By Joe Gschwendtner; photos courtesy of Archives & Local History – Douglas County Libraries In 1849, Henry H. Curtis took Julia Paddison to be his bride in South Wales. He…

By Joe Gschwendtner; photos courtesy of Kevin Grenier, Douglas County Historic Preservation In Douglas County’s early years, hillside lumber yielded logs which were the basic building blocks of construction. Whether…

By Joe Gschwendtner; photo courtesy of Heritage Collection “History of City and Arapahoe County,” 1880 Major D.C. Oakes struck pay dirt in the California Gold Rush. Returning to Iowa in…

By Joe Gschwendtner; photos courtesy of Sedalia Historic Fire House Museum and Gardens Harriet (Hattie) Davis Beeman was made of tough stuff. Kevlar before its time. Born in Denver in…

By Joe Gschwendtner; photos courtesy of Douglas County Historical Society Ironically captured primarily in black and white, Sedalia’s story is actually quite colorful. She had four names. She was sold…

Article and photo by Joe Gschwendtner Sylvester Richardson was a driven man. Raised in New York’s Catskill Mountains, he worked in the family vineyard near the Hudson River. No vintner…

By Joe Gschwendtner; photos courtesy of Our Heritage and People of Douglas County FARMING: Early pioneers had limited options for a livelihood. Most were in agriculture of some kind, as…

By Joe Gschwendtner; photo courtesy of US Patent office and Douglas County Library History Research Section Willis Walker likely often lived in the shadow of his wife Sarah, known nationwide…