Many of the families who live on and work the land in southeastern Colorado have been here for many generations, since their ancestors homesteaded in the 1800s, The ranching communities of this region represent a unique and endangered culture; the culture of the American Cowboy.
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The Kim Outpost
Around 1941, the original store, now the Kim Outpost, was started. The Kim Mercantile, as it was named then, began providing staple goods to the area residents along with three other such stores in the community. Rod Thompson and his daughter M.E. provided the initial oversight while M.E.’s husband Ralph Broce was overseas serving our great Country during WWII.
Ralph returned from the Army and together he and M.E. ran the Kim Merc, which became known to the residents as “M.E.’s.” They later also added the propane business that Rod had been providing prior to that.
After a forty plus year history with the Kim Mercantile, Ralph and M.E. sold their interest in the store to R.C. Patterson. He and his wife ran the “Patterson Country Store” for a few years and then transferred ownership to Bob and Bunny Patterson. The next few years saw the Pattersons leasing the store and running it themselves when a lessee wasn’t available.
In the summer of 1997, Lon, Anita, Shana, John and Justin Robertson moved from Abilene, Texas back to their ranch west of Kim. It was a homecoming for Lon and a new experience for the rest of the family!
The Robertsons purchased the Patterson Country Store in the fall of that same year. The Kim Outpost began operation on September 16, 1997. Now in its ninth year of business, The Kim Outpost continues to provide services to the community and with the continued support of the residents of Kim, the Robertsons hope to be able to continue for years to come.
Elmer & Leona Southern Green came by covered wagon from Texas to Branson, Colorado in 1915. Their homestead was 12 miles NE of Branson. In 1917 they moved to the house where most of us children were born, a couple of miles west of the homestead. We called this the “Shrout Place.” They eventually moved to the home 5 miles north of Branson, which is now owned by Norman Green, my brother. Elmer farmed there and seven of the ten children graduated from Branson High School. The three oldest children had attended a one-room schoolhouse near enough to walk to (about 1 ½ miles).
After graduation, I met and married John Robertson and we moved to a home (dugout) between Tobe and Villegreen in 1950. After Lon Robertson’s death in 1952, his wife Nettie moved to Trinidad and John and I moved to the house in Umbar Canyon. There we raised our 5 children, who worked on the ranch and attended Kim Schools. John was a stone mason and built numerous fireplaces, as well as other rock projects, in the area.
Our son, Lon, built his house, with John’s help, ½ mile north of our house. He moved to Texas and worked as a paramedic at Pampa and Abilene until 1997, when John retired. Lon took over the ranch and bought the general store and café in Kim, the Kim Outpost.
This site was last updated
05/16/07
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