%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Preston Porter, Jr. http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/preston-porter-jr <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Preston Porter, Jr.</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2022-05-18T11:00:02-06:00" title="Wednesday, May 18, 2022 - 11:00" class="datetime">Wed, 05/18/2022 - 11:00</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/preston-porter-jr" data-a2a-title="Preston Porter, Jr."><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fpreston-porter-jr&amp;title=Preston%20Porter%2C%20Jr."></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>On November 16, 1900, a white mob in <strong>Limon</strong> chained Preston Porter, Jr., a fifteen-year-old Black railroad worker, to a vertical steel rail, slung a rope around his neck, and burned him alive. Porter was accused of raping and murdering a local white girl; he had previously confessed to the crime under extreme coercion from <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a> investigators, who told the young man that his father and brother would likely be lynched if he did not confess instead. No evidence directly connected Porter to the crime.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Porter’s burning occurred amid widespread <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lynching-colorado"><strong>lynching</strong></a> of Black people across the nation, especially in the South. In 1900 alone, more than 100 Black people were murdered by lynch mobs. Colorado had a relatively small Black population compared to southern states. Still, the events that led to Porter’s lynching and the fervor of the mob confirm that anti-Black racism was coursing through Colorado in 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Background</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Founded in 1888 by John Limon, a railroad construction foreman, the town of Limon had by 1900 become a minor rail hub that supported a small community of farmers and ranchers. Itinerant workers were drawn to the town’s railyards, ranches, and fields. Preston Porter, Sr., and his two sons, Arthur and Preston, Jr.—who also went by “John” to avoid confusion with his father—were part of a railroad maintenance crew laboring near Lake Station, a rail stop a couple of miles east of Limon. The Porters were temporary residents, with their permanent home in Lawrence, Kansas.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On November 8, 1900, a search party found twelve-year-old Louise Frost, the daughter of prominent local rancher R. W. Frost, dying in a ravine of beating and stab wounds. She had also apparently been raped. She had driven a horse and buggy alone that day to the post office to pick up mail, then began the three-mile return trip to her family’s ranch. Upon its return, her father found the buggy empty and organized the search party. The girl died without saying anything.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>“His Guilt Is Still in Doubt”</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>The murder provoked instant outrage across Colorado. The <em>Aspen Democrat </em>called it “the most fiendish assault ever perpetrated.” The case immediately drew the attention of Denver investigators and <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lincoln-county"><strong>Lincoln County</strong></a> Sheriff John Freeman. A range of suspects was considered and interrogated, many of them selected from Limon’s small nonwhite population. Eventually, authorities homed in on the Porters, who had suspiciously left town after the murder.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On November 12, after speaking with all three Porters, Freeman announced that he was “absolutely sure” that John Porter was guilty. Freeman’s primary evidence was boot tracks at the crime scene that matched a set of shoes belonging to Porter. The sheriff claimed that when he interviewed Porter, the young man struggled to answer questions and establish his whereabouts at the time of the crime. The sheriff also said a chemist had Porter’s hat and, in his words, “will prove” there was blood on it from the struggle with Frost.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Freeman’s evidence was circumstantial at best. Porter said he had not worn the shoes in question for weeks, and they did not appear to have been worn recently. Porter did have a criminal record back in Lawrence, but authorities there had also found him mentally incompetent—he had suffered a head injury as a child. The slight-framed teenager didn’t have any injuries consistent with a struggle, and the chemist found no blood on Porter’s hat. Unconvinced of the case against him, authorities in Denver refused to turn Porter over to Freeman on November 13.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="/article/denver-police-department-1859%E2%80%931933"><strong>Denver Police</strong></a> weren’t the only ones skeptical of Porter’s guilt. On November 16—the day Porter would be lynched—a headline in the <em>Collbran Oracle </em>from <a href="http://www.coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/mesa-county"><strong>Mesa County</strong></a> proclaimed the evidence against Porter to be “very conflicting.” The article quoted Denver detectives pointing to the state of Louise Frost’s buggy when it returned empty; the story was that Porter had dragged Louise out of it, but the buggy was in excellent condition with no signs of a struggle. “It is my opinion,” a detective told the paper, “that [Frost] was coaxed away by some one whom she knew, and I believe the guilty party is among those who are crying the loudest for vengeance.” After quoting the detective, the reporter opined, “It would be criminal on the part of authorities to permit Porter to be placed in danger of lynching when his guilt is still in doubt.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>None of this helped the young man, who on November 14 was forced into confessing the crime during a series of intense interrogations in Denver. Still, Denver authorities refused to give him up, acknowledging that Porter may have been “driven crazy by his troubles.” But when police confirmed that Frost’s pocketbook was in a vault at the Limon depot—right where Porter said it would be—the young man was turned over to Freeman. Although he was certain “Porter will never live in Limon county more than 24 hours,” Freeman said he would deliver the young man to the Lincoln County jail in Hugo.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Lynching</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Newspapers across Colorado jumped to confirm Porter’s guilt and speculate enthusiastically about a possible lynching. On November 15, Limon-area residents met to decide how to go about the lynching. They agreed that Porter was to be hanged but that there should be “no torture” beforehand. Still in Denver, Preston Porter read the Bible in his cell as Freeman delayed his departure, hoping the mob would “cool down.” At 1:10 pm on November 16, Freeman and Porter boarded a Union Pacific train for Hugo.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>The train was not supposed to stop at Limon, but a group of revolver-toting men there halted and boarded the train. Over the protests of Freeman, the men removed Porter and delivered him to a waiting crowd of more than 500 men, women, and children. When the crowd “saw the face and cowering form of the black demon,” as the<em> Aspen Daily Times</em> put it, a rage swept over them. Abandoning their plan to hang Porter, they took him to the place where Frost’s body was found, tied him to a stake, and burned him alive. As the flames neared his body, Porter begged to be shot. Of Porter’s final moments, the <em>Aspen Daily Times</em> wrote, “There was a moment of silence broken only by the hissing and crackling of the fire. Then an indefinable, hideous, awful shriek, such as will ring in the ears of the listeners for many a day.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Aftermath</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Newspaper accounts of Porter’s lynching reveled in its brutality while depicting the barbaric incident as one of orderly vengeance. One Associated Press report insisted the crowd was “orderly and deliberate” and “not like a mob.” “No official execution of any enemy to society was ever conducted with better organization,” crowed Trinidad’s <em>Chronicle-News</em>. Before the execution, Governor <strong>Charles Thomas</strong>, who had fought for the Confederacy in the <strong>Civil War</strong>, implicitly endorsed torture (“hanging was too good for Porter”); when asked his opinion after the lynching, Thomas replied, “There is one less negro in the world.”</p>&#13; &#13; <p>These reports reflect a cruel indifference toward Black humanity, as the emotional trigger of Frost’s murder led many white Coloradans to ignore facts and act out their deepest prejudices.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Still, some Coloradans spoke out against Porter’s murder. On November 19, 1900, a large group met in Denver to denounce the lynching, adopting a resolution that declared in part, “no such crime can justify recourse to barbaric methods of punishment.” The group did not contest Porter’s guilt, only the manner of his punishment.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Similarly, a widely circulated column written by a “woman in the Denver News” accepted Porter’s guilt but noted that whites who committed such crimes never saw the same punishment. Meanwhile, the lynching began to attract attention and condemnation from the national press, which helped inspire attempts to bring the mob to justice.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>On November 22, in an apparent response to public pressure, Governor Thomas moved to have Sheriff Freeman “arrest the members of the mob who took [Porter] from him.” In a mix of defiance and realism, Freeman refused to arrest anyone involved in the lynching, claiming that a local jury would never convict them. He blamed the lynching on Colorado’s lack of a death penalty.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Authorities never determined who actually killed Louise Frost.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Legacy</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>In the decades after the atrocity happened, historians and journalists occasionally reminded Coloradans of Porter’s lynching. Most people, however, were generally unaware of it until the second decade of the twenty-first century, when ongoing murder of Black citizens by police conjured memories of high-profile lynchings. Many recent police murders, such as the case of <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/elijah-mcclain"><strong>Elijah McClain</strong></a> in 2019, reflect the same assumption of Black guilt that killed Porter more than a century earlier.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 2018 the Denver City Council issued an official apology for Porter’s lynching. That year a group of some ninety Coloradans, with the support of local and national civil rights organizations, trekked to the site of Porter’s lynching and collected soil for two glass jars. One jar is slated for placement in the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Alabama. At the memorial, jars of soil from lynching sites all over the nation are displayed along with narratives of the victims. The second jar of soil is intended for display in Denver.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Rekindled awareness of the incident inspired the creation of the Colorado Lynching Memorial Project. On November 21, 2020, the project unveiled a historical marker in downtown Denver memorializing Porter’s murder. There is no memorial in Limon, and even though it hosted the group that collected the soil, the Limon Heritage Museum does not mention Porter on its website or in exhibits.</p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/encyclopedia-staff" hreflang="und">Encyclopedia Staff</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/preston-porter" hreflang="en">preston porter</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/jr-0" hreflang="en">jr</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/preston-porter-lynching" hreflang="en">preston porter lynching</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/preston-porter-lynched" hreflang="en">preston porter lynched</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-lynching" hreflang="en">colorado lynching</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lynching-colorado" hreflang="en">lynching in colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/limon" hreflang="en">limon</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/limon-history" hreflang="en">limon history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lincoln-county" hreflang="en">lincoln county</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lincoln-county-history" hreflang="en">lincoln county history</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/racism-colorado" hreflang="en">racism in colorado</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>“<a href="https://www.coloradolynchingmemorial.org/about">About</a>,” Colorado Lynching Memorial, n.d.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=SDM19001120-01.2.7&amp;srpos=120&amp;e=-------en-20--101-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">Burned at the Stake</a>,” <em>Salida Mail</em>, November 20, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=GTC19001124-01.2.13&amp;srpos=8&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22governor+thomas%22+%22preston+porter%22-------0------">Civilization of Crime</a>,” <em>Georgetown Courier</em>, November 24, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=TAD19001110.2.1&amp;srpos=3&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Crime Runs Rampant: The Most Fiendish Assault Ever Perpetrated in This State Was on the Person of Pretty Louise Frost</a>,” <em>Aspen Democrat</em>, November 10, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Equal Justice Initiative, “<a href="https://eji.org/news/historical-marker-in-denver-memorializes-racial-terror-lynching-of-15-year-old-boy/">Historical Marker in Denver Memorializes Racial Terror Lynching of 15-Year-Old Boy</a>,” November 28, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=COO19001116.2.10&amp;srpos=3&amp;e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-preston+porter----1900---0------">The Evidence in the Porter Case Is Very Conflicting</a>,” <em>Collbran Oracle</em>, November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p> </p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=DSL19001110-01.2.2&amp;srpos=4&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Girl Cruelly Murdered</a>,” <em>Daily Sentinel </em>(Grand Junction), November 10, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=LMR19001121-01.2.10&amp;srpos=75&amp;e=16-11-1900-30-11-1900--en-20--61-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22-------0------">Great Denver Mass-Meeting Condemns Burning of Porter</a>,” <em>Lamar Register</em>, November 21, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=THD19001118-01.2.53&amp;srpos=118&amp;e=-------en-20--101-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">Horror over Now Repentance: Denver Proposes to Be Shocked at Limon Affair</a>,” <em>Herald Democrat</em>, November 18, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Haley Gray, “<a href="https://www.5280.com/118-years-ago-a-denver-teen-was-publicly-and-brutally-murdered/">118 Years Ago, a Denver Teen Was Publicly and Brutally Murdered</a>,” <em>5280</em>, November 16, 2018.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=ADT19001115.2.1&amp;srpos=31&amp;e=-------en-20--21-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">John Porter Has Confessed</a>,” <em>Aspen Daily Times</em>, November 15, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=TDD19001113.2.1&amp;srpos=1&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22+%22lucky+for+porter%22----1900---0------\">Lucky for Porter</a>,” <em>Durango Democrat</em>, November 13, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CFT19001116-01.2.3&amp;srpos=53&amp;e=-------en-20--41-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Mass Meeting at Limon</a>,” <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em>, November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CRN19001115-01.2.3&amp;srpos=36&amp;e=-------en-20--21-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Negro May Be Taken to Hugo Tonight</a>,” <em>Chronicle-News</em>, November 15, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CFT19001117-01.2.3&amp;srpos=91&amp;e=-------en-20--81-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">Not Like a Mob</a>,” <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em>, November 17, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=ADT19001117.2.1&amp;srpos=88&amp;e=-------en-20--81-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">Porter Burned at Stake</a>,” <em>Aspen Daily Times</em>, November 17, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CRN19001117-01.2.2&amp;srpos=92&amp;e=-------en-20--81-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">Porter Burned at the Stake</a>,” <em>Chronicle-News</em>, November 17, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CFT19001116-01.2.2&amp;srpos=52&amp;e=-------en-20--41-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Porter on Way to Hugo</a>,” <em>Chronicle-News</em>, November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CFT19001116-01.2.2&amp;srpos=52&amp;e=-------en-20--41-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Porter Still in Denver</a>,” <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em>, November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Alan Prendergast, “<a href="https://www.westword.com/news/colorado-lynching-victim-preston-porter-jr-will-be-commemorated-in-limon-november-17-2018-10970108">The Murder of Preston Porter Jr. and Colorado’s Grim History of Lynchings</a>,” <em>Westword</em>, November 6, 2018.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Hayley Sanchez, “<a href="https://www.cpr.org/2020/08/17/colorado-lynching-site-history-markers-monuments/">In An Era of Tearing Down Monuments, Colorado Lynching Sites May Gain Historical Markers</a>,” <em>CPR</em>, August 17, 2020.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=PCB19001130&amp;e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-preston+porter----1900---0------">Sheriff Freeman’s Emphatic Answer</a>,” <em>Park County Bulletin</em>, November 30, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=ADT19001112.2.1&amp;srpos=7&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Sheriff Is Sure John Porter Is the Guilty Party</a>,” <em>Aspen Daily Times</em>, November 12, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CRN19001116-01.2.3&amp;srpos=57&amp;e=-------en-20--41-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">Taken From the Train</a>,” <em>Chronicle-News</em>, November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=THD19001116-01.2.2&amp;srpos=1&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22governor+thomas%22+%22preston+porter%22-------0------">They Are Ready With Rope</a>,” <em>Herald Democrat</em>, November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=CFT19001112-01.2.24&amp;srpos=1&amp;e=-------en-20--1--img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22they+worked+at+limon%22-------0------">They Worked at Limon</a>,” <em>Colorado Daily Chieftain</em>, November 12, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=THD19001123-01.2.16&amp;srpos=7&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22governor+thomas%22+%22preston+porter%22-------0------">Thomas Indignant</a>,” <em>Herald Democrat</em>, November 23, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=TAD19001113&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">To Be Burnt at the Stake</a>,” <em>Aspen Democrat</em>, November 13, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Tuskegee University, “<a href="http://archive.tuskegee.edu/repository/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Lynchings-Stats-Year-Dates-Causes.pdf">Lynchings: By Year and Race</a>,” n.d.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=DJT19001116.2.3&amp;srpos=59&amp;e=-------en-20--41-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22Louise+Frost%22-------0------">An Awful Death Awaits the Negro Fiend</a>,” <em>Daily Journal </em>(Telluride), November 16, 1900.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Laura Bliss, “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-17/this-map-of-u-s-lynchings-spans-1835-to-1964">A Comprehensive Map of American Lynchings</a>,” <em>Bloomberg, </em>January 17, 2017.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><a href="https://www.coloradolynchingmemorial.org/">Colorado Lynching Memorial Project</a>.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Stephen J. Leonard, <em>Lynching in Colorado: 1859-1919 </em>(Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2002).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“<a href="https://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/?a=d&amp;d=NCP19001114.2.23&amp;srpos=20&amp;e=-------en-20--1-byDA-img-txIN%7ctxCO%7ctxTA-%22louise+frost%22----1900---0------">Theory of the Limon Murder</a>,” <em>New Castle Nonpareil</em>, November 14, 1900.</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Wed, 18 May 2022 17:00:02 +0000 yongli 3682 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Lynching in Colorado http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lynching-colorado <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Lynching in Colorado</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2015-11-19T16:13:20-07:00" title="Thursday, November 19, 2015 - 16:13" class="datetime">Thu, 11/19/2015 - 16:13</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/lynching-colorado" data-a2a-title="Lynching in Colorado"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Flynching-colorado&amp;title=Lynching%20in%20Colorado"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Lynching, a form of vigilante punishment involving mob execution, has an active history in Colorado. Between 1859 and 1919, Coloradans carried out 175 lynchings. Lynching is usually associated with the Reconstruction Era in the American South, but before Colorado’s statehood in 1876, lynching was the main form of punishment for criminals in many mining towns across the <a href="/article/colorado-territory"><strong>Colorado Territory</strong></a>. Mining towns that condoned vigilante justice considered lynching an aspect of “frontier justice,” a necessity in upholding law and order.</p> <p>The small frontier mining towns that sprouted up throughout Colorado in the nineteenth century attracted residents before the elements of proper legal systems, such as police or courts, could be established. In addition, the first wave of settlers in these towns typically consisted of young men in fervent search of wealth. In this context, community leaders feared the erosion of civility in favor of lawlessness. Hence, they arranged “people’s courts” to try alleged criminals. Such was the case in one of Denver’s earliest recorded lynchings in 1859, when Arthur Binegraff murdered prospector John Stuffle. In an effort to have a legitimate trial, Binegraff was given an attorney and a popularly elected—though not officially recognized—judge oversaw the proceedings. However, lacking a jail to house the accused, the “court” quickly sentenced him to death and he was hanged in public.</p> <p>As the <a href="/article/colorado-gold-rush"><strong>Colorado Gold Rush</strong></a> continued, lynching was used in many towns on account of its efficiency and low cost. Outraged citizens could sentence criminals quickly and did not have to worry about acquittals. No jails or police were necessary, as alleged criminals were tried and hanged on the spot. Many larger cities, such as Denver and <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-springs"><strong>Colorado Springs</strong></a>, made lynching illegal in order to attract new residents and investors. In small towns, however, the culture of lynching thrived.</p> <p>Because of their remote locations and small populations, lynching in smaller towns was not given much attention by newspapers, so it is difficult to determine exactly how frequently mob justice was used. However, it is known that mining towns, rife with criminals—especially thieves—at least occasionally resorted to lynching. Unlike the orderly “people’s courts” common in Denver during the 1860s, lynchings were usually carried out by small groups of masked vigilantes in secret or by large mobs in public. Vigilantes bypassed the law, frequently breaking suspected criminals out of custody to hang them.</p> <p>Such extralegal persecution did not always meet with unanimous community approval. While Coloradans generally tolerated lynchings as a form of protection from criminals, the citizens themselves often felt that civil rights were violated in the process. In 1884, for example, a pregnant woman and her husband were hanged in Ouray on suspicion of death allegedly caused by child abuse, causing a national uproar. Reporters condemned the lynching as barbarous, and the townspeople argued the atrocity of the crime demanded an equally brutal punishment.</p> <p>Although Coloradans sought to distinguish their mob justice from the widely condemned racial persecution of the Southern states, they also took part in racially motivated lynching. Only five recorded lynchings are explicitly tied to race, but many more took place, particularly in the early twentieth century. The facts surrounding the lynching of a sixteen-year-old African American, Preston Porter, Jr., indicate a racist component to Colorado’s lynching history. In 1900, Porter was burned at the stake in front of a cheering mob of almost 300 people in Limon after being accused of the rape and murder of twelve-year-old Louise Frost. Little concrete evidence existed to link Porter to the crime, yet the mob cruelly executed the young man. Other victims of lynching included Catholics (namely Irish and Italians), Native Americans, and Chinese residents. In order to distance themselves from the atrocious practice of racially motivated lynching, commonly considered a Southern vice, participants in Colorado lynchings downplayed the importance of race in many vigilante killings.</p> <p>After 1919, lynch mobs only occasionally flared up to dole out publicly rendered justice. As more people moved to the state, Coloradans increasingly relied on conventional avenues of justice instead of taking matters into their own hands. Many Coloradans also believed that some of the 175 lynching had gone too far, considering punishment cruel and unusual. For sixty years, the population used lynching to save time and money, and, although few people would admit to it, to satisfy their desire for immediate vengeance. As the main form of “frontier justice” in many towns and cities in the state, lynching was a major, if bleak, part of the Colorado experience during the nineteenth century and early twentieth.</p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-author--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-author.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-author.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-author field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-author"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-author">Author</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-author"><a href="/author/kaneb-daniel" hreflang="und">Kaneb, Daniel</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lynching-colorado" hreflang="en">lynching in colorado</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-lynching" hreflang="en">colorado lynching</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lynching-west" hreflang="en">lynching in the west</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/history-lynching-west" hreflang="en">history of lynching in west</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/lynching-western-united-states" hreflang="en">lynching in western united states</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-references-html--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-references-html.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-references-html.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-references-html field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-references-html"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-references-html">References</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-references-html"><p>Modupe Labode, “The ‘Stern, Fearless Settlers of the West’: Lynching, Region, and Capital Punishment in Early Twentieth-Century Colorado,” <em>Western Historical Quarterly</em> 45, no. 4 (Winter 2014).</p> <p>Stephen J. Leonard, <em>Lynching in Colorado, 1859-1919</em> (Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 2002).</p> <p>Kerry Segrave.&nbsp;<em>Lynchings of Women in the United States: The Recorded Cases&nbsp;1851–1946</em> (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2010).</p> <p>Sandra Strickland and Geoffrey E. Quelch, “When 12-year-old Louise Frost was Brutally Murdered in Colorado, a Young Black Laborer Answered to a Mob,” <em>Wild West</em> 18, no. 5 (2006).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>David Mar, <em>Beaten Down: A History of Interpersonal Violence in the West</em> (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Thu, 19 Nov 2015 23:13:20 +0000 yongli 956 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org