The Magazine of History Colorado Winter 2019/20 Race and Identity at the Border with New Mexico Award-Winning Essay Looks at an 1870 Turf Battle and Its Legacies Today The Art, Science and Politics The Collection of John R. Henderson, Edward Baker of Fort Collins and of Historic Adobe Restoration Groundbreaking Denver Architect His 1895 Pocket Kodak Steve Grinstead Managing Editor Darren Eurich, State of Colorado/IDS Graphic Designer The Magazine of History Colorado Winter 2019/20 Katie Bush Photographic Services Colorado Heritage (ISSN 0272-9377), published by 4 Were They Mexicans or Coloradans? History Colorado, contains articles of broad general An 1870 proposal to annex the San Luis Valley into and educational interest that link the present to the past. Heritage is distributed quarterly to History New Mexico called into question just who could claim Colorado members, to libraries, and to institutions of to be a Coloradan. higher learning. Manuscripts must be documented when By Jacob Swisher submitted, and originals are retained in the Publications Winner, 2019 Emerging Historians Award office. An Author’s Guide is available; contact the Publications office. History Colorado disclaims 18 Adobe Ethos at History Colorado’s Sites responsibility for statements of fact or of opinion Rehabilitating old adobe requires a mix of curiosity, made by contributors. History Colorado also publishes forensics, intuition, teamwork, and constant adaptation. Explore, a bimonthy publication of programs, events, By Michael “Spydr” Wren and exhibition listings. Postage paid at Denver, Colorado 20 A Lens on Fort Collins’s Past The 1895 Pocket Kodak let amateur photographers— All History Colorado members receive Colorado including two Fort Collins natives—document their world. Heritage as a benefit of membership. Individual By Mike Viney and Brian Carroll subscriptions are available through the Membership office for $45 per year (four issues). ALSO IN THIS ISSUE To receive copies of this or other History Colorado or Colorado Historical Society publications, contact the Publications office at 303/866-4532 or publications@ 1 Spotlight On . state.co.us. 3 The Collections © 2020 BY HISTORY COLORADO 28 Above & Below 31 History Colorado Partners 32 Ask Us! THE COLORADO BOOK REVIEW on the cover Interested in reading online reviews of new publications about Colorado? The Colorado Book Review and In the spring of 1870, New Mexico territorial representative Jose Francisco Chaves New Publications List is an online journal devoted had introduced congressional legislation to redraw the line separating the to new Colorado nonfiction. The site is cosponsored Colorado and New Mexico territories. Under Chaves’s bill, Costilla County and by History Colorado and the Center for Colorado Conejos County—including Colorado’s portion of the San Luis Valley—would Studies and housed at the Denver Public Library. The become part of New Mexico. The valley’s residents faced a choice: would they Colorado Book Review lists new nonfiction works be New Mexicans or Coloradans? about Colorado and provides reviews of selected recent publications. Check out the latest! It’s all at history. All images are from the collections of History Colorado unless otherwise noted. denverlibrary.org/center-colorado-studies. For additional content, see h-co.org/blogs and medium.com/Colorado-Heritage-Extras Send any new books or booklets about Colorado, for listing and possible review, to: Publications Department History Colorado HISTORY COLORADO BOARD OF DIRECTORS History Colorado Center, 1200 Broadway Denver, Colorado 80203 AND LEADERSHIP Marco Antonio Abarca Steve W. Turner AIA Executive Director Cathy Carpenter Dea and State Historic Preservation Officer Donna Lynne Cathey M. Finlon Chair, Board of Directors Gregory L. Moore Robert E. Musgraves THE COLORADO ENCYCLOPEDIA Rick A. Pederson State Historian’s Council Did you know? More than 100 Colorado Heritage articles Ann Alexander Pritzlaff have been adapted for the Colorado Encyclopedia—a Dr. William Wei, University of Colorado Boulder, State Historian Ellen Roberts new online resource where you can find a wealth of Alan B. Salazar Dr. Nicki Gonzales, Regis University Stephen Sturm Dr. Tom Noel, University of Colorado Denver information about Colorado history. What’s in this Christopher Tetzeli Dr. Jared Orsi, Colorado State University twenty-first-century reference work on the Centennial Tamra J. Ward Dr. Duane Vandenbusche, Western State Colorado University State? Find out at ColoradoEncyclopedia.org. THE COLLECTIONS Spotlight On . The John R. Henderson Collection: Colorado’s First Licensed African American Architect BY ANNA MASCORELLA, TEMPLE BUELL ASSOCIatE CURatOR OF ARCHITECTURE History Colorado is proud to announce the acquisition of Skyland neighborhood. Located on the north side of Twenty- the John R. Henderson Collection, consisting of architectural sixth Avenue, the Henderson House sits along what was once drawings and personal items generously donated by the line of de facto segregation in east Denver; today it’s the Henderson’s son, Lynn B. Henderson. neighborhood’s first landmark. The home remains one of the few designated individual landmarks acknowledging the n October 7, 1959, John R. Henderson, Jr. registered African American contribution to Denver’s built environment. Oto practice architecture in Colorado, becoming the first The drawings in the Henderson Collection include the licensed African American architect in the state. Born in plans for the home’s northern wing, an addition that brought Kansas, Henderson came to Denver by way of Ohio, where the project to completion in 1971. The drawings also depict the he worked as a city planner after completing his architecture home’s extensive built-ins, which Henderson designed to hold degree at Kansas State University. In Denver, Henderson everything from canned goods to his wife Gloria’s handbags, worked for such prominent firms as James Sudler Associates hats, and shoes. These details reflect the modernist principles and Hornbein & White. In 1963, he joined the Federal Bureau that drove the design of the residence—one of the few mid- of Indian Affairs and worked on projects across the United century modern houses to be landmarked in Denver. States. After retiring in 1981, he went on to design several residences as a consultant, many of them represented in the We’re working to make the Henderson Collection available to collection. the public through our Stephen H. Hart Research Center. Do you Henderson’s proudest achievement was the mid-century know of a Colorado architecture collection in need of a good modern home he designed for his own family at 2600 home? Contact us at 303/866-2306 or [email protected]. Milwaukee in Denver in the early 1960s, which was designated as a local historic landmark in 2018. The home shows the influence of Henderson’s favorite modernist architect, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, with its glass walls and “less is more” aesthetic. It also reflects the legacy of the city’s segregated past. Limited on where to buy a home given Denver’s racially discriminatory real estate practices, Henderson decided to build his own and bought one of the last available plots in the John R. Henderson, Elevations, A Residence Addition for Mr. & Mrs. John Henderson, 2600 Milwaukee St., Denver, Colorado, 1971. History Colorado, MSS.3129. John Henderson in 2014 in the home he designed. Born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921, Henderson died in Denver in June 2018. Photo courtesy Paul Brokering Photography, paulbrokering.com. HistoryColorado.org 1 WHO WE ARE Goals for a New Decade creation, distribution, and engagement, and we’re already at work on a collecting plan that ensures we’re including the s History Colorado moves boldly voices of all. Aforward, we intend to double our And as we near the critical time that is the fall 2020 impact in Colorado by 2025. This is general election, we’re preparing to host a major public our moonshot. engagement initiative, American Democracy: A Great Leap To achieve that impact we’re of Faith. Hosting this traveling experience from the Smith- embracing all-new strategic goals, just sonian—and augmenting it to tell Colorado’s story—is just one of which is to share more broadly one way we’re leaning into opportunities offered by current the diverse stories of Colorado. History Colorado intends to events. be a place of belonging for all. We’ve given that aspiration These are just a few of the initiatives we’ll implement a prominent new home in the History Colorado Center’s to reach hundreds of thousands more Coloradans. History Ballantine Gallery, where new voices and perspectives will Colorado is poised to maximize its statewide impact with thrive—starting with the exhibit A Legacy of Healing: confidence and a grandness of scope. With your generous Jewish Leadership in Colorado’s Health Care. Meanwhile, support, we can make it all happen. our Museum of Memory initiative, co-authored with com- munities, will reach out across rural Colorado to gather and To read more about these goals, including our plans to share our citizens’ most relevant contemporary stories. build long-term sustainability, invest in rural prosperity, Working with partners like the Buell Foundation, and strengthen Colorado through education, go to h-co. Gill Foundation, and Latino Leadership Institute, we’ve been org/2020goals. adding new curators to our staff. They’ll be hard at work across the state—reaching beyond our traditional audiences and resources to document Colorado’s contemporary archi- tecture, LGBT communities, Hispanic legacies, and more. Steve W. Turner, Executive Director To share these stories we’ll develop new forms of content and State Historic Preservation Officer OUR SITES History Colorado Center, Grant-Humphreys Mansion a Smithsonian affiliate 770 Pennsylvania Street, Denver MISSION 1200 Broadway, Denver 303/894-2505, GrantHumphreysMansion.org 303/HISTORY, HistoryColoradoCenter.org Healy House Museum and Dexter Cabin History Colorado Center for Colorado Women’s History 912 Harrison Avenue, Leadville at the Byers-Evans House Museum 719/486-0487, HealyHouseMuseum.org creates a better 1310 Bannock Street, Denver Open: May 18 to October 8, or by appointment.