A Brief History of Palisade
Palisade’s growth depended on irrigation, orchards and rail transportation. J. P. Harlow established a farm in 1882 and harvested more than a ton of peaches from his Rapid Creek orchard by 1888. Railroad service reached Palisade in 1890, and Benton Canon platted the town in 1894. Palisade incorporated on April 4, 1904, the same year its Fruit Growers Association organized. The association built a cannery in 1905. Irrigation development continued with the Grand Valley Diversion Dam and Government Highline Canal in 1915, strengthening the agricultural landscape around the town.