Horace S. Harp, of Meeker, in Rio Blanco county, who also has interests at Rifle and elsewhere in Garfield county, and whose active mind and busy hands are variously employed in the mercantile and industrial interests of this state, is a native of Marion county, Iowa, born on December 21, 1860. Since the age of thirteen he has been the sole architect of his fortunes and has built them well and wisely. He began earning his own living by working on farms in the vicinity of his home for very small wages, and continued to be so employed there until he reached the age of nineteen. In 1880 he came to Colorado under the influence of the mining excitement at Ashcroft. He entered into the spirit of the time and place, locating a quartz claim and worked it and other mining properties until 1882, when he turned his attention to the livery and transfer business at Crested Butte. In 1884 he sold out at a good profit and moved to Meeker, which at that time contained only seventy-five inhabitants. Here he conducted a hotel with good results until 1887, then sold the business and began running stage lines between Steamboat Springs and Rifle. In 1894 he established a line between Axial and Rifle and dropped the lines to Steamboat Springs. The lines between Axial, Meeker and Rifle he is still running. He is also largely interested in ranching, and raising stock, having a ranch of his own comprising three hundred and seventy-five acres of tillable land, and extensive herds of full blooded thorough and range-bred cattle, and raising large crops of hay, grain and vegetables. The water supply for his land is abundant and the right belongs to him. The ranch adjoins the town of Meeker and is admirably located for the purposes to which it is devoted. In addition to this Mr. Harp is a partner with A. C. Moulton in a one thousand two hundred-acre ranch, seven hundred acres of which are under cultivation, being irrigated from a reservoir built for the purpose. The remaining five hundred acres are used for grazing. Besides his ranching interests, which are, as can be seen, extensive, Mr. Harp is connected with a large black-smithing enterprise conducted at Meeker by the Harp-JoHantgen Manufacturing and Blacksmithing Company, one of the most progressive and enterprising corporations of Rio Blanco county. In fraternal life he is an Odd Fellow and a Woodman of the World, and in political faith a determined Republican.
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<h3>Harp-JoHantgen Manufacturing and Blacksmith Company</h3>
In May, 1904, the Harp-JoHantgen Manufacturing and Blacksmith Company was incorporated with a capital stock of five thousand dollars, which included the consolidation of the JoHantgen Pioneer shop and the business of the Harp and Riley Blacksmith Company.
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His parents were William C. and Hannah (Brouse) Harp, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of Ohio. The father was a large and successful stock shipper and speculator and a man of considerable local prominence. He was an active Republican in politics. They had a family of ten children. Pleasant P. Harp and Mary J. Harp are deceased. The eight living are: Charles W. Harp, of Marion county, Iowa; Sarah, wife of A. E. Rees, of Meeker, Colorado; Dr. John F. Harp, of Prairie City, Iowa; Horace S. Harp; Thaddeus Harp, of Rifle; Sherman Harp, of Sioux City, Iowa; Margaret, wife of Clinton Smith, of Newton, Iowa, and Isaac Harp, of Otley, Iowa. The father died in 1886, and the mother now makes her home at Newton, Iowa.
On August 11, 1893, Mr. Harp united in marriage with Miss Charlotte Beemer, a native of Missouri, the daughter of Henry and Margaret Beemer, who have made Grand Junction, Colorado, their home since 1892. Mr. and Mrs. Harp have four children, Horace, Margaret, Con and Russell. Mr. Harp’s success in business has been exceptionally good and his standing in the communities where he is known is exceptionally high.