USA > Colorado > History of the State of Colorado, Volume III > Part 48
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Prior to this event, however, a number of prominent people had been added to the list of fixed residents, George M. Chilcott in 1859, Colonel John M. Francisco, and the following with their families: George A. Hinsdale, Captain Wetmore, John W. Shaw, Mark G. Bradford and others.
The "Greasers," half-breeds, and adventurers from every point of the compass who largely made up the floating population of Pueblo in those early days, if we may accept the local color sketches by Tite Barnacle (General Stevenson) of the "Chieftain," would have made delightful studies for a Shakespeare delineating his Sir Andrew Aguecheek and Toby Belch. According to this veteran journalist, doctor, soldier and raconteur, who indeed, is to-day, chronicler par excellence of Pueblo's "Auld lang Syne," at this early age the convivial propensities of the people of Pueblo began to crop out in an unmistakable manner. "One day, a returning tenderfoot, who had been to the mining regions with a load of 'groceries,' stopped in the settlement on his way home to Missouri. He had a portion of a barrel of whisky left and offered to sell it to a party of the Puebloans. They purchased the liquor, and soon manufactured a washtub full of egg-nog. The scene of the revel was in Pat Maywood's blacksmith shop, down by the river bank. The male inhabitants of the town all gathered there and after several fights, many of the revelers were overcome by the bilious compound. An eye witness gives the closing scene as follows: "One man hung doubled up over the bellows; another sat sound asleep in the tub of water in which the smith cooled his hot irons; a third reposed with his face in the ashes of the forge; a dozen more slept in various positions in the dust on the earthen floor of the shop. But two showed signs of life. In one corner lay the proprietor of the shop and astride his breast sat an individual, afterward a well known citizen of Pueblo, armed with a funnel and a tin cup and engaged in pouring egg-nog down the prostrate man's throat, the victim mildly protesting that he could not drink another drop."
Tradition has it that Jack Allen's whisky was considered by the rougher pioneers of Southern Colorado as most excellent, because when drank it made them feel as if a torchlight procession was galloping down their throats. The non-arrival of freight wagons drawn by patient oxen, in those days, never induced a whisky famine at Jack Allen's, and it was thought his distillery was wherever he happened to be. His fine old hand made, copper distilled, "blue grass dew," was probably manufactured according to Stevenson, from alcohol, chili-colorow, Arkansas River water, old boots, rusty bayonets, yucca and cactus thorns. It always had the same flavor and startling effect.
A number who are prominent residents of Pueblo to-day were among those who
453
HISTORY OF PUEBLO COUNTY.
formed Company G of the Third Regiment during the late civil war. Removed as these men were from all the gentler associations of life and from civilization's higher forms and ideals, they were warm in kindliness and hospitality, and patriotic-ready to die for their country's welfare. Company G also participated in the Sand Creek battle. The officers of the company were O. H. P. Baxter captain, S. J. Graham First Lieu- tenant, and A. J. Templeton Second Lieutenant. Enrolled in the company were among others, Charles D. Peck, Joseph Holmes, John W. Rogers, James O'Neal, Abe Cronk, W. W. McAllister, John Brunce, John C. Norton, John McCarty, William H. Davenport, Jesse W. Coleman, H. W. Cresswell, Henry B. Craig, Joseph W. Dobbins, Tom C. Dawkins, A. A. Johnson. L. F. McAllister, H. H. Melrose, Noah Puntenny, F. Page and Eugene Weston.
The Pueblo Vigilantes were a respectable and earnest body of men who never strained the quality of mercy in dealing with thieves and desperadoes of the early days. Two of the most abandoned wretches, who terrorized the country side under the names of "Texas" and "Coe," were found one morning hanging from a tree on the Fontaine's bank.
For many years a tree which had withstood the ravages of nearly four centuries was reverenced by the old settlers as the city's most valuable and poetic landmark. Beneath this "old monarch," Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill, Wild Bill and other noted scouts had built their camp fires, and in 1850 thirty-six persons were massacred by the Indians while camping near by (according to "Colorado Pioneers"). June 25th, 1883, the venerable tree was cut down. The circumference measured twenty-eight feet, and a section of it may still be seen near the railroad depot.
During 1864 a war broke out between the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians and the entire country was placed upon the defensive. The old El Progresso saloon building on the southwest corner of Third street and Santa Fé avenue was used as a temporary fortification, and the women and children placed therein. A blockhouse was built near Third and Main streets and a round tower, constructed of adobes, crowned the point of the bluff overlooking Santa Fé avenue. Armed men patroled the neighborhood day and night, but no collision with the Indians took place.
The first noteworthy enterprise of a nature more or less public, was the erection of a flouring mill by Thatcher & Baxter in 1864, which afforded an immediate market for their grain, and supplied the inhabitants with native breadstuffs. The first hotel was operated by Aaron Sims, next by John B. Rice; then the noted log cabin situate just below the present James Rice hose house, was opened by Moody & Alexander, who were succeeded by P. K. Dotson and others.
The original postoffice was kept by Mr. Sims, and next by D. J. Hayden in his store, opened by the latter in 1863. The forms of procedure were extremely original and refreshing not to say according to regulations. There were no frills, or tedious formalities, no red tape or intricate novelties to govern its conduct, for says Wilbur F. Stone, the chronicler, "The mail bag, when it arrived, was unceremoniously emptied in the middle of the floor and the crowd invited to pitch in, such as could read, and pick out what belonged to them. What was left after this promiscuous sorting, was put in an empty candle box, and when the people came to the postoffice, they were directed to 'go and look for themselves and not bother the postmaster.'"
454
HISTORY OF PUEBLO COUNTY.
The first "pretentious" business house was built by James Haas, who, together with George Hall and Jacob Betts, instituted a combined grocery, liquor and billiard saloon. Its distinctive title was "El Progresso," and for some years it stood as the common resort of the people of the town and country who came to trade, discuss politics, and adjust their differences.
The first public school came to be established in 1863, when a comfortable frame building was erected as a beginning,-by private subscription,-on the rear of the lot later occupied by the Stockgrowers' National Bank, and Miss Weston, sister of Eugene Weston, for many years a resident of Cañon City, installed as teacher. It was used for school purposes until 1870 when an adobe structure displaced it, and here Professor Hamilton and Miss Jennings maintained the educational discipline. No school district was organized however, until 1866 or 1867. The first edifice devoted to mental and moral training, during summer vacations was occupied by the district court, and in the summer of 1864 the first truly religious services in Pueblo were there observed. At this time the Rev. H. B. Hitchings, then rector of St. John's church in the Wilderness (Denver), now of Trinity church, New York, came down and directed the proceedings, the responses being made by members of the bar in a strictly professional, if not wholly reverential voice. In 1868 the first church edifice,-St. Peter's Episcopal,-was built by the people of the town, aided by that eminent divine, Bishop George M. Randall, and the energetic efforts of its pastor.
Mr. Winslow, a young, intelligent and exceedingly popular missionary, was sent there in 1868. He was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel Edwards, and by the Revs. Green, Brouse, Bray and others. The bell placed in its tower, that rang out the sonorous calls to worship, was the first to utter its tender appeal south of Denver, and when its metallic tones floated over the little village it brought to many a heart the memories of childhood's home, long silenced by years of rude experiences upon the Sabbathless border. The Methodists had organized in August, 1866, and in April, 1870, they were incorporated as the First M. E. Church, erecting a building at a cost of nearly $4,000. Reverend O. P. McMains, then the pastor, was succeeded by the Reverends Merrill, Wallace, Edmondson and others.
Almost immediately following the institution of commerce, schools and churches, came the founding of newspapers for the circulation of current intelligence and the wider advertisement of the embryonic metropolis among the benighted of mankind, a medium whereby the glories, resources and other advantages of Southern Colorado might be elaborately measured and set forth in appropriate terms, and a wholesale invi- tation extended to come and settle, toil and prosper. June Ist, 1868, appeared the first issue of the Pueblo "Chieftain " (containing a notice of the death of the famous scout, Kit Carson), printed by Dr. M. Beshoar and Samuel McBride, edited by George .A. Hinsdale and Wilbur F. Stone, two of the most accomplished writers in the Territory, who soon made their impression upon the public mind here and elsewhere. It is the only paper in that division of the State that has survived the tempests of time, and con- tinuously rendered itself a power for good throughout all that vast region of country. The winter following, McBride sold his interest to Dr. Beshoar. In due course the control passed to Capt. J. J. Lambert, who has held it to the present time, and by his skillful direction has given it the great prestige it has constantly enjoyed.
Josiah Hughes
455
HISTORY OF PUEBLO COUNTY.
Previous to 1869, brick buildings were unknown. Adobes, logs and boards were the materials used. In the year named, Messrs. Morgan, Barndollar, Mullaly and Moses Anker, established brick yards, and the old county jail was the first orthodox burned brick structure in the town. During this period the Thatcher Brothers, Rett- berg & Bartels, Berry Brothers, James Rice, D. G. Peabody and the Cooper Brothers, were the leading merchants. Judge Moses Hallett presided over the District Court, The bar consisted of A. A. Bradford, George A. Hinsdale, Wilbur F. Stone, Henry C. Thatcher, James McDonald, J. W. Henry and George Q. Richmond. Drs. P. R. Thombs and J. W. O. Snyder represented the medical profession, and Lewis Conley Flynn & Beach and Gus Bartel were contractors and builders.
In 1869, the first association in the nature of a board of trade, was organized at Pueblo, with the title of "The Board of Trade of Southern Colorado." Its officers were M. D. Thatcher, president ; George A. Hinsdale, vice-president ; B. F. Rocka- fellow, secretary, and W. F. Stone treasurer and corresponding secretary. Its directors were Moses Anker, Pueblo County; Henry Daigre, Huerfano County; S. M. Baird, Las Animas County; John Christian, Summit County; J. M. Paul, Park County; W. E. Shaw, Lake County; Thomas Macon, Fremont County; George A. Bute of El Paso ; Ferdinand Meyer of Costilla; Lafayette Head of Conejos, and John Lawrence of Saguache.
Though organized at Pueblo, its general purpose appears to have been to collect statistics giving information to possible immigrants concerning the advantages of all the southern counties. This board issued an attractive and ably written pamphlet in 1869, published at the "Chieftain " office, a copy of which is sacredly guarded by Charles W. Bowman, the courteous secretary of the present Pueblo Board of Trade.
With the establishment of schools and churches the tone of society was improving, and Pueblo was not only the county seat, but also the commercial metropolis of Southern Colorado. Her population, which in 1867 amounted to less than fifty, now counted over four hundred souls.
Her location at the crossing of the great routes from the East, and the situation (between Colorado and New Mexico) brought a throng of strangers to her public houses, and the new substantial business structures and neat homes constantly being erected, indicated that the population had come to stay. Building stone of excellent quality was found in large quantities near the town, and trees, flowers and shrubbery were planted near and about the houses. The District Court for the county, to which Hucrfano and Las Animas were attached for judicial purposes, was held in the town in April and October of each year, and two terms of the United States Court for the Third Judicial District were held each year. The judge of this district, the Chief-Justice of the Supreme Court of the Territory, the United States Attorney for the Territory, and also the Delegate to Congress,-all lived here.
The Arkansas River was spanned by a substantial bridge, and the water power for milling and manufacturing purposes was excellent. The Colorado "Chieftain," an eight column newspaper of four pages was published and conducted with signal ability and energy. In 1868 the business of Pueblo may be comprehended by the following table (prepared by B. F. Rockafellow, the secretary of the Board of Trade).
456
HISTORY OF PUEBLO COUNTY.
Value of merchandise sold, $390,980; bushels of grain sold, 100,000; sacks of flour sold, 10,000; feet of lumber, 800,000; value of goods manufactured-tinware, harness and saddlery, boots and shoes, furniture and agricultural implements, $35,600; number of pounds of freight received 1,078,350; amount paid for freight, $61,136; cash receipts of hotels $42,657; cash receipts of stage (for passengers and express fares), $50,200; value of all kinds of improvements on farms, $319,000; value of all farming implements, $43,295; value of all lumber made and sold, $59,500; gross sales of merchandise, $1,064,033.
At this time the Kansas Pacific Railway was completed to Sheridan, 210 miles from Pueblo, and by 1870 the railroad's distance was lessened to seventy-five miles. The county then included within its lines two military posts; Fort Lyon, situated near the mouth of the Las Animas, and Fort Reynolds, at the mouth of the Huerfano.
In 1869 Pueblo County was able to make the following showing :
Amount.
Value.
Number of acres under cultivation.
18,830
$188,300
Value of ditches for irrigation ..
108,550
Number and value of cattle owned.
26,427
774,408
Sheep
12,055
24,755
Hogs
2,325
19, 118
Number of bushels of corn raised. Small grain.
67,836
171,590
Pounds of vegetables.
2,335,600
70,068
Bushels of corn to acre
37
Sacks of flour manufactured,
11,210
67,260
Pounds of wool produced.
IS,So0
37,600
Pounds of butter made, .
17,645
8,882
Gallons of native wine made.
1,092
4.368
254,640
275,740
457
HISTORY OF PUEBLO COUNTY.
PUEBLO COUNTY.
(CONTINUED.)
STEADY MARCH OF IMPROVEMENTS-INCORPORATION-OLD STAGING DAYS-EXPANSION BY RAPID TRANSIT-DEVELOPMENT OF ITS WATER SYSTEM-SOUTH PUEBLO- BANKS-NEWSPAPERS-THEATERS-IRON AND STEEL WORKS-INSANE ASYLUM- GRAND HOTEL.
From the settlement of forty souls in 1867, it has been computed that Pueblo had in 1868 achieved a population of 150; in 1869 though twice the number was claimed, it is probable that the population numbered about 400; in 1870 it had grown to 666; in 1872 to 1,500; in 1873 to over 2,000; and in 1874 to about 3,000. A new epoch now began. From the days of the overland ox team, we saw the region grow to the dignity of a daily stage coach, and now the railroad has come over the trail earlier marked out by Indian and buffalo.
March 22d, 1870, the town of Pueblo was incorporated, and George A. Hinsdale, James Rice, M. G. Bradford, H. C. Thatcher and H. H. Cooper were appointed trus- tees. The first town election was held in April. A city organization was effected in March, 1873, and at the first city election in the following month, James Rice was elected mayor, and O. H. P. Baxter and Weldon Keeling, aldermen. Mayor Rice's inime- diate successors were John R. Lowther, M. D. Thatcher, W. H. Hyde and George Q. Richmond.
The only communication with the world of civilization up to this time had been by stage twice a week (later daily) to Denver, and the same to Bent's Fort. At this latter point connection was made with Barlow and Sanderson's coaches on the main line, from the end of the Kansas Pacific Railroad (seventy-five miles distant) to Santa Fé, New . Mexico. These coaches were thought lightning conductors, and were drawn by three mules in front and two at the pole-a "three cornered team."
The drivers on this line sometimes met rough handling from Arapahoe and Chey- enne Indians, and indeed in 1864 for thirty days mails could not be brought overland · from the South or East, and were sent by water via San Francisco. A cheaper method of travel, but much slower was via the bull teams "which, however, afforded plenty of opportunity for enjoying the scenery and for the cultivation of patience." In those days Santa Fé avenue was the only important street in Pueblo-between First and Fourth streets, and here at the "O. K. Restaurant," all the gossip of the community was exchanged. Here the overland stage brought the incoming "tenderfoot" stranger, and
458
HISTORY OF PUEBLO COUNTY.
everybody gathered about him to hear the latest news from the "States;" and the com- ing and going of the stage coach stirred the town to its very foundations.
Twenty miles distant toward the east, was Fort Reynolds, now known as Booneville, and it was the custom of the citizens to tender a grand ovation to its officers or soldiers after their periodical visits to town.
The Denver & Rio Grande Narrow Gauge Railroad was completed from Colorado Springs and Denver to Pueblo June 29th, 1872, the county subscribing $100,000 in bonds to the stock of the road. The completion of the road was celebrated by a public banquet at the recently erected courthouse, at which addresses of congratulation and prophecy were made by Grace Greenwood, and by prominent men from various parts of the Territory. The Arkansas Valley branch of the road-up the river to the coal mines in Fremont County-was built in November of the same year. From this time the destiny of the town was no longer problematical, but a brilliant future assured. The people fully appreciated the benefits to accrue from the birth of modern means of transportation, for freights had not proven of rapid process. An instance may be cited of one trainload of merchandise which was over seventy days coming seventy-five miles, from Sheridan to Pueblo (which is hardly suggestive of Buchanan Read's poem, " Sheridan's Ride "), and the rates were very high. The United States Land Office- Judge Wheeler, register, and Mark G. Bradford, receiver-was opened in 1871, and in 1873 lands were entered by the homestead act to the extent of 34,227 acres, and 59.730 acres were pre-empted by private entry.
A new jail was erected, Judge Lynch fell into disrepute, and law and order took precedence in the community. A creditable county courthouse, costing $35,000, was completed in 1872, costing taxpayers nothing, as it was erected from the sale of lots in a quarter section of land which had been pre-empted by the county officers, and filed as a city addition. Handsome churches were built by the Methodists, Episcopalians, and Presbyterians. The Catholic Church, the last to organize, erected a brick church in 1873, and in the following year built a school under charge of the sisters. Public reading rooms were opened in May, 1873, by a public library association, with an organization corporate under the laws of Colorado, and capital stock of $10,000. A scholarly opening address was read by the Hon. George A. Hinsdale. Odd Fellows and Masons, and Good Templars organized societies at about this time, and the Pueblo Social Club gave regular hops. It was said that though at one time Pueblo was hon- ored by the presence of but two married women, a brilliant dance could be started within a quarter of an hour almost any day in the year. And although one has read the Jewish record of David dancing before the ark; of Herodias' daughters dancing in joy and festivity; of Moses and Miriam dancing to songs of triumph; yet imagination will not permit the chronicler to say that the enjoyment of these surpassed that of the Puebloans dancing on the borders of the Muddy at the residences of George Howard and Dr. R. M. Stevenson. Every week a concert, exhibition, show or circus entertained or amused the little city. The people, too, took on a literary turn of mind, it would seem, for the postoffice then distributed 800 magazines or papers daily.
C. E. Gray of Lawrence, Kansas, in 1873 proposed to put in a gas plant provided he could be guaranteed 150 private consumers, and he received patronage from the
459
HISTORY OF PUEBLO COUNTY.
city, but although his proposition was recommended by the city council, a gas plant was not erected until several years later.
In early days Pueblo's waterworks were of primitive design-an ex whisky barrel (of which there was no scarcity) filled with the muddy river water, was drawn about from house to house, by burro or mule, and each settler received his quota in a barrel at his front door. This was the origin of the water system. It next developed into a large wooden tank mounted on a wagon whose driver, facetiously dubbed the "Worthy Chief Templar," was abused whenever a tardy appearance was made of a Monday morning.
June 24th, 1874, was a red letter day in the history of the city of Pueblo, as it wit- nessed the inauguration of her greatest public enterprise-the Holly waterworks for which the people liad voted $130,000. At one o'clock of that day all business houses were closed and under Masonic ceremonies the corner stone of the waterworks building was laid, amid rejoicing of the people en masse. The Deputy Grand Master presented the corn of nourishment-after the Grand Master had pronounced the corner stone "plumb, square and level, well formed, true and trusty"-which was sprinkled on the stone by the Grand Master; the Senior Grand Warden presented the vessel containing the wine of refreshment, and the Junior Grand Warden handed the vessel with the oil of' joy, both of which were poured over the stone. The Grand Master then extended his hands and made the invocation: "May the Author of all good bless the inhabitants of this place with all necessary conveniences and comforts of life, assist in the erection and completion of this building, protect the workmen from every accident, long preserve this building from decay, and grant unto us all a bountiful supply of corn of nourishment, the wine of refreshment, and the oil of joy." The entire system was erected by the National Building Company of St. Louis, and its success played an important part in the development of the city. The organization of an efficient fire department ensued as a matter of course, for the general protection. It consisted of two hose companies and a hook and ladder company, with W. R. Macomb as chief.
South Pueblo was laid out in November, 1872. It is essentially a city of wage- workers, and was founded by the Central Colorado Improvement Company, whose offi- cers were prominently connected with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, and which was subsequently merged into the Colorado Coal & Iron Company. According to M. Sheldon of South Pueblo, the railroad company agreed to build a station on the north side of the river should the county vote the required amount of bonds to help construct the road. But having an opportunity in 1872 to purchase 48,000 acres of the Nolan grant, they took the name of the Central Colorado Improvement Company, founded a town on the south side, and removed the terminus of the railroad to that side. Here- tofore the south side contained but one building in this locality, a small log house on the ranch of Wildeboor Brothers, somewhere in the neighborhood of Clark's Mineral Spring. Cattle were herded and crops grown where South Pueblo now stands, and there was an attractive piece of woodland there where picnics were occasionally held in the summer. The coal mines near Canon City had been opened by the land com- pany in conjunction with the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, and a branch railway was constructed from Pueblo to these mines, forty miles westward. Seventy-five thousand dollars was expended in the construction of a canal to water South Pueblo
460
HISTORY OF PUEBLO COUNTY.
and to irrigate some 20,000 acres of surrounding lands. Ten thousand ornamental and shade trees on its streets were irrigated by tiny ditches, and during 1873, the first year of the new town, $50,000 worth of lots were sold, and buildings erected in the bottoms aggregating nearly $200,000. The first structures erected in South Pueblo were the Grand Central Hotel and the building adjoining it on Union avenue. In 1880 about 1,000 acres had been laid out in town lots, with wide streets, well bordered with trees, and the town had a mayor, a board of aldermen, and a postoffice of its own. The only thing shared in common by the two cities was the new town illuminating from the gas works of North Pueblo, which was organized in 1880.
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