Chipeta, "White Singing Bird"
1844-1924: In 1859, she became the second wife of Ouray of the Uncompaghres, chief of the Ute Indian Nation. Her diplomatic tenacity strove to achieve a bloodless peace with white settlers.
[Return to top]
Kit Carson
1809-68: Known best as a mountain man, Kit Carson also was an Indian agent and had a long military service record. He accompanied three of the Fremont expeditions as a guide.
[Return to top]
Nathaniel P. Hill
1832-1900: Known as a famous chemist who built the first large mining smelter in Colorado in 1868. The building of the smelter is said to have initiated the era of hard rock mining in our state. The company was called the Boston and Colorado Smelting Company.
[Return to top]
William J. Palmer
1836-1907: Known best as a builder of railroads, but also as a successful businessman, military man and philanthropist. William J. Palmer was a Union Cavalry General during the Civil War, and later founded the town of Colorado Springs and subsequently founded the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company in Pueblo, Colorado. Palmer was instrumental in bringing the Denver and the Kansas Pacific railroad lines to Denver. Palmer is perhaps best known as the builder of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad which was the first narrow gauge railroad in the United States. The Denver - Colorado Springs line started service in 1871.
[Return to top]
Barney Ford
1822-1902: Known as a successful businessman in early Colorado, Barney Ford was instrumental in ensuring that equal voting rights for all citizens became a part of our state's constitution in 1876. Ford, who was once a runaway slave, is best known for his work in support of civil rights in early Colorado history.
[Return to top]
