BACK IN THE DAY, 1859 - COLORADO CITY'S FIRST DOCTOR

 

Doris McCraw aka Angela Raines

Photo property of the Author

Colorado City, otherwise now known as Old Colorado City had a doctor almost from the very beginning of its existence in 1859.

James Paul Garvin was born in September 1832 in the state of Pennsylvania. While no record has been found of his early medical education, we know that he came to Colorado at around the age of twenty-seven.

Image of Dr. James Paul Garvin from 
the Oct 12, 1952 edition of the
Colorado Springs Gazette

Once he arrived in Colorado city he and M. S. Beach set about building a cabin where Dr. Garvin not only lived and practiced medicine but also worked as a pharmacist, making his home a doctor's office and a drugstore.

Dr. Garvin remained in Colorado, not taking part in the fighting that we know as the Civil War. There is also the possibility that he was a sheriff in Denver for a brief time, but so far that has yet to be verified.

During Dr. Garvin's stay in Colorado, there is a very good chance that he would have traveled to other parts of the state, specifically gold mining camps, to tend to those who were ill. That he also might have spent time searching for gold is a real possibility.

There is much still to be found about Dr. Garvin's stay in Colorado, however brief that might have been.

From the Find A Grave website.

Sometime in the late 1860s Dr. Garvin left Colorado for good and returned to the East. He may have continued studying medicine, but we do know that he married Cedelia A. Butz, in January 1875 in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was her second marriage and his first. They had three children, two boys, and one girl. The couple later moved to St. Louis Missouri and then to Alton, Madison County Illinois. He remained there until his death in 1902.

Dr. James Paul Garvin and his time in Colorado city have been overshadowed by the cabin that he and Beach built. If one is to visit old Colorado city you will find the cabin standing in Bancroft Park. The building is considered the second oldest building in Colorado City and played a part in the storied beginning of Colorado as a territory and the "First Territorial Capital of Colorado". That is a story for another time.

Until next time, Doris 

GARDEN OF THE GODS; NEW BOOK GIVEAWAY

Post by Angela Raines-author

With the release of my new novella "Angela of Salvation Valley", I thought I would write a bit about the region that inspired the location of this story.

One of the large city parks in Colorado Springs is Garden of the Gods. This 1,367 acre park sits just below Pikes Peak. In 1971 it was designated a National Natural Landmark. Just north of the park sits Glen Eyrie, the home of William Jackson Palmer, founder of Colorado Springs. The park consists of land owned by Palmer and friend Charles Elliott Perkins, donated after their deaths. For further information here is a link to Wikipedia : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_of_the_Gods

View of Garden of the Gods from the South

Nearby is "Old" Colorado City, founded in 1859 and claims to be the first territorial capital of Colorado. It lost its bid when the delegates from Denver 'stole' the paperwork and headed back to Denver. That is the story they tell there, and we know there was a meeting of the delegates in February of 1861 and Denver did end up the territorial capital. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Colorado_City

About 40 miles south is Canon City. It sits along the Arkansas River. Just west is the Royal Gorge, cut by the Arkansas and site of the battle between the Santa Fe and Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. It is also the site of the first Territorial Prison. http://cozine.com/2011-january/the-%E2%80%9Cwar%E2%80%9D-for-the-royal-gorge/

Part of the Arkansas River in Canon City

Each area, its beauty, its history all conspired to help create the story of Drew Carson and Elizabeth Campbell. Add in the 'supernatural' elements and you have a story of Angels, Demons, Heaven and Hell, or do you? The story is available on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, KOBO and Smashwords. At .99 you can't go too wrong. But you can also leave a comment before October 25 and get a chance to get a copy.

http://amzn.com/B016MPKFDI

Until next time, have a wonderful month. And if you are in the mood for some haiku, I post Monday through Friday at http://fivesevenfivepage.blogspot.com