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Boston, Lamar, & Sam Konkel’s “An Outlaw in Lamar”
There are many connections between Lamar, Colorado and the 1886-1887 Boom towns of Southeast Colorado. If you have not familiarized yourself with those boom towns click here to see a map. The news about migration to Southeast Colorado and those new towns was often reported in newspapers such as the following from the March 24,…
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THE OLD SETTLEMENT AND THE NEW SETTLEMENT OF BACA COUNTY: by Sam Konkel
Sam Konkel told us much about the first wave of settlement in the 1886-1887 time frame. In this article from the December 21 1917 issue of the Springfield Herald he offers some observations comparing that first wave with the second wave starting in 1907 Sam as always is entertaining with his writing. I will leave…
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Sam Konkel’s take on the Al Jenning’s “Fishy” Autobiography.
In “Old Boston: As Wild As They Come” we tell the story of many of the characters of the that short-lived (1886-1889) and wild Colorado Boomtown, Boston, Colorado. The key resource for this story are the 1918-1919 writings of Sam Konkel, who ran one of two newspapers in that town. Konkel told us much about the…
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Sam Konkel’s Map of Southeast Colorado Stagecoach Routes 1887-1889
A couple years ago I found a copy of Sam Konkel’s Southeast Colorado Stagecoach map in terrible condition. The quality was so poor it was basically useless and it led me to the development of the 1886-1889 Boom Town map located here in a previous blog post. However, in my last visit to Baca County, I…
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Known All Over Creation and Down in Arkansas as The Great County Builder: Sam Konkel
The more I dig into the history of Baca County, the more I appreciate Sam Konkel’s contributions to the development of early Baca County. He started the “Western World” paper in Old Boston and ran it throughout the three years Boston existed. He left the county for several years before returning to the high plains…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
