The Possibilities of Agate

When you are looking for a possible solution, try walking through a gate.

The town of Gebhard, Colorado was formally founded by the Union Pacific Railroad in 1881 complete with a United States Post Office. A year later the town changed its name to Agate. There was already a community of cattle ranchers in the area prior to the rails being laid by the UPRR.  According to local legend, there was a distinctive wooden gate at that location with an  “A” bracing on it with which to make it sturdy.  Some local historians insist that gate is where the town derived the name it carries today. Still, others insist it got its name from the colorful agate stones that were found in the area.

Agate is situated in the northeast corner of Elbert County on I-70 less than twenty miles from the town of Limon, Colorado and shows little today in the way of economic prowess. With its shuttered buildings and decaying infrastructure, one would hardly guess that Agate might hold the key to adding much needed tax revenues into the depleted Elbert County coffers. The common perception in our county is that if you want to grow a tax base in Elbert County, it will have to come from the western edge of the county and radiate from Elizabeth to the east.  “Build houses and they will come,” has always been the county motto without addressing the problem that there is nowhere for these new residents to go to work. 

The motto for this blog is,  “mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.”  It suggests that many people want to be deceived because they want the world to fit their preconceived notions, so let them be deceived.  To me, Agate, Colorado represents a breaking away from the status quo approach to growing a county economy. If you do an honest assessment on places where commerce might gain a foothold in our county, I believe it is most appropriate to put Agate at the top of that list.  We all have heard the age-old question, “What are the three most important things in real estate?”  The answer is… drumroll please, “Location, location, location!”

Agate, Colorado is on a major Interstate Highway, I-70.  If you wanted to ship goods or receive goods at a new manufacturing plant, you do not need to be a transportation genius to see that trucks will have better access to your business from I-70 than they would from a a smaller artery like Singing Hills Road. And not a single foot of travel would be necessary on an unpaved surface!  

There is also the fact that Agate is very close to the spots where both Colorado State Highways 86 and 24 join I-70,  giving both a central path through to the core part of Elbert County and a bypass to I-25 and the Colorado Springs area.  Again, all of this has trucks traveling on paved roads. The highway transportation issues of a fledgling manufacturing business could not be better served anywhere else in the county than in Agate. 

If you are a manufacturer, right-of-entry to a rail line is an absolute must.  Agate, Colorado is the only area in Elbert County where a business can gain direct access to any major railroad lines.  No other populated area, incorporated or otherwise in Elbert County, can boast that commercial benefit.  On paper at least, this puts Agate on a list as one of the most desirable places to court new businesses.  

An example might be a plant dedicated to making wood pellet fuel which decides to build its business in Agate.  I-70 has trucks coming out of the mountain that could be delivering harvested beetle kill pine trees.  The wood could be processed and loaded on rail cars and sent to either coast via the railroad companies with fewer needs to load and reload cargo.

There is an airport facility in Limon, Colorado. Closer than Denver or Colorado Springs, a manufacturer could use this airport  facility for quick shipments of parts or even shuttling business associates to and from the manufacturing site.  You cannot say the same for Elizabeth or Kiowa.

Sure, there will be some that read this blog post and say that the notion of building a manufacturing base in Agate, Colorado is pure folly.  But if you are being honest with yourself, this endeavor would not come  without some very important merits.  Land is relatively inexpensive in Eastern Elbert County.  There are also Enterprise Zone opportunities available in the Agate area. The Office of Economic Development & International Trade writes on their website, 

“The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) works with statewide partners to create a positive business climate that encourages dynamic economic development and sustainable job growth. Under the leadership of Governor John Hickenlooper, we strive to advance the state's economy through financial and technical assistance in support of local and regional economic development activities throughout Colorado.”

The way out of any financial downturn is to take a step back and evaluate what new possibilities are  both necessary and possible.  Would it be worth it to our county’s government, in cooperation with its Chamber of Commerce, to try and invite, encourage and embrace new businesses and manufacturing into the county, specifically in Agate?  This author believes that it would.  You might disagree, but at least it is a proposal that is an example of thinking outside of the box.  What do you think?