Living History-Jonathan Tabler (#2007)

You don’t know who Jonathan Tabler is? Why, he was the mayor of Colorado City, and he is joining us here today to tell you all about the growth of Colorado from 1859 to 1890. Mining, agriculture, beef ranching and gold strikes-the fake one in 1859 and the real one in 1880! He was invited to help create the mercantile center by Mr. Hagerman and Mr. Bott, the founders of the town and with their help acquired extensive holdings along both Monument Creek and the Fountain River. In 1864, he participated in the founding of the Colorado Territory with Judges Baldwin and Orr and could have been the first governor, but for the unfortunate incident with those people from Denver. As a consolation, Jonathan was elected mayor of Colorado City and served until 1890 when he retired to run his business interests. Because of his unique experiences in city, county and state governments, he can describe the development of Colorado’s Front Range with clarity and humor, and his firsthand knowledge of the two gold rushes provides insight into the Colorado experience.