USA > Colorado > History of the State of Colorado, Volume III > Part 44
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423
HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
LAKE COUNTY.
IMMENSE ORIGINAL AREA-THE UPPER ARKANSAS VALLEY-LEADVILLE AND ITS EN- VIRONS-PRESENT STATUS OF THE CITY-CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, CIVIC SOCIETIES- STATISTICS-NEWSPAPERS-THE MINING INTEREST-PROF. EMMONS' REPORTS- BULLION YIELDS-TWO GREAT MINES-THE SMELTERS-FISH HATCHERY-EVER- GREEN LAKES-SODA SPRINGS-BANKS AND BANKERS.
The boundaries of this county as originally defined by the Territorial legislature of 1861, and which remained unchanged for many years, covered an immense territory, commencing at a point on the summit of the Snowy Range at the northwest corner of the county of Park, and running due west to the western boundary of the Territory; thence south on said boundary to the summit of the Sierra la Plata Range, or the northwest corner of Guadaloupe County ;* thence easterly along the northern boundary of said county to the northwest corner of Costilla County; thence northerly along the summit of the Snowy Range, or boundary of San Miguel de la Costilla County, to the southwest corner of the county of Fremont; thence north on the western boundary of said county to the northwest corner of said county; thence east on the northern boundary of Fremont to the summit of the range dividing the waters of the Platte and Arkansas Rivers; thence northerly on said summit to the place of beginning. The county seat was temporarily located at Oro City in California Gulch, now covered by the southwestern part of the city of Leadville.
At the time designated, Lake, Summit, Costilla and Conejos Counties embraced all of Colorado west of Larimer, Boulder, Gilpin, Clear Creek, Park and Fremont. Lake was bounded on the north by Summit, west by Utah Territory, south by Con- ejos and a part of Costilla, and east by Fremont and Park. Out of this enor- mous tract of mountain and plain the greater parts of fourteen new counties have since been organized. By act of the State legislature approved February 8th, 1879, the pres- ent county of Chaffee was segregated from Lake, taking the latter name, while the upper portion took the name of Carbonate, with Leadville for its seat. By an act approved two days later, the name of the county of Lake was changed to Chaffee, and that of Carbonate to Lake. By the various segregations it has been shorn of its once mighty proportions, until it is now only fifteen by twenty-four miles in extent, em- bracing but a single incorporated town, and that its capital. It is now bounded on the north by Eagle and Summit, east by Park, west by Pitkin, and south by Chaffee. Its population by the census of 1890 was 14,619, the greater portion resident in Leadville
* This county was never organized, but a few years later merged into the county of Conejos.
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
and its immediate vicinity. The city is situated on the western flank of the Mosquito Range, near the sources of the Arkansas River, at an elevation of 10,150 feet above the level of the sea. At this point, and for some distance below, the valley of the river mentioned is about six miles wide, an oblong, grass covered basin, with fine stretches of rich meadow land, whence are gathered abundant supplies of hay for the use of the principal settlement. On either side the bottom lands are succeeded by a series of ter- races or steppes, extending back to the summits of the ranges east and west. .
As defined in Chapter XX, Vol. II, the primordial settlement of this region was induced by the discovery, in the years 1859-'60, of exceedingly rich gold placers in California Gulch. While the population was quite large during 1860-'61, it dwindled away as the excitement passed, until at the beginning of 1876, when the new era dawned, only a small contingent remained, barely sufficient to preserve the political autonomy of the county.
The new metropolis extends along the base of Carbonate Hill to the east fork of the Arkansas River, the town site embracing about five hundred acres. Three of the principal smelters-the Harrison Reduction Works, the American and Arkansas Valley, occupy positions in the lower part of California Gulch, which thirty years ago was lined with log cabins and the sluices of a multitude of gold miners-and clustered about them are the homes of many of their employes. The prospect is grand, and in many respects beautiful. To the west is a majestic spur from the main sierra crowned by Mount Massive, a peak clothed in perpetual snow, rising to the height of 14,351 feet above tide water, and south of it is Mount Elbert, while to the northward are seen the łofty summits of the Blue Mountains. On the east Mounts Sheridan, Sherman and numerous other towering promontories along the Mosquito Range, form the dividing line between Lake and Park Counties. Prior to the advent of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway in July, 1880, built at vast expense up through the narrow and rocky defiles of the Arkansas River to these carbonate hills and the "Cloud City," the prin- cipal routes of access were by two rough and rugged, wagon roads, the first crossing the Colorado Range via the heads of the South Platte River and the Mosquito Pass, and the second via the Weston Pass, some twelve miles below, subsequently occupied by the Denver & South Park Railway. A third route, via Colorado Springs, the Ute Pass and the lower end of the Park, now partially traversed by the Colorado Mid- land Railway, also was largely utilized for freight and passenger traffic. A somewhat comprehensive outline, relating to the earlier discoveries of carbonate ores, and the founding of Leadville having been given in our second volume, the main object of the present endeavor is to epitomize as succinctly as possible, with due regard to the mag- nitude of the subject, the advancement of the city and its tributary industries during the past ten years.
In the decade referred to, Leadville has thrown off the rude habiliments and hetero- geneous conditions that characterized the first influx of great miscellaneous immigration, emerging from the wild confusion attending that epoch to a well ordered, substantially built, homogeneous metropolis. Along several of its rectangular system of streets, notably on the main business thoroughfare,-Harrison avenue,-many of the original cheaply constructed wooden buildings that were a constant menace to the public safety, have been supplanted by handsome brick structures which denote stability and perma-
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
nence. Some of the intersecting parallels are similarly improved, so that in looking over the place at this time the visitor is at once impressed with the idea that faith in the extent and perpetuity of the mines, the well settled conviction that they will endure, lay at the base of the more stable preparations. Thus far all our mountain towns have first been built of wood for temporary accommodation, and several have been destroyed by fire.
Harrison avenue is not surpassed by any public street in any of the larger cities of the State. It is broad, smooth, well cared for, a brisk and inviting artery of com- merce. For the major part of their trade the merchants are dependent upon the mines and smelters, but a few houses enjoy a wholesale traffic with neighboring com- munities. One of the larger houses is that of Charles Mater, the first merchant of Leadville.
The Western Union Telegraph furnishes rapid communication with all points upon its lines. The telephone system established in 1879 by a local company, of which H. A. W. Tabor was president, but now controlled by the Colorado Telephone Company of Denver, is complete, extending throughout the town and to all the principal operated mines. As early as November 18th, 1879, gas illumination was introduced, and in recent years electric arc lights have been added. Until after the arrival of railways in 1880, coal for the manufacture of gas had to be transported in wagons from the nearest sources of production, one hundred and seventy-five miles distant, frequently at a cost of fifty dollars per ton. The incorporators of this company were Dennis Sullivan, Charles L. Hall, and George R. Fisher. The incorporation papers were filed March 18th, 1879, and the work begun in May following.
The Leadville Water Company was formed in 1878, and in the fall of that year began operations for the construction of ample reservoirs and the laying of pipes from the source in Big Evans Gulch, two miles north of the city, to the reservoir on Carbonate Hill, whence it is distributed to consumers. The first president of the company was Mr. J. S. D. Manville; secretary and treasurer, H. W. Lake; Joseph C. Cramer, superintendent. An efficient volunteer fire department was organized in 1878-'79 with all needful appliances for its use, including a fire alarm telegraph. Hap- pily, Leadville has never been the victim of any serious conflagration within the business or residence limits.
That Leadville, even in the most demoralized period of its existence, was not wholly unrighteous, is manifest in the potential fact that early attention was given to the establishment of churches and schools, at once the avant couriers and the imper- ishable base of all modern civilization. The first seeds of Christianity were implanted in the primary opening of California Gulch. One of the most ardent pioneers of the cross at that time was the Rev. Father Dyer, a Methodist missionary who labored zeal- ously in the cause, preaching the gospel on Sundays, and acting as mail carrier and messenger to the miners during the week. It was here that I first met this venerable, devout and earnestly pious devotee, in one of the old log cabins, delivering messages of grace to that rugged people. In 1875 the Rev. Father Robinson of Denver, a priest of the Catholic Church, paid occasional visits to and held services in California Gulch and at Oro, the first mass said to have been celebrated in the home of Mr. Thomas Starr. When Leadville succeeded in 1878, Father Robinson located there, gathered
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
his flock about him, and in due time erected a church on the corner of East Third and Spruce streets, the first in the new city. The Church of the Annunciation was begun in October, 1879, and completed a year later. St. Vincent's Hospital, one of the most useful of present institutions, was erected by Father Robinson. The first services of the Baptist denomination were held in the autumn of 1877 under the direction of Miss Ida Cole; the first sermon was by the Rev. A. L. Vail of Colorado Springs, in the spring of 1878. The Methodists were organized by Thomas A. Uzzell, February Ist, 1878, in a small log cabin, and soon afterward funds were subscribed for the erection of a house of worship at the corner of Spruce and Third streets. The Presbyterians were led by Revs. Sheldon Jackson, Lewis Hamilton, and H. L. Janeway, in June, 1878, and their first edifice built on Fifth street between Harrison avenue and Pine, completed in May, 1879. St. George's Episcopal Society was organized in 1878. Their church was completed in 1880.
In the present epoch, there are nine churches in the city. The Annunciation, at the corner of Poplar and East Seventh, which controls St. Mary's Academy, a fine large school, and St. Vincent's Hospital; the Presbyterian at the northwest corner of Eighth and Harrison avenue, a beautiful new structure completed in December, 1889; the Methodist on East Sixth; St. George's Episcopal at the corner of West Fourth and Pine; the Baptist on East Sixth; the Lutheran on East Eighth; Temple Israel at the corner of Fourth and Pine; the Congregational on East Seventh, and the African M. E. Society, whose services are held in St. Luke's Chapel on East Ninth. All these societies are practically free from debt, and are blessed with large memberships.
The cause of public education began to take practical form in February, 1878, at which time Mrs. A. K. Updegraff, wife of the first attorney in Leadville, opened a school in a log cabin on Elm street in the rear of the lot subsequently occupied by the Grand Hotel, beginning with thirty pupils. In the fall of that year a frame building was erected on the corner of Spruce and West Second streets. In 1880 there were thirteen schools, and sixteen teachers. During that year, owing to the rapid increase of population, the large and elegant building known as the Central school, occupying half a block of ground on Spruce, between Chestnut and Second streets, was begun, and completed in 1881. It is modeled after the Twenty-Fourth street school in Denver. There are at this writing ( 1890) four public schools, two of brick, large, com- modious and costly structures, the whole designed to accommodate fifteen hundred to two thousand children. They are thoroughly graded, and in addition to the regular course, pupils of all grades below the High School receive instruction in botany, geology, astronomy, natural philosophy, etc. The school year consists of two terms of four months each.
In the number of its secret and benevolent orders, Leadville has few equals, most of the male population seemingly, banded together in some form of organization. The Masonic order has two lodges, a Royal Arch Chapter and a commandery of Knights Templar; the Independent Order of Odd-Fellows has five lodges, an Encampment and a Canton; the Knights of Labor, five assemblies; the Grand Army of the Republic, Garfield Post, No. 9, with a large membership; the Ancient Order of United Workmen, two lodges, and one of Select Knights; Knights of Pythias, two lodges, Mount Massive Division, No. 3, and Uniform Endowment, and lodge No. 855, the
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
Ancient Order of Hibernians, Division No. 1; the Improved Order of Red Men, Navajo Tribe, No. 9; Silver Camp of Modern Woodmen of America; Leadville Turn- Verein; the American Workingmen's Association; the Lake County Miner's Union; Knights of Honor; Patriotic Order, Sons of America, with three camps and a commandery; Ancient Order of Foresters; a Priory of Kassidean Knights; the Good Templars; Confederate Veterans; Catholic Young Men's Sodality; Knights of Robert Emmet; Hebrew Ladies' Benevolent Association; King's Daughters; Leadville Typo- graphical Union; Stationary Engineers; Young Men's Christian Association, several musical clubs; two military companies, and, as if these were insufficient, the railroad men, brakemen, firemen, engineers, conductors, and switchmen, have each an organ- ization for mutual protection.
In the largely populated towns of the Rocky Mountains, the postoffice is not only an important medium for the receipt and transmission of mail matter, but under the present admirable system for the issue and payment of money orders, becomes a con- venient and safe banking house for exchanges between the people, the miners and others with their friends in other States and foreign lands, and it is not infrequently utilized by the business community for commercial purposes. As an indication of its usefulness in these directions, the following data covering the period between 1879 and 1890 are given: Gross receipts, $373,442.24; net receipts, $196,203.32; money orders issued, $5,449,185.65; money orders paid, $1.382,839.64; total transactions, $7,401,- 670.85. In the same time, the receipts of the United States Land Office were, $557,138.45 for property, chiefly mineral lands conveyed, valued at $27,500,000. The two National banks,-the Carbonate and the American,-give the following exhibit March Ist, 1890: Capital, surplus and undivided profits, $417,575.50; deposits $1,323,- 079.98; loans and discounts, $837,401.70.
The consumption of fuel during the past ten years aggregated 543,420 tons of coke; 585,710 tons of coal and 20,130,000 bushels of charcoal.
The receipts of Internal Revenue taxes at Leadville have been $244,199.94; freight received, 2,345,902 tons; freight forwarded, 1,466,527 tons; value of lumber and timber consumed, a considerable proportion in and about the mines, $6,300,000. Wages paid for labor in the mines and smelters alone, in ten years was approximately, $46,800,000. The Western Union Telegraph Company handled 2.000,000 messages, and about 20,000,000 words of press report. The expenditures for school buildings and the support of schools, $500,000.
It is proper to state in connection with the facts foregoing, that they are the result of a very thorough examination of the records, made by a committee of citizens appointed for the purpose in the spring of 1890, and adopted by the author as the best obtainable, with the view of giving an approximate idea of the general magnitude of business transactions during the past decade.
A potential influence for good when rightly conducted, in the advancement of public morals, the encouragement of education, and the dissemination of current intel- ligence, and to a large extent the guide of public opinion, is the local press. A sketch of the origin and progress of Leadville newspapers has been given in Volume II, where it is stated that Carlyle C. Davis one of the founders of the "Chronicle" and a leading influence among the people at this day, purchased the "Herald" and the "Democrat"
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
and united the three concerns under his own management. The "Herald-Democrat" a nine column folio, is published every morning except Monday. The "Chronicle" is issued every evening except Sunday, and the "Carbonate Chronicle" weekly, all from the one office. Each contains the full associated press report delivered at Leadville, Mr. Davis being the owner of the exclusive franchise for that city. An important feature of these enterprises is the department devoted to mining intelligence, in charge of a skillful, learned and conscientious writer, who recites the actual conditions of this paramount industry from personal investigation, in a clear and comprehensive manner, summarizing the work performed, the new discoveries made, the revelations brought to light by underground explorers, the amounts of mineral extracted from day to day, its character and value; of geological problems brought to solution, in short, a compact, well digested history of events transpiring in the twin fields of mining and smelting. Until within the past few years, there has been a deplorable lack of accuracy in such reports, but as now conducted they represent as near as possible the exact status. Leadville district is at this day, indisputably, the largest producer of the precious metals now known, as demonstrated by the official reports of the United States mint. The reserves in developed and developing ore bodies give satisfactory assurance that its prestige will be maintained. This subject will receive due attention in the regular order.
For a time during the formative stages, the financial affairs both of Leadville and Lake County, seem to have been managed with an eye single to what could be made out of them by the managers and their particular coteries of friends, political and other- wise. The taxes collected were recklessly squandered, misapplied and given over to corruption and jobbery. The county was plundered on every side, and brought to the verge of ruin by all manner of rascality that was checked only when its creditors forced it into the courts for a settlement of its obligations. Pushed to the tribunal of final resort, an opinion was rendered that brought humiliating exposure, through the reve- lation that the board of county commissioners had largely exceeded the constitutional limit of indebtedness; that its credit was gone and inextricable confusion precipitated upon the helpless taxpayers. Said Davis, editor of the " Herald-Democrat," "To state the matter plainly and truthfully, Lake County was hopelessly bankrupt, with scarcely a prospect of ever extricating herself from the meshes of debt and the harassments of litigation. Holders of the funding bonds demanded their pound of flesh semi-annually according to the bond ; large volumes of scrip that had been issued were fast being gathered up by speculators, who harassed the county with suits; judgments were procured, and to meet them special levies were directed to be made by the courts ; delinquent taxes were accumulating upon the books of the treasurer, and the receipts from all sources were wholly inadequate to meet the running expenses-insufficient even to keep the courts in motion. All this had resulted from the rascality of our earlier boards of county commissioners which had run the county in debt and left nothing to represent the hundreds and thousands of dollars of bonds and warrants out- standing. The people, however, became at last aroused to the necessity of action," which finally overturned the existing scandalous order of things, and elected men of unimpeachable integrity to the administration of affairs. The Supreme Court of the State decided in effect, that all debts created in excess of constitutional limitations were
Brisbois
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
illegal and void, and that the warrants and bonds representing such excess were of no value, an opinion that "practically extinguished the entire indebtedness, for it was dis- covered that nearly all of the funded and floating indebtedness came within the scope of this decree." Judgments to a considerable amount had previously been obtained against the county in the local courts, which were recognized as valid claims, and paid- by special levies. Thenceforward, from the bitter lesson thus rudely encountered, the people learned to put honest men in the public offices, whereby confidence was restored and the finances placed upon a just foundation.
The Mining Interest .- No extended account of the geology of this region will be attempted by the author, for three sufficient reasons. First, lack of scientific knowledge. Second, because no intelligent synopsis can be given in the space allotted to this chapter, and third, because it is rendered wholly unnecessary by the recent report of the United States Geological Survey, a volume of nearly eight hundred pages, wherein the subject has been quite exhaustively treated by Prof. S. F. Emmons, the supreme authority,- unquestionably one of the most valuable works ever issued by that department, and one that has been of incalculable benefit to the miners and prospectors. This report was prepared in 1880, and first given to the public in the form of a monograph. In August, 1890, Prof. Emmons returned to Leadville for a second examination, and the revision of his original finding by the light of the more extended explorations, the results of which will appear in due course, but unfortunately too late for use in this volume of our history. However, something of his later views, reinforced by the opinions of local mining engineers was expressed at a banquet tendered him by the chief operators on Iron and Carbonate Hills, shortly after his reappearance upon the scene, when Mr. Emmons said : "In endeavoring to unravel the complicated geological structure of this region, I am often astonished to find how closely our inductions have approxi- mated to the truth, and how correctly we were able to outline the principal features of its underground structure. In writing my report I did not allow myself to say all that I believed about the magnitude of the mineral wealth that underlies it, but while I could not, perhaps, give in every sense a scientific reason for my feeling, I did feel then that this region was destined to be one of the greatest producers of the precious metals in the world, and to rank with the great mines of South America, of Mexico, and with the famous Comstock lode which already had produced $300,000,000. From the little I have been able to see in the short time I have been here, I am more than ever confirmed in my belief, and I think that in spite of the enormous production that has already resulted from your energetic labors, not half its metallic wealth has yet been laid bare, but as developments progress, and as we learn to know more about these complicated eruptive bodies, new and rich ore bodies will continue to be discovered for many years to come."
In his original report of 1880, Mr. Emmons advanced the statement " that by far the most important of the ores of Leadville, both in quantity and quality, occur in the blue-grey dolomitic limestone of the lower carboniferous formation, hence known as the blue or ore bearing limestone, and at or near its contact with the overlying sheet of porphyry, which is generally the white, or Leadville porphyry, thus constituting a sort of central sheet whose upper surface being formed by the base of the porphyry sheet is comparatively regular and well defined, while the lower surface is ill-defined and irreg-
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HISTORY OF LAKE COUNTY.
ular, there being a gradual transition from ore into unaltered limestone, the former extending to varying depths from the surface, and even occupying the entire thickness of the blue limestone formation. This may be regarded as the typical form of the Leadville deposits."
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