Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Wild Towns of Colorado?

 Post by Doris McCraw

writing as Angela Raines


We always hear about the 'wild towns' of the Old West; Dodge City, Abilene, and Wichita. Each state has its wild town. Since I live in Colorado it seemed appropriate to take a look at some of the towns where things could and did get out of hand.

Boston, Colorado. A town in Baca County in the Southeast portion of the state. It's close to the border with Oklahoma. It was founded in 1885 and the post office closed in 1893. Its growth was fast and the end even faster. This piece from the newspaper will give you an idea of what was going on.  

 

The Aspen Weekly Chronicle
April 15, 1889

Tin Cup, Colorado. A mining town located north of Gunnison in Gunnison County began its life as Virginia City. The town was not easy to access and the railroad never arrived there. In an article from 1975, they mention 'Frenchy's Place' as the type of saloon most think of as an Old West saloon. It was noted as having the fanciest women in Colorado. This opening paragraph illustrates some of the issues the town had.

Pitkin Independent
July 15, 1882

Creede, Colorado. Named for former Army scout Nicholas C. Creede, was one of the last silver boomtowns in the state. It was the home for some of the well-known names in the Old West, Randolph 'Soapy' Smith, Bat Masterson, and Bob Ford. The following article speaks of the death of Bob Ford, who shot and killed Jesse James. 

Aspen Weekly Times
June 11, 1892

There are more stories from towns in Colorado whose history is begging to be explored, but that is probably for a future post. 








18 comments:

  1. And we thought NYC was bad... . Thanks for posting.

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    1. Folk sometimes forget Colorado and it's early days. I'm glad you found it interesting. Doris

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  2. Oh my goodness, Doris--these are just fascinating! I love these old newspaper clippings you are sharing. Feels like we were right there witnessing the death of Robert Ford, doesn't it?

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    1. Cheryl, these are just the start. Colorado could get pretty 'wild'. The Ford article does just that, you feel like you're there. Glad you found in interesting. Doris

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  3. A great article, Doris. There is nothing quite like studying old newspapers to get that sense of history. It connects to the past.

    Thank you. Keith

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    1. Keith, I agree with you about the newspapers. I find so many pieces that end up in my 'clippings' file for future use. Doris

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  4. Thank you for sharing those wonderful snapshots of historical events with us, Doris! I thoroughly enjoyed reading them.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed them Mark. I can't seem to get enough of the history of my adopted state. Doris

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  5. So fascinating, and I too, love the clippings. Keep it up!

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    1. Thanks, Vicky. They are so rich with not only information, but the way they wrote, I can't get enough. Doris

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  6. I'm aware of Creede and Tin Cup, but Boston was new to me, Doris! I wonder who gave it that name. Pretty far from the well-known Boston.

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    1. Jeff, I came across Boston a couple of years ago. It was just a short piece, but then I was off on the hunt. It informed some of my 'romance' novel "Chasing a Chance". It really had a short, but unique history. The only thing left now is the cemetery. The townsite in now private property and nothing left. Doris

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  7. Really enjoyed the clippings. A must read for those who don't believe in the "wild west."

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    1. I agree, Jesse. The west did have some 'wild' areas and bloody moments. Doris

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  8. History always makes for the most interesting reading. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. My pleasure, John. Like you, history is so rich and to dig into the stories is time well spent. Doris

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  9. Always love your stories Doris! Fascinating snippets of history and the clippings are always great.

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    1. Thank you! It is something I can't seem to get enough of, the stories they tell in the old newspapers. Doris

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