The Society of Odd Fellows opened its Peak Lodge in Denver on December 24, 1860. Many good men have joined the association, although non-members have long speculated about the secret initiation ceremony. Rumors of secret signs, salutations, and passwords have long existed, but the real curiosity is the mumbling about initiates “Riding the Goat.” This year, Denver got to see its own version of this most secret Odd Fellow ritual.
Read in PDF Format: Odd Fellow Initiation, Riding the Goat
TODAY, AUGUST 1, 1876, PRESIDENT ULYSSES GRANT SIGNED THE BILL THAT MADE COLORADO THE 38TH STATE IN THE UNION, GIVING COLORADO THE HONOR OF BEING THE ONLY CENTENNIAL STATE. THE ROAD TO STATEHOOD HAS BEEN A LONG, STRANGE BATTLE. THIS IS A BRIEF HISTORY OF COLORADO’S ROAD TO STATEHOOD, BECAUSE, AS DESCRIBED IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS ARTICLE PUBLISHED ON MARCH 16, 1875, “TO DO MORE WOULD FILL A BOOK.”
Read in PDF Format: Colorado’s Long Road to Statehood
THE ADAMS’ EXPEDITION, TRYING TO DISCOVER A WATER ROUTE FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS TO THE PACIFIC, HAS COME TO A RAPID END. NO LIVES WERE LOST, BUT AFTER A MONTH AND A HALF OF TRAVELING DOWN THE BLUE AND GRAND RIVERS, ALL SUPPLIES, INSTRUMENTS, AND BOATS WERE LOST IN WILD CATARACTS. THE FATE OF JOHN WESTLEY POWELL, WHO BEGAN A SIMILAR EXPEDITION ON MAY 29, 1869, IS UNKNOWN, BUT AFTER CAPTAIN ADAM’S EXPERIENCES, FEARS FOR HIS EXPEDITION’S SAFETY HAVE INCREASED.
Read in PDF Format: 1869 – Captain Samuel Adams’ Expedition Fails
Professor O.J. Goldrick
TODAY, PROFESSOR O.J. GOLDRICK OPENED THE DENVER UNION SCHOOL, OFFERING TO EDUCATE ALL OF DENVER’S CHILDREN. HE, AND FELLOW TEACHER MISS MILLER, ARE BOTH ACCOMPLISHED AND WELL QUALIFIED TEACHERS AND SHOULD MEET WITH LIBERAL ENCOURAGEMENT IN THEIR UNDERTAKING. SEND YOUR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL!
Read in PDF Format: Professor O.J. Goldrick opens Denver Union School
As the adnominal glories of the Colorado Territory fade into the short days of silvery winter, ladies will now focus their needles on their whitework. The scant light is best used for repairing your light-colored underpinnings. The muslin chemise with the lace insert in need of repair, the replacement of damaged drawer’s ties, and the restitching of the corset bone flossing.
Read in PDF Format: Miss Annie’s Advice on Unmentionables
The governor and other state officers moved into the new capitol building on November 9, 1894. Designed by Elijah E. Myers and reminiscent of the Untied States Capitol, the building contains Colorado’s Hall of Fame, or Circle of Fame as some call it, displaying images of sixteen individuals who made significant contributions to Colorado’s history.
Read in PDF Format: Colorado Capital’s Hall of Fame
Susan B. Anthony
Colorado has made history as the first state to pass Women’s Suffrage legislation by state referendum. Of course, Wyoming, in 1869, was the first Territory to give women the right to vote. It was quickly followed by the Utah Territory in 1870 and Washington Territory in 1883.
Read in PDF Format: Colorado Passes Suffrage Legislation
Mount of the Holy Cross, W.H. Jackson, 1873
Geographical surveyor, F.V. Hayden and photographer W.H. Jackson have summited the mysterious Mount of the Holy Cross and returned with an interesting story. The following is a reproduction of The Legend of the Mount of the Holy Cross, as told to Jackson and Hayden by Alice Polk Hill. Miss Hill is traveling through the Colorado frontier, recording stories and yarns from Colorado’s colorful past.
Read in PDF Format: The Legend of the Mount of the Holy Cross
Augusta Tabor
Mrs. Elizabeth Entriken, a 59er and the sister of our beloved snowshoe minister, Reverend John Dyer, shared this interesting story about Augusta Tabor’s labors to wash teamsters shirts to earn a bit of her own gold dust.
Read in PDF Format: Augusta Tabor’s Wash Day
Yesterday, Edgar Vanover, a soldier of fortune who fought under William Walker in Nicaragua, was lynched on the beef gallows near the wooden bridge over Clear Creek at Ford Street. He was hung not for a crime he committed, but for a crime he threatened to commit.
Golden City, A. E. Matthews
Read in PDF Format: The Lynching of Edgar Vanover
