grew up in Estes Park, spending much of his youth at and around Elkhorn Lodge, while living in the Hondius family home directly across the street. In 2021 the Estes Park community recognized her many accomplishments by commissioning her statue and making it the centerpiece of the Women’s Monument Project, recognizing the historic contributions of women to the life of Estes Park. Eleanor Hondius’ contributions to the life of Estes Park were many, beginning in 1913 with the creation of the Estes Park Woman’s Club and, later, the Estes Park Library. Homer James, and, later, for many years, with her younger brother, Howard.

At his death in 1895, Eleanor stepped in to help operate the Lodge: first with her mother, Ella James and her older brother, Dr. James, was the founder of historic Elkhorn Lodge, for a time the largest resort in the Estes Valley. Pieter’s mother was no less accomplished. He also came to own property along the High Drive which he developed for cottage sites, creating the subdivision known as Woodland Heights by building an ingenious pipe-line that brought water from Upper Beaver Meadows and Buck Creek. Settling in Estes Park to ranch and farm, he purchased property in Horseshoe Park and Beaver Meadows to become the largest private property owner in what in 1915 became Rocky Mountain National Park. His father, a direct descendant of the famous Dutch map maker Jodocus Hondius, had come to America from the Netherlands in 1895, seeking relief from chronic asthma. Pieter Hondius was born in Denver on February 10, 1923, the only child of Estes Park pioneers Pieter Hondius, Sr. A proclamation in his honor followed, presented by Mayor Wendy Koenig at a meeting of the Estes Park Board of Trustees at Town Hall, an event that Pieter also attended. That event was celebrated by a gathering of his many friends and admirers at the Estes Park Museum, where as a tribute of gratitude and affection he was presented with some 150 birthday cards.

Pieter Hondius passed away comfortably on May 9, 2023, on the birthday of his beloved wife, Helen, three months after his own 100th birthday. Estes Park has lost one of its most respected citizens.

The witch family by eleanor estes