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Anne Evans

Anne Evans (1871–1941) was a Colorado civic leader and patron of the arts who transformed the Denver cultural community. Among her numerous activities, Evans started and helped guide the Denver Art Museum to national prominence, assisted in the…

Anne Evans Mountain Home

The Anne Evans Mountain Home is a rustic cottage built by Anne Evans at an elevation of about 8,200 feet on her family’s large ranch in the Upper Bear Creek watershed in eastern Clear Creek County. Completed in 1911, the house was notable for its…

Elbert County

Elbert County, named for former Colorado territorial governor Samuel H. Elbert, covers 1,851 square miles on the Great Plains southeast of Denver. It is bordered to the north by Arapahoe County, to the east and south by Lincoln County, to the south by El…

John Evans

John Evans (1814–97) served as second governor of Colorado Territory, from 1862 to 1865. His role in precipitating the massacre of peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians at Sand Creek in November 1864 forced him to resign. A doctor and Methodist minister…

Morrison

Morrison is a small tourist-oriented town of restaurants and antique shops located along Bear Creek in the valley south of Red Rocks, about fifteen miles southwest of Denver. Established in 1872, the town relied on George Morrison’s quarrying industry in…

Riverside Cemetery

Riverside Cemetery was established along the South Platte River in 1876, making it the oldest surviving cemetery in Denver. It is the final resting place for many prominent early Coloradans, including John Evans, Augusta Tabor, Miguel Otero, and Barney…

Sand Creek Massacre

On November 29, 1864, US volunteer cavalry killed at least 230 Cheyenne and Arapaho people—mostly women, children, and the elderly—who were camped peacefully along Sand Creek in what was then Colorado Territory. Learning about the Sand…

The Civil War in Colorado

Colorado’s role in the American Civil War (1861–65) was part of a broader geopolitical contest: control of the American Southwest. The war began in 1861, just two years after the Colorado Gold Rush and mere months after Congress established the Colorado…

William Gray Evans

William Gray Evans (1855–1924) was a Denver businessman best known as the Denver Tramway Company president. The son of Territorial Governor John Evans, he was involved in many of Denver’s early foundational enterprises and played an integral role in…