History of Calhan Library
Calhan Library is Pike Peak Library District’s (PPLD) farthest-east and most remote location, situated on the open plains well beyond the suburban reach of Colorado Springs. Like Falcon, the town began as a stop on the Chicago-based Rock Island Railroad, which pushed westward and reached Colorado Springs in 1888. But unlike Falcon—whose proximity to the city fueled rapid suburban growth—Calhan has remained a much smaller and more rural community. Even so, PPLD has viewed Calhan as strategically important since the District’s formation in the 1960s. The town’s position along U.S. Highway 24 makes it a natural hub for the eastern plains, serving residents as far away as Ellicott who rely on Calhan’s post office. Putting a library there would not only serve this community but would significantly reduce bookmobile mileage by anchoring service at the farthest east stop.
That long-standing interest led PPLD to open its first Library in Calhan in October 1977 named the Eastern Plains Community Branch. It marked an early attempt to provide stable service in the rural eastern part of El Paso County. The location ultimately proved unsustainable, however, and the branch closed in 1982. For decades afterward, PPLD maintained service to the region through its bookmobile program while continuing to search for a permanent site that could support full-service Library operations.
The building that ultimately became the modern Calhan Library reflects layers of local history. Calhan’s banking tradition stretches back more than a century, beginning when Colorado Springs banker A.L. Pieper moved to the community in 1918 to establish the town’s first bank. Successive banking facilities occupied sites around Bank Street, including the later Farmers State Bank, whose presence shaped the town center. In 2006, a new 2,400-square-foot bank building was constructed at 600 Bank Street, close to the original heart of commercial life in Calhan.
Farmers State Bank eventually consolidated its facilities, and in February 2016 it donated the former Bank Street building to the Calhan Youth Education and Recreation Foundation (CYERF). The foundation transformed the space into a teen center, remodeling the interior and using the building as a home for youth programming. By 2018, PPLD had renewed its search for a permanent eastern-plains location and initially explored placing a modular building in Calhan, but early in 2019, the Bank Street property emerged as a viable alternative. The District entered discussions with CYERF and by March the PPLD Board of Trustees approved purchasing the property for a combined $75,000 following an internal assessment that found the building’s structural and mechanical systems sound and well-suited for renovation into a library.
The decision brought PPLD’s decades-long effort full circle. The Bank Street building, rooted in the town’s banking history and already serving as a community gathering space, offered a durable and centrally located home for Library services. After renovations and preparations, PPLD opened the new Calhan Library on Nov. 4, 2019, re-establishing a full-service branch on the eastern plains for the first time in nearly forty years. Its location continues to support rural residents across a broad region, shaped by the same historical forces that placed Calhan on the map—first the Rock Island Rail, and later the path of US Highway 24, which ultimately guided where the library stands today.