Most Influential Coloradoans

In 1999 the Rocky Mountain News, NEWS4 and the Colorado Historical Society jointly sponsored a project to identify the 50 most influential people in Colorado History. The Rocky’s Research Librarian, Carol Kasel, compiled the names in consultation with a panel of specialists assembled by the historical society. The list was published December 19, 1999.

          Here is the entry (although Ouray gets the attention):
Ouray (1833-1880) — Ute chief, man of peace. He and wife Chipeta personified destruction of Indian way of life in Colorado. They sought good relations between Indians and whites but were spurned by both groups. Ouray died same year Utes concluded agreement with U.S. government that resulted in their forced relocation to reservations.

A Woman’s Touch

On a recent trip to the Colorado State Archives I explored Standard Brand Book A. This huge 18 x 24 volume compiled rancher’s brands recorded by Colorado’s county clerks beginning in 1885. Each record included a precise drawing of the branding mark that identified livestock owned by a particular rancher.  The marks were composed mostly of letters, numbers, straight lines, circles, and half circles. Many were quite similar and I could see how easy it might be to confuse them. As I turned the pages,  one brand stood out. It was the simple but distinct outline of an earthen water jar–a utensil used for centuries by the women of the Southwest.  The registered owner of this unique brand was Pauline Conrad of Conejos County, one of the few women listed among the pages of early brand marks.

It’s the Little Things That Gitcha

          In my 2003 book, Chipeta: Queen of the Utes, I stated that Chipeta and Ouray attended a performance of “The Gorgeous Black Crook” at Ford’s Opera House during their trip to Washington, D.C. Their evening out was reported in the Washington Post, January 20, 1880. 
          Last year, when I started working on the new middle grade biography, Chipeta: Ute Peacemaker, a photo of the historic building seemed like a good illustration. I had been to Ford’s Theater  and assumed “Opera House” was simply an earlir name for the place where Presdient Lincoln was assassinated in 1865. I visited the theater’s website. To my surprise, I learned that Ford’s Theater was closed shortly after Lincoln’s death and remained closed for 90 years.
          How embarrassing to make such a careless mistake by “assuming”. To make matters worse, a search for information on Ford’s Opera House turned up nothing.
         Who would know the answer? I recalled a visit to the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. It was a small place but I had found one unique item there – an 1880 Red Book Guide to Washington, D.C. I visited the Society’s website and used the contact link to email my question.
          The reply came in a few days:

Ford’s Opera House was open in 1880 and located on the 200 block of 9th Street, south of Pennsylvania Avenue. The building would later become the Bijou Theatre and was torn down in the 1920’s as part of the Federal Triangle project. The Historical Society has photographs of the Bijou Theatre; one may also be seen in the book “Washington, D.C.: Then and Now” by Charles Kelly.

Shannon Lee
Librarian
Kiplinger Research Library
Historical Society of Washington, D.C.
801 K Street NW at Mount Vernon Square
Washington, D.C. 20001
http://www.historydc.org