Wildcat Lore
By Joe Gschwendtner; photo courtesy of Sedalia Firehouse Museum Charlie Alexander was one of Sedalia’s more colorful locals, born a Hoosier in 1882. His early years were filled with hardship, and he was placed on an orphan train by his mother when he was 11 years old. He was one of 250,000 such children shipped…
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By Joe Gschwendtner; courtesy photos Adam Martz, perhaps Sedalia’s most famous bachelor, was no shrinking violet. Those who have opined on his life, alleged that he was never outsmarted. In a bit of hyperbole, the Castle Rock Journal once reported in print that “any person who thinks he can get the best of Adam (by…
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Article and photos by Joe Gschwendtner Precisely 150 years ago, ranchers on West Plum Creek acted on a need for their own church home in Bear Canon. Newton S. Grout, a former Union Army drummer, was chosen to lead the 1872 construction effort. He began by demolishing a primitive log schoolhouse on the site. Originally…
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By Joe Gschwendtner; photo courtesy of the files of Sedalia History Museum and Gardens; courtesy photo Victor Marquis started his life off restlessly, a challenge from birth on. Born in 1839, in Avesnes, France, no one could really control him. Seeing the town as a hopeless place, at only 9 years of age, he stowed…
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By Joe Gschwendtner; photos courtesy of the Sedalia Historic Museum and Gardens Jarre Canyon in Sedalia has been a prolific source of Douglas County history, attracting those among the most dynamic men and women of the County. So too, with Esme Harcourt Williams Couch. Charles Harcourt was born in Blatherwycke, England in 1869. Immigrating to…
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By Joe Gschwendtner; newspaper clipping courtesy of Kyle Scott No one exactly knows why Alexander Scott Sr. chose Castle Rock to homestead. Born in Arbroath, Scotland in 1840, he married Jane Morton in 1865. The couple wanted more, at least more than Arbroath offered, and immigrated to America a year later. After a three-year stay…
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Article and photo by Joe Gschwendtner History Colorado recognizes ranches and farms operated by the same family for over a century. Eight properties in Douglas County have received the coveted Colorado Centennial Farms & Ranches award. Though ownership recently changed, the family continuity of the Winkler Ranch was 55 years greater than then its nearest…
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By Joe Gschwendtner; photo courtesy of Rose Tuggle Collection of the Schweiger Ranch Foundation John Schweiger was raised in Zell am Ziller, Tirol, Austria. Draftable into the Austrian army, he found a berth on an American-bound ship out of Bremen days before he turned 21 in 1867. Stateside, John found work in Tennessee and Georgia’s…
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By Joe Gschwendtner; photos courtesy of Sedalia Historic Museum and Gardens In 1897, President Grover Cleveland began to protect America’s resources, designating 21 million acres of timberland as National Forest. He appointed Colonel W.S. May as his Colorado and Utah Forestry Superintendent who then immediately advertised the need for rangers. A determined 20-year-old Sedalian, William…
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By Joe Gschwendtner; photos courtesy of the DCL archives and Local History Section Unlike both his father and brother, Mort Penley was not a man of the cloth. The beauty of the English Cotswolds could also not hold him. In 1878, his 20th year, he sought new horizons. Crossing the Atlantic on the steam vessel…
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