Cottonwood Farms is a partnership of third- and fourth-generation Parachinis, who run the farm and ranching business that was begun by Antonio Giuseppe Parachini.  Antonio was 15 when he first arrived in the United States from Italy in 1895. After working as a miner and then owning and running a saloon in Silver Plume for several years, Antonio and his bride Paolina, who married in Italy in 1907, eventually traveled to the Weldon Valley in Morgan County with their daughter Mary, where they settled in 1911. Antonio began work by helping to build the Jackson Lake Dam. In 1913 the family moved to this 80-acre farm, which they eventually purchased in 1917 along with four shares of capital stock in the Weldon Valley Canal Company. Antonio built the sod house and garage, which are still in use today, with farm hand and plasterer Pete Busio. Due to Paolina’s deteriorating health and temporary relocation to California in 1919, Antonio considered selling the farm in 1920; however, a California earthquake ensured that the Parachini family and descendents would continue to call this farm home, where corn and cattle are still raised.