A LIST OF LAKE CITY/HINSDALE COUNTY FIRSTS
Ever wonder when the first train arrived in Lake City? Who was the first
child born in town? When the first 'aeroplane' was sighted? Read on! The
following "List of Firsts" contains notable happenings in Lake City history:
FIRST BUILDING - Although Ute Indian tepees were probably the first
human habitations in the Lake Fork Valley, the first documented structure is
attributed to Enos T. Hotchkiss, the "Father of Lake City". Hotchkiss built a
crude log cabin on the present site of Lake City on August 16, 1874. Other
early cabins are attributed to John Bartholf, Canute Lee, and Charles Broyles.
FIRST POST OFFICE - Lake City's first U.S. Post Office was opened on
Gunnison Avenue on June 18, 1875. The first postmaster was Stephen A.
Dole.
FIRST NEWSPAPER - Messrs. Peyton & Woods started the first newspaper
on the Western Slope of Colorado, the Lake City SILVER WORLD, on June
19, 1875. A third partner in the venture was famed toll road builder Otto
Mears who provided financial backing.
FIRST AMERICAN FLAG - Military expeditions in the 1870s probably
brought the first flags into the Lake Fork Valley. The first U.S. Flag unfurled
at a public celebration in Lake City took place on July 4, 1875. Unable to
locate a genuine flag, the enterprising citizens created one using an old blue
flannel shirt, red drawers, and a white handkerchief.
FIRST BIRTH - A "Red Letter Day" occurred July 8, 1875, when Mrs. S.W.
Hoyt gave birth to a son, appropriately named Laketon Hoyt. Dr. T.M.
Harmon, Lake City's first practicing physician, attended Mrs. Hoyt during the
birth. In chronicling the family's move to Ohio Creek, Gunnison County in
January, 1877, the SILVER WORLD editor "If the growth of this boy is to be
taken as symbolical of that of his foster mother, Lake City must soon prepare
to extend her boundaries, as this interesting little boy is one of the finest
specimens of 'Young America' the writer has ever beheld.
FIRST STAGECOACH ARRIVAL - The first stage, belonging to Barlow &
Sanderson Overland Stage Co., arrived in Lake City on July 11, 1875. It was
the first of what was to become a tri-weekly stage service.
FIRST DEATH - The first death of natural causes in Lake City took place
January 17, 1876, when W.F. Ryan "passed to the other side." The first
deaths of unnatural causes were probably the murders of Israel Swan,
George Noon, James Humphrey, Frank Miller, and Shannon Wilson Bell who
were killed by Alferd Packer while on a prospecting tour in February, 1874.
FIRST MARRIAGE - Miss Kitty Eastman and Mr. Davie T. Hughes were
married in Lake City on May 9, 1876. Judge A. R. Thomson officiated at the
ceremony. The groom was compositor for the SILVER WORLD newspaper,
prompting the following toast offered by the newspaper editor: "May his stick
ever work on solid matter; may her form be well justified and always stand
the press; may their proofs ever be correct; and may they never be ashamed
of their imprint."
FIRST SECRET ORDER SOCIETY - The Silver Star Lodge, No. 27,
International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) was chartered in Lake City in
1876. It was the first secret order society established on Colorado's Western
Slope.
FIRST FIRE - Lake City's first destructive house fire occurred October,
1877, on south Silver Street. The fire started in the Bon Ton Saloon and
quickly spread to an adjoining two-story frame building occupied by the
Home Restaurant. "Mrs. A.H. Hard, proprietor of the restaurant, lost nearly
everything in the house, including four trunks of family clothing, and some
members of the family saved scarcely enough clothing to keep them warm..."
Lake City's most destructive fires, both in the business district, took place in
1879 and 1915.
FIRST BANK - Hinsdale County Bank was the first banking institution to
open its doors on the Western Slope of Colorado. It opened on Silver Street,
Lake City, June 17, 1876. It was succeeded by the First National Bank of
Lake City and Thatcher Bros.' Miners & Merchants Bank, the latter
continuing until 1914 when it ceased business. Lake City's current bank, the
First National Bank of Lake City, then the First National Bank of Lake City &
Creede and now the Miner's & Merchants Bank opened in 1983.
FIRST SHOOT-OUT - Daniel Emmit and John Roache settled an argument
by resorting to their guns on July 3, 1876. The fight took place in the Star
Billiard Hall. Roache was killed and Emmit bound over for trial charged with
murder, although he later escaped from jail.
FIRST CHURCH - November 29, 1876, was the dedication ceremony for
the Lake City Presbyterian Church, the first church in both Lake City and the
Western Slope of Colorado. Rev. George M. Darley, a talented carpenter,
built both the church and the adjoining manse (1879), the first home for a
minister in Western Colorado.
FIRST SCHOOL - Prof. T. H. Cannon opened Lake City's first private
school in Sparling's Hall, Gunnison Avenue, in November, 1875. Curriculum
consisted of English, bookkeeping, commercial and mining law. Terms $3,
payable in advance. Hinsdale County School District No. 1 was formed in
January, 1876, with an enrollment of 28 students.
FIRST PIANO - The first piano brought into Lake City belonged to Mrs. J.
W. Brockett and was used in the upstairs of Brockett Hall. It probably burned
in the Great Fire of November, 1879. The second piano arrived in April,
1877, and was a Chickering costing $600. It was used by George F. Garner
in the San Juan Central Saloon. Gardner's piano still remains in Lake City and
is now among the furnishing of Crystal Lake Masonic Lodge.
FIRST LYNCHING - The first and only lynching to take place in Lake City
occurred on April 27, 1882, when George Betts and James Browning, the
owners of a saloon and brothel on Bluff Street, were hanged after they killed
Sheriff E. N. Campbell. The lynching took place on the old Ocean Wave
Bridge immediately north of Lake City.
FIRST TRAIN - The first passenger train of the Denver & Rio Grande
Railroad, running on the Lake Fork Branch from Sapinero, arrived in Lake
City with great fanfare and celebration on August 15, 1889. Track was
completed to Lake City on July 20, 1889. The last passenger train to leave
from Lake City left at 2:30 p.m. on May 25, 1933.
FIRST WATER SYSTEM - Lake City's first municipal water system was
inaugurated in the fall of 1891, providing water to residents and businesses
throughout the town.
FIRST ELECTRICITY - Christmas Eve, 1891, saw the first electric lights
go on in Lake City. The Presbyterian Church was one of the first public
buildings lit.
FIRST MOTOR BOAT - The first motor boat to be placed in Lake San
Cristobal was owned by W.A. Akers, Superintendent of the Golden Fleece
Mine. The maiden voyage of the boat, which was described as a 'naphtha
launch,' took place the first week of June, 1895. Even after being disabled --
after knocking a propeller blade off on a submerged log -- the boat could
manage five knots per hour.
FIRST MOTOR CAR - Pioneer Thomas L. Beam and his son, L .T. Beam,
owned the first motor car to be brought into Lake City. It was a 1910
"Peerless" and was acquired in Denver before being shipped to Lake City on a
railroad flatbed. The elder Mr. Beam and McClelland Fisher were co-
discoverers of the famed Golden Wonder Mine in Dead Man's Gulch south of
Lake City. The second Lake City automobile was owned by Mr. Beam's son-
in-law, Dr. B.F. Cummings. (See photo on another page)
FIRST AERO PLANE - The first aero plane to be sighted in Lake City came
on the morning of March 8, 1927, when a plane was sighted high above town
en route from Silverton to Denver. The first airplane to land in the immediate
vicinity of Lake City was on April 22, 1934, when a plane carrying mining
associates of the Buckeye Claims landed at the Carl Benson Ranch on the
lower Lake Fork.
FIRST SEWER SYSTEM - Lake City Area Water & Sanitation District was
formed in May, 1966, and during the following summer proceeded with the
installation of a complete water and sewage system within Lake City. The
sanitation district was later absorbed by the Town of Lake City and formally
abolished in 2002.
FIRST WOMAN COUNTY COMMISSIONER - Patsy Smith, 31 years old,
had been a full time resident of the county for thirteen years when she was
appointed County Commission to replace Ralph Black. She is the daughter of
the late Carl and Pat White. Mr. White was an active businessman in Lake
City during the 1960’s and was responsible for the construction of the
Country Store Grocery building and the Broad Axe Restaurant & Bar. Our
new commissioner has had a variety of working experience while living in the
county.; she is a fully trained and highly accomplished Emergency Medical
Technician and in this connection has been active with the Lake City Medical
Center, working variously as an ambulance driver, book keeper, laboratory
assistant and nurse. She is also a member of the Region 10 EMS Advisory
Council, representing the County. For the past four years she has been
Democratic Chairwoman for Hinsdale County and has taken an active interest
in the area’s politics. Mrs. Smith’s other interests also include horseback
riding and macramé. She is the wife of County Sheriff Burton Smith and the
mother of three boys” Darin, Bret and Vance.
Commenting on her new position with the county, Mrs. Smith stated that
“…it will not be just a lark…it is a job which needs to be worked at
continually.” She readily realized that it will not be an easy task to effectively
manage the county’s affairs or to please all the area’s resident, her best effort
will be to “do the best job possible for the people of the county, to listen,
consider the opinions of the general public, to the best of my ability.”
Mrs. Smith will have some experienced help in her new position: she joins
veteran commissioner Jim Ryan who has had many years experience at the
helm of official duties. The third commissioner is Ray McWhirter who has
recently been appointed to replace former commissioner Ron Robinson. Both
new commissioners will be sworn into office on June 19th, 1978.
(Silver World, May 26, 1978 pp 1 & 7.) Mrs. Smith was defeated for
continuation in office during the November 1978 election.
Return to Genealogy Page
Ever wonder when the first train arrived in Lake City? Who was the first
child born in town? When the first 'aeroplane' was sighted? Read on! The
following "List of Firsts" contains notable happenings in Lake City history:
FIRST BUILDING - Although Ute Indian tepees were probably the first
human habitations in the Lake Fork Valley, the first documented structure is
attributed to Enos T. Hotchkiss, the "Father of Lake City". Hotchkiss built a
crude log cabin on the present site of Lake City on August 16, 1874. Other
early cabins are attributed to John Bartholf, Canute Lee, and Charles Broyles.
FIRST POST OFFICE - Lake City's first U.S. Post Office was opened on
Gunnison Avenue on June 18, 1875. The first postmaster was Stephen A.
Dole.
FIRST NEWSPAPER - Messrs. Peyton & Woods started the first newspaper
on the Western Slope of Colorado, the Lake City SILVER WORLD, on June
19, 1875. A third partner in the venture was famed toll road builder Otto
Mears who provided financial backing.
FIRST AMERICAN FLAG - Military expeditions in the 1870s probably
brought the first flags into the Lake Fork Valley. The first U.S. Flag unfurled
at a public celebration in Lake City took place on July 4, 1875. Unable to
locate a genuine flag, the enterprising citizens created one using an old blue
flannel shirt, red drawers, and a white handkerchief.
FIRST BIRTH - A "Red Letter Day" occurred July 8, 1875, when Mrs. S.W.
Hoyt gave birth to a son, appropriately named Laketon Hoyt. Dr. T.M.
Harmon, Lake City's first practicing physician, attended Mrs. Hoyt during the
birth. In chronicling the family's move to Ohio Creek, Gunnison County in
January, 1877, the SILVER WORLD editor "If the growth of this boy is to be
taken as symbolical of that of his foster mother, Lake City must soon prepare
to extend her boundaries, as this interesting little boy is one of the finest
specimens of 'Young America' the writer has ever beheld.
FIRST STAGECOACH ARRIVAL - The first stage, belonging to Barlow &
Sanderson Overland Stage Co., arrived in Lake City on July 11, 1875. It was
the first of what was to become a tri-weekly stage service.
FIRST DEATH - The first death of natural causes in Lake City took place
January 17, 1876, when W.F. Ryan "passed to the other side." The first
deaths of unnatural causes were probably the murders of Israel Swan,
George Noon, James Humphrey, Frank Miller, and Shannon Wilson Bell who
were killed by Alferd Packer while on a prospecting tour in February, 1874.
FIRST MARRIAGE - Miss Kitty Eastman and Mr. Davie T. Hughes were
married in Lake City on May 9, 1876. Judge A. R. Thomson officiated at the
ceremony. The groom was compositor for the SILVER WORLD newspaper,
prompting the following toast offered by the newspaper editor: "May his stick
ever work on solid matter; may her form be well justified and always stand
the press; may their proofs ever be correct; and may they never be ashamed
of their imprint."
FIRST SECRET ORDER SOCIETY - The Silver Star Lodge, No. 27,
International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) was chartered in Lake City in
1876. It was the first secret order society established on Colorado's Western
Slope.
FIRST FIRE - Lake City's first destructive house fire occurred October,
1877, on south Silver Street. The fire started in the Bon Ton Saloon and
quickly spread to an adjoining two-story frame building occupied by the
Home Restaurant. "Mrs. A.H. Hard, proprietor of the restaurant, lost nearly
everything in the house, including four trunks of family clothing, and some
members of the family saved scarcely enough clothing to keep them warm..."
Lake City's most destructive fires, both in the business district, took place in
1879 and 1915.
FIRST BANK - Hinsdale County Bank was the first banking institution to
open its doors on the Western Slope of Colorado. It opened on Silver Street,
Lake City, June 17, 1876. It was succeeded by the First National Bank of
Lake City and Thatcher Bros.' Miners & Merchants Bank, the latter
continuing until 1914 when it ceased business. Lake City's current bank, the
First National Bank of Lake City, then the First National Bank of Lake City &
Creede and now the Miner's & Merchants Bank opened in 1983.
FIRST SHOOT-OUT - Daniel Emmit and John Roache settled an argument
by resorting to their guns on July 3, 1876. The fight took place in the Star
Billiard Hall. Roache was killed and Emmit bound over for trial charged with
murder, although he later escaped from jail.
FIRST CHURCH - November 29, 1876, was the dedication ceremony for
the Lake City Presbyterian Church, the first church in both Lake City and the
Western Slope of Colorado. Rev. George M. Darley, a talented carpenter,
built both the church and the adjoining manse (1879), the first home for a
minister in Western Colorado.
FIRST SCHOOL - Prof. T. H. Cannon opened Lake City's first private
school in Sparling's Hall, Gunnison Avenue, in November, 1875. Curriculum
consisted of English, bookkeeping, commercial and mining law. Terms $3,
payable in advance. Hinsdale County School District No. 1 was formed in
January, 1876, with an enrollment of 28 students.
FIRST PIANO - The first piano brought into Lake City belonged to Mrs. J.
W. Brockett and was used in the upstairs of Brockett Hall. It probably burned
in the Great Fire of November, 1879. The second piano arrived in April,
1877, and was a Chickering costing $600. It was used by George F. Garner
in the San Juan Central Saloon. Gardner's piano still remains in Lake City and
is now among the furnishing of Crystal Lake Masonic Lodge.
FIRST LYNCHING - The first and only lynching to take place in Lake City
occurred on April 27, 1882, when George Betts and James Browning, the
owners of a saloon and brothel on Bluff Street, were hanged after they killed
Sheriff E. N. Campbell. The lynching took place on the old Ocean Wave
Bridge immediately north of Lake City.
FIRST TRAIN - The first passenger train of the Denver & Rio Grande
Railroad, running on the Lake Fork Branch from Sapinero, arrived in Lake
City with great fanfare and celebration on August 15, 1889. Track was
completed to Lake City on July 20, 1889. The last passenger train to leave
from Lake City left at 2:30 p.m. on May 25, 1933.
FIRST WATER SYSTEM - Lake City's first municipal water system was
inaugurated in the fall of 1891, providing water to residents and businesses
throughout the town.
FIRST ELECTRICITY - Christmas Eve, 1891, saw the first electric lights
go on in Lake City. The Presbyterian Church was one of the first public
buildings lit.
FIRST MOTOR BOAT - The first motor boat to be placed in Lake San
Cristobal was owned by W.A. Akers, Superintendent of the Golden Fleece
Mine. The maiden voyage of the boat, which was described as a 'naphtha
launch,' took place the first week of June, 1895. Even after being disabled --
after knocking a propeller blade off on a submerged log -- the boat could
manage five knots per hour.
FIRST MOTOR CAR - Pioneer Thomas L. Beam and his son, L .T. Beam,
owned the first motor car to be brought into Lake City. It was a 1910
"Peerless" and was acquired in Denver before being shipped to Lake City on a
railroad flatbed. The elder Mr. Beam and McClelland Fisher were co-
discoverers of the famed Golden Wonder Mine in Dead Man's Gulch south of
Lake City. The second Lake City automobile was owned by Mr. Beam's son-
in-law, Dr. B.F. Cummings. (See photo on another page)
FIRST AERO PLANE - The first aero plane to be sighted in Lake City came
on the morning of March 8, 1927, when a plane was sighted high above town
en route from Silverton to Denver. The first airplane to land in the immediate
vicinity of Lake City was on April 22, 1934, when a plane carrying mining
associates of the Buckeye Claims landed at the Carl Benson Ranch on the
lower Lake Fork.
FIRST SEWER SYSTEM - Lake City Area Water & Sanitation District was
formed in May, 1966, and during the following summer proceeded with the
installation of a complete water and sewage system within Lake City. The
sanitation district was later absorbed by the Town of Lake City and formally
abolished in 2002.
FIRST WOMAN COUNTY COMMISSIONER - Patsy Smith, 31 years old,
had been a full time resident of the county for thirteen years when she was
appointed County Commission to replace Ralph Black. She is the daughter of
the late Carl and Pat White. Mr. White was an active businessman in Lake
City during the 1960’s and was responsible for the construction of the
Country Store Grocery building and the Broad Axe Restaurant & Bar. Our
new commissioner has had a variety of working experience while living in the
county.; she is a fully trained and highly accomplished Emergency Medical
Technician and in this connection has been active with the Lake City Medical
Center, working variously as an ambulance driver, book keeper, laboratory
assistant and nurse. She is also a member of the Region 10 EMS Advisory
Council, representing the County. For the past four years she has been
Democratic Chairwoman for Hinsdale County and has taken an active interest
in the area’s politics. Mrs. Smith’s other interests also include horseback
riding and macramé. She is the wife of County Sheriff Burton Smith and the
mother of three boys” Darin, Bret and Vance.
Commenting on her new position with the county, Mrs. Smith stated that
“…it will not be just a lark…it is a job which needs to be worked at
continually.” She readily realized that it will not be an easy task to effectively
manage the county’s affairs or to please all the area’s resident, her best effort
will be to “do the best job possible for the people of the county, to listen,
consider the opinions of the general public, to the best of my ability.”
Mrs. Smith will have some experienced help in her new position: she joins
veteran commissioner Jim Ryan who has had many years experience at the
helm of official duties. The third commissioner is Ray McWhirter who has
recently been appointed to replace former commissioner Ron Robinson. Both
new commissioners will be sworn into office on June 19th, 1978.
(Silver World, May 26, 1978 pp 1 & 7.) Mrs. Smith was defeated for
continuation in office during the November 1978 election.
Return to Genealogy Page
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