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. 

IF IT'S IN THE PAPER - IT HAS TO BE TRUE

 Post by Doris McCraw

writing fiction as Angela Raines

Those who know me, know I enjoy research and reading old news publications. Some of the pieces I read make me wonder if the 'reporter' was a frustrated fiction writer. And as we all know 'If it's in the paper - it has to be true." 

Photo property of the author

In reading one of the publications from the town of Tin Cup from 1882, I knew I had to share it with you. If anyone knows the history of Tin Cup, especially their propensity to go through local 'lawmen' over short periods of time, this story is even more fun. Since I cannot copy and paste, for it is too long, I will share by re-typing. So from the 'Tin Cup Banner' of May 27, 1882, Volume I Number 38, I give you the story "The Man Who Smiles" from that publication, via the Detroit Free Press.

The man who smiles — a road agent with the record.

There is in the Detroit Work–house today a prisoner whose smile is as soft and sweet as a woman's, and the stranger who meets him is instinctively drawn toward him by his clear, blue eyes, soft voice and gentle smile. And yet that very man is accounted the shrewdest, sharpest and most "nervy" prisoner of the lot. The fact that two officers rode over 1000 miles with him, handcuffed and shackled and constantly watched, is proof of the above assertion. When they turn him over at last to the custody of the superintendent they left the following record on the books:

"Prisoner has been engaged in one train robbery at least, and in half a dozen stage and highway robberies. Has broken jail three times and bears the scars of several wounds. Has the reputation of being a shooter and a fighter; has killed at least three men; was a pal of Wild Bill; is supposed to know all the leading outlaws in the far West. Is sharp and crafty and has great nerve. Look out for him. Offense, highway robbery."

The "Smiller" has not yet exhibited the slightest desire to see the world outside the walls of the Work–house, but is reported to be one of the most orderly and quiet prisoners in the institution.

The first deadwood line stage robbed was the work of a single man, and if  That man was not the prisoner we write of, then he has a twin brother. The robbery occurred just at sunset, 6 miles from 

Deadwood. The stage contained seven men, all well armed. It was just rounding a thicket when a man stepped in front of the horses, halted them, and quietly said to the driver:

"If you pull the line until I am through I'll send you a bullet through your head!"

This was accompanied by such a soft, bland smile that the astonished driver yelled back:

"Stop your fooling, or I'll run over you."

But the smile was deceiving. Up came a navy revolver on line with the driver's eye, and his teeth chattered as he loosened the reins and soothed the horses. Yells and shouts were heard inside the stage, none of the passengers suspected what was happening until the road–agent pulled open one of the doors and called out:

"Now, then, gentlemen, please climb down!"

"Who the dickens are you?" was shouted at him by three or four in chorus, and his smile was honey itself he answered:

"I'll introduce myself directly. Come, gents — these shooters are in a hurry to hurt some one!"

He backed off a few feet, a revolver in either hand, and the passengers began climbing down.

"Leave your arms in the stage!" shouted "Smiller." "I'll pop the man who brings out any sort of weapon with him!,, Now — suns going down fast!"

There were seven revolvers and three Winchester rifles among the passengers, but that one man had the bulge on the crowd. Men are half disarmed when surprised. Coop them up in addition to the surprise, and pluck is gone. The road – agent knows this, and the fact is as good as a half a dozen men behind him.And as the last man left the coach the "Smiler" confronted the line and softly remarked:

"I will now trouble you to deposit your watches and money on the ground!"

With many a grown and curse and sigh the request was complied with. Those who had wallets lost all; those who had divided their money in different pockets save. Two of the seven had no watches to lose. After the last man had "deposited" the robber pointed to the open door of the stage and said:

"It's a tough country, and I won't take your weapons. Please climb in."

As the last man mounted the step the robber slipped behind the coach and called to the driver to go on at a gallop, at the same time firing three bullets over the coach to start things with the rush. Half a mile away the coach halted and the seven victims jumped Down with their arms, but the smiler" had disappeared with his booty.

Less than a month after the robbery related above, "smiler" was half asleep in a Custer City saloon, when in came a sharp known as "grizzly," accompanied by three or four men, whose admiration for his Bragg and bluster made them his backers. "Grizzly" wanted to fight some one, but he wanted to pick his man. When he saw the "smiler" dozing away in his chair he thought he had discovered a "tenderfoot" whom he could wallop. Without a word of warning he advanced and pulled the sleeper's nose. The soft smile came to the little man's face as he slowly rose up, and his voice was no more than a whisper as he inquired:

"Stranger, did ye mean that?"

"You bet!"

"Then sich of this crowd as don't like bullets had better git!"

Three or four men rushed out just as the revolvers commenced to speak. The "Smiler" was alone — the bully had three backers. For three or four minutes there was a constant pop! pop! of revolvers, and then two of "Grizzly's" friends rushed out and ran away, both wounded. Those who rushed in found the bully down and severely wounded and the other one stone dead, while they "smiler" was sitting on a bench reloading one of his revolvers. Thirty shots had been fired at him from a distance of 12 feet, and yet he had received only one slight flesh wound.

One day as for men rode out from Julesburg, Colo., they encountered a smiling stranger, who made several inquiries regarding the mines. They were giving him all possible information, when he suddenly interrupted the conversation with:

"Gentlemen, dismount and hold up!"

At the same time he covered the crowd with his shooters, and there was no alternative but to yield. The crowd Left him over $1,600, but it was his last robbery a large party were soon on his trail, and after dodging them for two or three days he was captured and given a sentence of ten years.

Photo property of the author

I hope you enjoyed this 'little piece' I shared. I did my best to copy it the way it appeared in the paper. I also confess, with my background in 'criminology' my eyes tend to go the articles about criminals and their exploits. Until next time, happy reading and writing and researching. 

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Author of  'The Agate Gulch' Novellas and "The Kiowa Wells" Novels

Angela Raines - author: Telling Stories Where Love & History Meet

Books: Angela Raines Books

Website: Angela Raines - author

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

(c) Doris McCraw All Rights Reserved.

THANKSGIVING IN COLORADO 1880s

Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

Photo property of the author

With all the busyness of the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, along with the 'storm' predicted for a majority of the country, I thought I'd just share some stories from the papers back in the day.

Those who know me, and my love of research, realize how much joy I get from reading about the lives of the residents of my adopted state from the early days. Most of these clippings are from the 1880s after Colorado became a state in 1876.

Fort Morgan is located in the northeastern part of the state. It was established, by Abner Baker of the Greeley Colony in 1884, on the ruins of Camp Cardwell. Camp Cardwell, established in 1865 to protect travelers on the Overland Trail, name was changed to Camp/Fort Morgan in 1866. The fort was closed in 1868. It was said the fort had nineteen differing companies from eleven cavalry and infantry regiments.

Fort Morgan Times, Dec 7, 1888

Of course one of my favorite towns in Colorado history was Tin Cup. The town was originally known as Virginia City, but as I'm sure you realize, there was a lot of confusion between the other Virginia Cities in Nevada and Montana. The name was officially changed in 1882 when the town was reincorporated. I love it so much my latest novel "The Outlaw's Letter" has some major scenes which take place there.

Tim Cup Record November 26, 1881

Of course one always has to include Aspen when talking about historic Colorado. The town was founded in 1879 and was originally names Ute City for the indigenous people who lived in the area. The name was changed in 1880 to Aspen. The town experienced a boom during the time when silver was king. The town, at its height, was home to around 15,000 people.

Aspen Daily Times November 27, 1890

Aspen Daily Times November 27, 1890

Of course, one cannot forget the saloons and The Nugget got in on the celebration also.

Aspen Daily Times November 27, 1890

And of course, I will end with another series of clippings from the town of Tin Cup. Despite its violent history, having gone through seven marshals in a very short time, including Harry Rivers being killed in 1882 and Andy Jameson in 1883, the people of the town made the best of their time there. No train ever made into the area, and the mines played out fairly quickly. It was difficult to get to, especially in winter.

Tin Cup Record November 19, 1881

I hope you enjoyed some of the stories from back in the day along with the small tidbits of history. I wish everyone a safe and pleasant Thanksgiving week. 

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

Books: Angela Raines Books

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

YES, THERE WAS A VIRGINIA CITY, COLORADO

post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

View of one of many Colorado Mountain Ranges
photo property of the author

Yes, I've been in the research stacks again. This time for a recently released novel, "The Outlaw's Letter". In the course of my research, as I indicated in the last post, I found there was in fact a Virginia City, Colorado.

First a little background. One of the first places I spent any amount of time in when I first arrived in Colorado, was the Taylor Park area. It was while exploring this area north of Gunnison, Colorado, that I developed a love of ghost towns and searching them out. It was there I first visited Pie Plant, Tin Cup and the area surrounding Taylor Park reservoir. I devoured Robert L Brown's books on Colorado's ghost towns, some of the early guide books available in the 1970s. Some of the other towns in that area, according to the signs I remember seeing, were Abbeyville, Hillerton, Forest Hill.  

From Western Mining History

So why change the name from Virginia City? Well there were two additional Virginia Cities in the country, so the Colorado one changed its name to Tin Cup. Now some stories say the postal service asked them to change the name. Others say it was those who were loyal to Jim Taylor, who first found gold in the area, wanted the name changed to honor Jim. 

I can hear you ask, why Tin Cup to honor Taylor? Well, it seems when Taylor bent to rinse his tin cup, he saw flakes of gold in the water. The story gets a bit murky here, as it was another twenty years before mining actually started in the area. There are other stories that say Taylor carried the gold back in his tin cup in that year of 1859, and that placer mining took place until 1879 when a lode deposit was found.

Tin Cup today, from http://www.tincupco.com/

The other interesting fact about Virginia City/Tin Cup, was that it was very isolated. Access was via the following passes: Tin Cup pass, a very treacherous route from the east. Hancock Pass, from the south. Cumberland Pass from Pitkin. Today there is a highway on the way to Crested Butte from Gunnison that has a cut off for Taylor Park and Tin Cup. You can also travel in the summer via Cottonwood Pass from Buena Vista.

So why did I include Virginia City, as it was known during the time frame of the novel, in my story? Well, it was known as the 'wickedest town in Gunnison County'. It had four cemeteries, one on each knoll outside the city. There is a story that a newcomer woke up one morning with eight bullet holes in his tent. Another story that justice could be bought by setting up the most drinks at Frenchy's bar. The town bragged it went through eight marshals in its early days, with only one finishing out his term. Below is the story as relayed by Sandra Dallas in her book, "Colorado Ghost Towns and Mining Camps":

      The first, known as old man Willis, was told: "See nothing. Hear nothing. Do nothing, and the first arrest you make will be your last." Willis followed orders only to discover that his employers also intended to do nothing. When he went unpaid, he quit. His successor, Tom LaHay, was a bully, a former border ruffian who arrested men to show off his fearlessness, then let them go once they reached jail. Town fathers, afraid LaHay would be lynched by irate townsmen, let him go to. LaHay himself disposed of the third lawman by gunning him down in a shootout.
     The fourth Sheriff arrested so many men the court had to work overtime to hold their trials. He was shot by a gambler he supposedly had disarmed, and was replaced by Jack Ward, a tough, who quit to become a preacher. The fifth marshal, Sam Micky, was committed to an insane asylum where he spent his time pacing the floor, believing he was back on the Tin Cup beat. The seventh marshal was shot, and the eighth managed to last out his term.

I hope you enjoyed some of the gems I found while researching this remote area of Colorado. There are so many other stories of Tin Cup and surrounding area, but I'll leave those for possible future posts. 

For further information and research you may want to check out the following:
Robert L. Brown's - "Ghost Towns of the Colorado Rockies", "Colorado's Ghost Towns: Past and Present", "Jeep Trails to Colorado Ghost Towns"

1884 Business Gazette for Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Arizona

Gunnison, Colorado's Bonanza Co

Amazon

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

Angela Raines Books: Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here

HISTORY TRAVEL- COLORADO STYLE #ColoradoHistory

Post by Doris McCraw
writing as Angela Raines

Part of the Arkansas River, Canon City, CO
photo property of the author

Those who know me, or read my posts, know how much I love history. The history of my adopted state is a constant source of fun and great reading. Since I've been researching for an upcoming novel, I thought I'd share some stories of the places my characters travel.

The journey starts in Canon City, pronounced "Canyon". Founded late in 1859 as a 'way station' to the gold fields to the west. By 1860 the town started to grow and after gold was found in California Gulch, it exploded. (For those who wonder, California Gulch is the Buckskin Joe, Leadville area). According to Rosemae Wells Campbell in her book  From Trappers to Tourist – "that winter Canon City was a wide open, wild town. Every department of pleasure ran at capacity. Saloons became numerous and those who frequented them also found pleasure in ways that did not involve drinking or gambling. General courtesy and basic manners were lax or nonexistent, midnight brawls were commonplace, and gunfights occurred on a regular basis. Men were shot over petty grievances; still others, for less, such as the case of Charles Dodge "shot and killed three men who irked him." 

After that winter, the miners, prospectors and hangers on, returned to the mountains and the town was able to focus on growth. Sitting on the Arkansas River, and the mouth of the Royal Gorge, the town had its excitements. The territorial prison was built there in 1874 before Colorado became a state. In 1880 they were building a military academy. There were also a large number of Confederate soldiers who settled in the area. Of course, who can forget the Royal Gorge War between the Santa Fe and Denver & Rio Grande Railroads. That war, to be the first through the Gorge, was to get to the mines in Leadville to convey the ore out of the mountains.

Journeying onward, you travel that route through South Park, on into the mountains. Cripple Creek is just north of Canon City, although it didn't come into existence until the 1890s. You did have Nathrop and Buena Vista, the region of the Lake County War, which I wrote about some time ago. For those who'd like to read about that, here is the link: Lake County War

There have been many posts about Leadville, that town at 10, 152 feet, and the characters who spent time there. Of course, Horace Tabor, Doc Holiday, Wyatt Early, and possible the James brothers or members of their gang.  What many forget is places like St. Elmo, Como, Breckenridge, Gunnison and Virginia City.

Tin Cup, 1906 from a photo of the Tin Cup Civic Association

Yes, there was a Virginia City in Colorado. Of course since Montana and Nevada, the name didn't last long. So what was it changed to? Tin Cup. If you wanted a wide open town, this was the one for you in the late 1800s. In its early days, there was no true law. It was said they went through seven marshals in a very short period of time.

Here is a piece from the Gunnison Daily News-Democrat from July 12, 1882



In his book "Jeep Trails to Colorado Ghost Towns", Robert L. Brown had this to say:
"By 1879... There were plenty of saloons... Tin cup had several hotels, chief among them were the Pacific and the Eagle. … After the summer of 1879, tin cup was rated as the largest town in Gunnison County, next to Gunnison itself.

There were three physicians in town. One of them was Dr. McGowan, who always wore a full beard which resulted in his death while he was smoking in bed.

In the old days, Tin Cup was entered mainly from St. Elmo, over Tin Cup Pass, and frequently by way of Pitkin, Cottonwood, and Aspen. It was a rough trip from Tin Cup over the divide to St. Elmo.

No railroad ever served Tin Cup. In the summer time you rode the stagecoach and in the winter you skied."

So there you have a short trip though history along the Arkansas River and up to Leadville and Tin Cup. There is so much more history, but time and space limit the story.

Doris Gardner-McCraw -

Author, Speaker, Historian-specializing in
Colorado and Women's History

Angela Raines - author: Where Love & History Meet

For a list of Angela Raines Books: Here 

Angela Raines FaceBook: Click Here