison that are from these towns, but I know the Rippling River Ranch Cabin at Island Acres Resort Motel is one of the few remaining structures from the town of Iola, Colorado now beneath the Blue Mesa Reservoir.

Search Traffic for Iola, Colorado

With that said, as I was learning about Iola, Rippling River Ranch, and trying to help the Island Acres owners tell that story, I wrote a blog at Applied Worldwide Lifestyle, called Iola Colorado: A town lost to the depths. In that original blog, I told most of this same story and I included a couple of neat historic photos. 

I published this story because I thought it was interesting, as it turns out the story is of interest to a lot of people because it has become one of the most viewed articles across all of our Applied Worldwide websites. One way to tell how interested people are with Iola, is by looking at search results. The Iola blog is Applied Worldwide’s fourth most clicked article on Google, across all of our websites.

This begs the question, why is there so much search interest in a town that has been underwater since 1966?

Potential Reasons why Iola, Colorado is so Commonly Searched

There are several different potential reasons why Iola, Colorado is so commonly searched for on Google. The reality is that Iola, Colorado is still popular because of a combination of the following factors.

The Obvious Reasons

There are a couple of obvious reasons why Iola, Colorado continues to be popular on the internet. First, the Blue Mesa Reservoir is the largest body of water in Colorado, so it is familiar to a lot of people. The Blue Mesa Reservoir and the Gunnison River are world record trout fisheries, so it is popular amongst Colorado fisherman and beyond. Therefore, the popularity of the reservoir may heighten the awareness of the towns that lie beneath its surface.

The second obvious reason is the people that used to live in those ranches are still living; because in the grand scheme of history, this is a relatively recent event. These people that were displaced from their homes still remember the area before it was flooded and to the best of their abilities probably work to keep those memories alive. 

Climate Change

Unlike the reasons about it might not make much since to say that Iola, Colorado is a popular search term because of climate change, but hear me out. Over the years whenever Western Colorado faces severe drought, the water level of the Blue Mesa Reservoir gets low. In these times, parts of Iola emerge on the banks of the reservoir. Concrete foundations with children’s initials, old ranch tools, and most of all memories.

Particularly around 2018 there was a surge in news articles highlighting how parts of Iola, Colorado were being rediscovered as the water level on the lake declined. Like this article from the High Country Spotlight titled, Iola – An Underwater Colorado Ghost Town Resurfaces . Or this one from the Denver Post called, Drought reveals a long-submerged Colorado town on floor of Blue Mesa Reservoir. The Colorado Sun in 2018 published this article, Drought has revealed for the first time a Colorado town flooded to build a reservoir. And scientists expect to see it again. Also in 2018 Colorado Public Radio published an article titled, As The Blue Mesa Reservoir Dries Out, A Forgotten Small Town Reemerges. And the LA Times published this ominous headline, Man flooded the town of Iola; now nature is bringing back its ghost.

Part of the reason Iola, Colorado continues to exist as a popular search term on the internet is because climate change has not allowed it to be forgotten. If the reservoir was always full, these fragments of history would not emerge and would have been more likely to be forgotten.

Placemaking

The power of placemaking. There have been a couple of different placemaking projects that have occurred over the years that help preserve the memory of Iola, Colorado. I do not know if the initiators of these projects intended them to serve the role of placemaking, but it is something I believe has happened. 

First, Shelley Read wrote a novel called Go As a River. It is a fictional story told “through a lens of displacement from an ancestral homeland, and the pain that comes with the loss of a home.” I have not read the book, but from what I can tell it is well received by its readers. You can read a full review of the novel in the Gunnison Country Times. As read noted, the book is “about digging down and finding our strength and resilience in the face of challenge, and it’s about connecting and caring for — and feeling humbled in — the natural world.”

Second, Pam and Tim Williams of Island Acres Resort Motel have done an incredible job restoring the Rippling River Ranch Cabin and creating a space where guests can rent an authentic lodge reminiscent of those great fishing cabins on the Blue Mesa. They have also worked with local historians to make sure the stories of the Rippling River Ranch are told in the history books.

In short, I am saying that the spirit of Iola, Colorado lives on through its stories and people on the internet are looking for these stories.

Final Thoughts on the Sociology of Iola, Colorado

This blog has been an investigation into a potential sociological explanation for why the small town of Iola, Colorado continues to be a popular search term despite the fact that it is uninhabited and sits at the bottom of Colorado’s largest reservoir.

I conclude that several factors may impact the online legacy of Iola. First, this is a recent event. People still remember the town of Iola as it existed when it was hosting prominent fishing guests. In this way the legacy of Iola is upheld through actual memory.

For those that do not physically remember Iola, Colorado, the stories live on through the efforts of local journalists, historians, authors, and business owners. As members of the community continue to tell the tale of Iola, people will continue to look for more stories on the internet.