N EWSLETTER ISSUE II APRIL 2011 ABOUT ARCHIVES COLLECTIONS IN THIS ISSUE The Park County Local History Archives Archive News has many photographs, newspapers, manu- About Archives Collections ................1 scripts, business records, maps, minutes, Articles from the Archives books, deeds, personal papers and other The Naming of Hall Valley.................2 ephemera on-site. Since its inception in the A.C. Dake and His Town on the year 2000, the Archives has steadily added South Park Line ...............................3 to its available materials. There are more than 3,000 photographs available online for your immediate viewing! Many of these are one-of-a kind pictures from personal family collections that were donated to the Archives. Donations do not require giving up your originals—a copy, a "photo of the photo," or an electronic scan with our new hand-held scanner (donated by PCHPAC) can easily be completed without harming your originals. Before donated pic- tures are posted online, you will be re- quested to sign a "Deed for Copying Photo- Dake from Bill Eloe collection graphs." This simple one-page form allows "The Court that Never Adjourned"......4 us to post your photos for public viewing and adds an appropriate credit line. To view the Archives photos on our web- site, log on to www.parkcoarchives.org and locate the "Photos" link on the left side of the screen. Click on this and an alphabet- ized list will appear by category; click on your category choice and all the available photos will appear. Click on a single photo to enlarge it on your screen. Bowen mansion in Pueblo Digital copies of photos can be purchased New books: William & Mary Ann (Davis) in CD format for $1 per scan plus shipping Friedlander Family 1814-1930 by Diana and handling. Reprints of photos are also Renner Walsh; Jefferson, Colorado by Jef- available—check the "Fees" link for costs. ferson Community Civic Association Board; If you use a photo from the Archives for Proceedings from Sixth South Park Sympo- any public purpose, please give proper credit sium Fairplay June 25-26, 2010 to the owner as copyright laws provide. Send comments, requests and suggestions OPEN HOUSE on Friday, May 6 to: from 10am to 2pm [email protected] Lower level, Bailey Library THE NAMING OF HALL VALLEY Penitentiary committees. Colonel Hall mar- by Christie Wright ried in 1872 and his brother, Cassius "Cash" Hall Valley, Hall also joined him in the mountains. The located on the Halls then went over the range to mine in the east side of area just south of Webster Pass. This valley Kenosha Pass, gradually acquired the Colonel's name due to was one of the his prominence and leadership qualities, al- many mining though a man named Scott Shaw previously districts coined prospected there. in the 1800s in The Whale Mine, located just beneath the Park County. Continental Divide, was the best mine, pur- Given its thirty- chased by the Colonel in 1872 for $20,000. five mile Investors were garnered and the Hall Valley distance from the county seat of Fairplay, it Silver Lead Mining and Smelting Company was not as widely publicized as the Mos- formed. They built a smelter below the quito Range mining districts such as the mine and a tramway system was installed, Buckskin Joe or the Consolidated Mont- but unfortunately the composition of the ore gomery Mining Districts. In addition, the made it difficult to process. The Colonel Hall Valley mines were not quite as produc- eventually left Colorado and died in England tive as the Mosquito area mines, although in 1903 at the age of 63. several individual mines were very success- Due to its remote location, the valley and ful. town itself had its share of "roughs"— Hall Valley had several names: Hall's drifters who followed mine work and were Gulch, Hallville and Hall City. It was tough characters. At one point, even the Co- named after Colonel Jairus Wm. Hall, who lonel's life was in danger, forcing him to first came to Colorado in approximately shut down the local saloons. On August 12, 1868 after completing a brilliant Civil War 1873, two of these characters named Mi- career in the 4 th Michigan Volunteer Infan- chael Boice and Henry Hall (no relation) try. According to his biography in the threatened the townspeople with guns and American Biographical History of Eminent were promptly restrained and locked in a and Self-Made Men (Michigan Volume) storeroom overnight for "safe-keeping." The 1878 by Wm. H. Gordon, Jairus Hall joined intent was to escort them to the Fairplay jail up in that state, quickly progressing through at morning's first light; however, this never the ranks to attain that of Brigadier-General, happened. The two were hustled out of their although he always preferred to be called confines in the middle of the night and "Colonel." He was involved in over ninety lynched by vigilantes about half a mile down battles including Gettysburg, Antietam and the valley. According to one of Henry Hall's Nashville. He was never absent without friends at the time, Henry was buried "near leave and never reprimanded. the mouth of the gulch." Initially settling in Georgetown, Colorado, Today, Hall Valley is County Road 42 off the Colonel managed a bank for two years Highway 285, just east of the base of Keno- and learned the mining business, continually sha Pass. A bumpy gravel road runs for five seeking to improve himself. This was re- miles to two National Forest Service camp- warded by his election to the Upper House sites: the Hall Valley Campground and of the Territorial Legislature; he was then Handcart Campground. Part of this road is appointed Chairman of the Finance and private property and must be respected. - 2 - A.C. DAKE AND HIS TOWN ON THE SOUTH The charcoal produced at Dake was PARK LINE by Bob Schoppe shipped by rail to Denver and used in smelt- ers in the South Park-Kenosha Pass area, and also in Central City and Blackhawk. At the height of his charcoal operations in Col- orado he had 400-500 men employed and was the largest charcoal dealer in the state, manufacturing nearly 1,300,000 bushels of charcoal per annum. After moving back to Denver in 1887, Dake continued in the charcoal business until 1893 when he turned his attention to the cattle business, buying and selling large herds until he died in Den- Alvin Chaplin Dake ver in September 1902 at age 53. Alvin Chamberlain Dake was born August The town of Dake was founded in 1883 1, 1849 in Ellensburg, Clinton County, N.Y. for the purpose of manufacturing charcoal and worked for a time with his father in the for fuel and lasted until around 1893. Dake lumber business. was a center for the early charcoal industry In July 1868 he left home and engaged as and thus was associated with three important an agent for a coal business. After one year themes in Colorado history—railroads, tim- he returned to Clinton County where he bering and mining. profitably engaged in the coal and wood There were 30 kilns and 2,094 feet of spur business until 1873. He then went to Lake track servicing them. Dake was also a stop Superior and spent the summer in the coal on the Denver, South Park and Pacific Rail- business for an iron company, returning in road at milepost 74.2, station no. 1045, the fall to Clinton County where he took part about 2 track-miles below/east of Kenosha in a wood contract for the state. Pass and 4.8 track-miles above/west of Web- In spring 1875 he moved to Northampton, ster. There were approximately 210 men Massachusetts, and engaged in the fish and employed cutting timber and feeding the oyster business until fall 1876, when he sold kilns. out and again returned to Clinton County. The town of Dake had about 300 inhabi- In spring 1877 he moved to Summit Coun- tants and featured a post office, store, sa- ty, Colorado, in the Breckenridge district loon, blacksmith shop, stables and board- and engaged in placer mining until that fall, inghouse. The post office opened on May when he moved to Denver. In February 23, 1883, and closed on October 8, 1892. 1878 he went to Leadville, where he contin- Most of the town was on the south side of ued mining and during that summer began a Hoosier Creek, while the kilns were on the very successful business manufacturing north side. A boardwalk was built along charcoal. He constructed kilns along the Hoosier Creek on the bog of the original Arkansas River in the Buena Vista area and wetlands. It was used by workers to reach in 1883 at Dake on Kenosha Pass, which the kilns on the north side of Hoosier Creek was named for him. During his time in from the town of Dake on the south side. Leadville, he returned to Northampton in Later, charcoal deposits dumped here pro- 1879 to be united in marriage to Charlotte E. vided a walkway across the creek. The rail- Taylor. road fill above the creek was probably used as a walkway as well. - 3 - "THE COURT THAT NEVER ADJOURNED " "Judge Bowen's wife was sitting back in the court room among the spectators. Evi- In March of 1953 the Fairplay Flume re- dently she heard some of the mutterings of ported that items had been found in the the Vigilantes, for she went to the Judge's basement of the Park County Court House stand and whispered in her husband's ear.