(Photo by Linda Relyea).

 ALAMOSA – Pictured, left to right, Ethel Dixon, Del Norte, Colo.; Mel Knapp, Eagle River, Alaska; Peggy Dalby, Center, Colo.; Alice Burch, Alamosa, Colo.: fulfilled their father’s, Donald Knapp, wish and donated a historical map of the San Luis Valley to the Adams State University Nielsen Library on July 7.

At age 98, Donald Knapp remembered seeing an early map the San Luis Park (San Luis Valley). The family discovered History Colorado had a copy of the original, which was published in the Daily Denver News on January 24, 1859. Unfortunately, Donald Knapp passed away on January 28, 2020, before the map was received, framed, and donated. He lived his entire life in the San Luis Valley and was a WWII veteran. “Our father was exceptional authority on the history and geology of the Valley,” Burch said. “He was also a strong Adams State supporter, as he and all four of his children attended classes here.”