In 1905 Skyline Drive was completed through the use of inmate labor. At the height of construction, the Skyline Drive project employed sixty prisoners. It was Senator Lewis of Florence who sponsored the legislation bill that allowed prisoners to work on this public road. Prisoners working on Skyline Drive received a reduction of ten days on their sentence for every thirty days they worked on the road.
According to articles in the Caņon City Record, a contest to name the road was held following its completion. S.A. Van Buskskirk recommended Skyline Boulevard and the name was incorporated into the deed, although, it is now referred to as Skyline Drive. The drive was originally built for biking, horses, and walking. Cars were prohibited because they scared the horses. However, popular demand to allow cars provided for their use on the drive after February 1907.
During the Best administration, the penitentiary repaired the road and built an arch at the entrance of Skyline Drive using a stone from every state in the union. When F.B. Rice, the gentleman in charge of procuring stones from individual states, contacted New York on April 12, 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the governor. Roosevelt wrote back asking Rice to ask for information regarding the nature of the project, inquiring whether or not it was a public or private enterprise. Rice informed him that it was public, and Franklin agreed to send the stone. (The Roosevelt letters are in the Skyline file at the Local History Center.)
"Name For Driveway: Demand For a More Dignified Title." Caņon City Record 19 October 1905: 1.
"Skyline Boulevard: New Driveway Has a Legal Name." Caņon City Record 26 October 1905: 1.
"To Vote On Name For New Driveway." Caņon City Record 30 November 1905.
"Skyline Boulevard Not For Automobiles." Caņon City Record 11 January 1906.
"Ordinance No. 8. Series 1906." Caņon City Record 7 June 1906.
"Automobiles Entitled To Use Skyline Drive." Caņon City Record 21 February 1907.
"Rock From Famed Cave To Be Placed In Drive Gateway." Caņon City Daily Record 8 January 1 1932.
"Work on Skyline Drive Is Nearing Completion." Caņon City Daily Record 10 May 1932.
"Dedication of Skyline Bowl Tuesday Evening Forms Lovely Picture." Caņon City Daily Record 13 June 1934: 1.
Roosevelt, Franklin. Letter to F. B. Rice. 21 April 1931, New York City, NY.
Roosevelt, Franklin. Letter to F.B. Rice. 27 May 1931, New York City , NY
.MCP = Museum of Colorado Prisons, Caņon City, Colorado.
1 MCP: Photograph of the stone arch at the entrance to Skyline Drive, Watson Collection - Best Album.
2 MCP: Photograph of the stone arch at the entrance to Skyline Drive, Watson Collection - Best Album.