Richard Sopris in Early Denver: Captain, Mayor & Colorado Fifty-Niner

by Linda Bjorklund, Dr. Thomas Noel (Foreword by)

Overview

From Gregory's Diggings prospector to Denver mayor, Richard Sopris left an indelible mark on the Mile High City and Centennial State. During an 1860 prospecting expedition, Sopris discovered Glenwood Springs and the nearly thirteen-thousand-foot summit later named for him. Following life as a steamboat captain, he was appointed captain of Company C, First Colorado Cavalry, in 1861 and commanded volunteer troops at Glorieta Pass. After serving as a delegate to the first constitutional convention of Colorado and as Arapaho County sheriff, he helped quell the Hop Alley Chinese Riot of 1880 and enacted public works projects to rid Denver of a deadly typhoid outbreak. After his mayoral term ended in 1881, Sopris became the first commissioner of his beloved City Park. Author Linda Bjorklund celebrates the unsung life and accomplishments of a founding son of Colorado.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467135931
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	07/25/2016
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Linda Bjorklund's books include Burros! and A Brief History of Fairplay (The History Press, 2013). She publishes a quarterly newsletter for the Park County Local History Archives and writes a monthly historical article for the Ute Country News. Her interest in Richard Sopris came out of her acquaintance with one of his descendants, Betty Farrington, through the American Legion Post in Buena Vista, Colorado.

Table of Contents

Foreword Dr. Thomas Noel 7

Preface 9

1 From Yardley to Michigan City 11

2 Hunt for Gold 16

3 Kansas Legislature and Provisional Territorial Government 27

4 Mount Sopris 33

5 Bummers 40

6 Gloricta Pass 48

7 Agriculture, Floods and Locusts 55

8 Sheriff Sopris 62

9 Railroad Contractor 68

10 Warden Sopris; Colorado Is a State 75

11 Mayor Sopris 80

12 Denver's City Park 87

13 The Rest of the Family 92

14 Sopris the Town 107

15 State Historical Society 111

16 And the Family Tree Grows 115

Bibliography 123

Index 135

About the Author 139