Colorado 150 - It Became a Reality

Post (C) Doris McCraw

aka Angela Raines

Image (C) Doris McCraw

With July 4th fast approaching and the 250th anniversary of the United States, and with August 1st following shortly thereafter, we have the 150th anniversary of the State of Colorado. With these two dates in mind, and the journey I've been taking on Colorado becoming the 38th state, I thought I would see if there were any correlations between Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson, and the men who brought about Colorado's admittance to the Union.

John Evans 

These are personal observations. So, let's start with Benjamin Franklin. In looking at the life of Benjamin Franklin, his accomplishments, and his history with the declaration and what came before. Franklin was an inventor, scientist, printer, and businessman. Perhaps the closest person to  Franklin would be John Evans, the second territorial governor. Appointed by Abraham Lincoln, Evans is considered to have spearheaded the statehood movement. He was also involved in promoting the transcontinental railroad and the founding of the University of Denver.

Jerome Chaffee

Perhaps the closest to John Adams would be Jerome Chaffee. Before coming to Colorado in 1860, Chaffee had been a schoolteacher, was involved in banking and real estate, was one of the founders of Denver, and, perhaps most importantly, was the delegate from the Colorado Territory who ushered the bill creating the state of Colorado through the legislature. Once Colorado became a state, Chafee served in the U.S. Senate.

Thomas Patterson

Thomas Jefferson is a bit difficult, but perhaps the closest resemblance is Thomas Patterson. He was an immigrant who arrived in the United States, served in the Civil War, and became an attorney; in fact, he was the city attorney of Denver in 1873- 74. He served as a delegate in the House of Representatives until August 1st, 1876, when Colorado became a State. He later purchased the Rocky Mountain News and then the Denver Times.

These are really simple comparisons, but they gave me something to think about as we prepare for the sesquisemiquincentennial. I will continue posting about Colorado's journey to statehood and the events that delayed its admittance to the Union.

Stay tuned.

Until next time

Stay safe - Doris

Angela Raines - Amazon

Doris A. McCraw - Amazon

Western Fictioneers Announces the Peacemaker Award Winners

Western Fictioneers is proud to announce the winners of the 16th Annual Peacemaker Awards, presented for the finest in Western fiction published in 2025. Congratulations to all the winners and finalists, and special thanks to the judges who make the Peacemaker Awards possible.

BEST WESTERN NOVEL

Winner: WHERE THE LONG TRAIL ENDS, Rod Miller (Speaking Volumes)

Finalists

SNOWBOUND, Harlan Hague (Wolfpack Publishing)
CRY FLINT, Scott McCrea (Dusty Saddle Publishing)
RIVEN, Lincoln Valentine Mears (Lincoln Valentine Mears)
LOST CANYON, John D. Nesbitt (Wolfpack Publishing)
DISMAL TRAIL, Ron Schwab (Uplands Press)

BEST SHORT FICTION

Winner: “Shadrach”, Vicky J. Rose, RIDIN’ WITH THE PACK, VOLUME 3 (Wolfpack Publishing)

Finalists

“Goddess of War”, Kelli Fitzpatrick, SILVERADO PRESS PRESENTS (Silverado Press)
“Leaving Deadwood Behind”, Bruce Hartman, SADDLEBAG DISPATCHES ANTHOLOGY (Saddlebag Dispatches)
“Of Emerald Hue”, John D. Nesbitt, PLAYING A LONE HAND (Thorndike Press)
“River of Retribution”, Vicky J. Rose, SHE RODE WEST (Saddlebag Dispatches)

On This Day in the Old West June 12

 

On the afternoon of this day in the Old West, a tragedy struck Wisconsin. It was June 12, 1899 and the Gollmar Brothers circus had just set up in New Richmond. With the draw of the show, visitors swelled the town’s population. 

Unbeknownst to the happy circus-goers, on nearby Lake St. Croix, a spectacular waterspout  had formed. As the funnel moved to the northeast, toward New Richmond, three people were killed at two different farms near Burkhardt and Boardman. Shortly after the circus show came to an end, the tornado passed through the very center of town. “Only the extreme western edge of the town escaped damage or destruction. Because of the timing, about 6 p.m., with many people on the streets on their way home for supper, and because of the crowd in town due to the circus, more than the usual number were out away from readily available shelter. The scene was one of confusion and terror as people belatedly realized what was happening.”

Leveling a swath around 1,000 feet wide and 3,000 feet long, the tornado became the ninth deadliest tornado in US history. It leveled buildings—over 300 were damaged or totally destroyed—and stripped bark and leaves from entire groves of trees. A 3,000-pound safe was ripped from its mooring and carried a full block. The enormous amount of flying debris was responsible for multiple deaths in at least 26 families. Six of these families suffered four or more deaths.

The New Richmond tornado was not huge, but its timing and deadly pathway claimed 117 lives and caused 150 injuries. 

Survivor Anna Epley, in her account of the event, A Modern Herculaneum, interviewed an eyewitness, who said, "A top-shaped cloud came dancing up along the lake; another mass or column of cloud came from the vicinity of Stillwater. These two clouds were merged together in a funnel-shaped column, or columnar mass, spreading somewhat at the top, and boiling or tumbling rapidly within itself. Thus agitated, it turned eastward, and skirting the hills south of Hudson and hugging the ground closely, it took a northeasterly course towards New Richmond."

Many terrified citizens saved their lives “by fleeing to the cellars in the few seconds warning time they had. However, sometimes this shelter was not sufficient. The O. J. Williams dry good store on the corner of Third and Main Streets proved to be a real death trap. People on the streets in front of it rushed into the store for safety with the result that the building held one of the highest mortality rates in the city. The bricks were sucked up by the tornado and hurled back down on the crowd in the cellar.”

A blind citizen, Henry Kane, reported the following to a reporter: "I could now hear a frightful roaring of enormous proportions and of unvarying intensity and volume. In the upper air above this, there was a tremendous bellowing of appalling magnitude, which gained in intensity and volume as it orchestrated up and down an irregular and variable tonal scale. From the center of the sound area there was emitted a pulsating or puffing sound, coming at regular time intervals that seemed to make the earth quiver.

"This sound would perfectly suggest the puffing in unison of a thousand locomotives, laboring up a steep grade. The heavy, pulsating puffing gave the entire sound mass a rhythmical effect. It were as if nature had for a moment colleagued with Satan to condense the pent-up din and tumult of hell into one vast, discordant symphony.”

Your characters may not have heard about the New Richmond tornado, but they’d have been familiar with the natural disasters, both from personal experience and from newspaper accounts. Even modern buildings are no match for the destructive power of a tornado, and towns in the Old West were mostly wood, with only the wealthier citizens able to afford brick. A tornado was the death knell of any town.

 

Sources

Sather, Mary. ""They Built Their City Twice"" New Richmond Heritage Center. Web. 18 Apr. 2010.
"New Richmond A Scene of Woe." The Carroll Herald [Carroll, Iowa] 14 June 1899. Google News. Web. 18 Apr. 2010. <https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lR8oAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hAUGAAAAIBAJ&pg=4826,4650021&dq=new+richmond+tornado&hl=en>.
Coffman, S. M. "Destroyed By Wind And Fire." The Daily Argus News 13 June 1899. Google News. Web. 18 Apr. 2010. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-HEnAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LgQGAAAAIBAJ&pg=5960,5841142&dq=new+richmond+tornado&hl=en

 

J.E.S. Hays
www.jeshays.com
www.facebook.com/JESHaysBooks