-
The Little Red Gym That Became a Red Cross Hospital
(The Little Red Gym That Could … Became a Red Cross Hospital) By Kent Brooks and Steve Doner NOTE: This compilation is another instance of my history buddy, Steve Doner, and I working on the same topic from different directions and coming to a common point in history. We have scared each other a couple…
-
The Strange Story of Stevenson, Baca County, Colorado & Reverend William Evans
by: Steven Doner and Kent Brooks My introduction to Stevenson happened in 2010 when I was first shown the Lost 1894 Colorado Relief Map by James McConnell School Supplies of Denver, Colorado. Immediately, I began combing the bottom right corner for familiar names, but more so for unfamiliar items that might fuel my curiosity. Exploring…
-
Did the Forgotten Old West Town of Boston Colorado Influence the entire Genre of Western Movies?
“Low characters naturally gravitated in this direction where they would be in less danger of the law. Peaceable men were sometimes forced to become murderers through association with the lawless element who were thrown in their midst. Questions were not asked of their past.” -J.R. Austin, 1936, An Early History of Baca County In the…
-
The Burning of the Boston Colorado Hotel: An 1890 Flashback to the County Seat Wars of the American West
The hotel company was incorporated last week, the stock is all subscribed, and the big hotel will now be pushed to completion. — Boston Colorado, Western World, April 1887 The County Seat Wars of the American West, which were most famous in Kansas, represent a tumultuous period in the late 19th century characterized by intense…
-
Was Old Boston Really As Wild As They Come?
By The Writer Originally published in the Plainsman Herald, Springfield, Colorado, June 19, 2024 “An elderly gentleman on his way to Colorado was asked what there was attractive there, and answered ‘Nothing sir, but a dry burying ground and shorter route to Heaven” –The Ashland Weekly Journal, 1887 No one has really questioned my book’s…
-
Rexford Guy Tugwell: Architect of the New Deal and 1936 visitor to Baca County
By Kent Brooks July 12, 2024 In the annals of American economic history, few figures stand as prominently as Dr. Rexford Guy Tugwell. Known as one of the principal architects of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, Tugwell’s vision and reforms left an indelible mark on the nation during one of its most challenging periods.…
-
Ezra Nowels,Baca County’s First Judge
Attorney Ezra C. Nowels left Rensselaer, Indiana in 1888 and came to Minneapolis, Colorado. The March 14, 1888 Indiana State Sentinel reports, “Ezra C. Nowels will start to Colorado next week. He will locate in Minneapolis, Las Animas County, where he will engage in the practice of law and the real estate business. Mr. Nowels…
