'The Kingleys in 1870s Colorado'

‘The Kingsleys in 1870s Colorado’ reveals the story of how one Englishwoman, Rose G. Kingsley, the eldest daughter of an Anglican clergyman, arrived in the newly-founded town Colorado Springs in November 1871 to organize the first reading room, the first music concert, and the Fountain Society of Natural Science.

Rose’s brother, Maurice, was already in Colorado, inspired to emigrate there by city founder, William J. Palmer, a Civil War veteran and President of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway, and his English business partner, William A. Bell. The cultural influence of Maurice Kingsley and Rose was such that the town was soon referred to as “Little London.” In the summer of 1874, the Reverend Kingsley sojourned in Manitou Springs for six weeks and extended the family’s legacy onto the culture of this nearby town.