Point Sublime on the Cripple Creek and Colorado Springs Railroad. William Henry Jackson photo.
By Rob Carrigan, robcarrigan1@gmail.com
Shadrack K. Hooper promoted railroads in the heyday of rail promotion.
"Hooper was known as the 'father of railroad publicity' and his extensive advertising efforts on behalf of the Denver & Rio Grande made the railroad known throughout America and Europe," wrote my friend, Palmer Lake historian Dan Edwards in one of his papers.
"Many prominent hotels, union stations, and ticket offices displayed pictures of scenery along the route of the Rio Grande that Hooper had provided. He arranged for the photographer, William H. Jackson and the writer, Ernest Ingersoll, to travel over the Rio Grande in special trains and record in pictures and words what they saw. Hooper popularized the Royal Gorge and the Black Canyon's Curicanti needle that served as emblems of the railroad. He also published several booklets on tourist spots and landmarks along the route of the Rio Grande."
To do so, Hooper helped produce booklets about the railroad lines of the times. Those booklets... works of a lost art, as far as I am concerned.
"For the convenience and information of the traveling public this booklet is issued," writes Hooper in the introduction of his most circulated one. "The attempt is made in as few as words as possible to inform those who desire information, how they may easiest, with least expense and inconvenience, visit any or all of the many attractions in Colorado, Utah and New Mexico. A perusal of these pages will enable tourists to determine what points they visit, inform them of the attractions they will see while en route, and afford them much useful information."
"Major Hooper did not neglect Palmer Lake. He worked with Finley Thompson and to the officials of the Glen Park companies to promote Palmer Lake as a tourist destination and offer special railroad fares for Chautauqua travelers to Glen Park. Hooper bought a lot in Glen Park in 1887, and later spent time during the summers at 'Casa Pobre,' his cottage in Pine Crest. He vacationed at Palmer Lake as late as 1917. He died at Denver in March 1923," according to Dan Edwards' research.
Hooper, as a promoter, was fond of the Cripple Creek Gold Camp.
"There is nothing in fiction more wonderful than the history of the great gold camp, famous the world over as Cripple Creek," says a Hooper produced piece about the Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad that connected with Denver and Rio Grande trains in Florence.
"Four years ago it was a cattle ranch , uninhabited by a single family. There are perhaps thirty thousand people in the district today, and one hundred shipping gold mines with constant additions being made to the number. Where in the world can be found a parallel to this true statement of this wonderful camp? This great gold field is contributing one million dollars per month to the wealth of the world with promise that the amount will be steadily increased as the years go on," says the Hooper Flyer.
"The history of Cripple Creek shows, that considering the number of men engaged in mining, more poor men have become rich than any mining camp in Colorado, perhaps more than any mining district ever discovered. This may be accounted by the fact the values here have been found near the surface. It is pre-eminently a poor man's camp. The pick and shovel have been sufficient to disclose enough to enable the prospector to secure the necessary capital for proper development. The case of Mr. W.S. Stratton stands as a striking illustration. He is today the owner of the most valuable mining property in Colorado. The famous Independence is one of his mines , and in it millions of gold are in sight. Four years ago he was practically penniless," said Hooper.
"Many doubts were expressed during the first few months after discovery of gold at Cripple Creek as to the permanency of the camp. The rich discoveries near the surface suggested the idea that veins would not prove to be continuous, but those doubts have now been dispelled. Some of the workings have reached the depth of seven hundred and fifty feet, and the veins at that depth have been found to be stronger and richer than any point above. The district is yet a most promising and attractive for the miner who has his fortune to make," according to the railroad brochure.
But S.K. Hooper was not only one to promote railroads and promising mining districts at the time, or shortly afterward.
"The president and primary promoter of the Short Line was Irving Howbert. As president of the First National Bank of Colorado Springs, he talked a group of mine owners into constructing their own railroad. Since 90% of the mines were owned by Colorado Springs interests, Colorado Springs resented railroads taking ore to other cities for processing and charging exorbitant freight rates. Great wealth backed the railroad; the Short Line had the best of everything. It was often called the "gold-plated railroad." President Theodore Roosevelt, one of the attracted visitors, is reported to have said that this is the trip that "bankrupts the English Language.".
With the dwindling of rich gold veins in Cripple Creek and the added expense of mining, the Short Line was forced into bankruptcy. The "last train" ran in May 1920; the clash of steel on steel was gone.
A Colorado Springs businessman, W. D. Corley, bought the railroad for $370,000. He removed the tracks and ties and made it a toll road. On a good day, Corley collected $400 in tolls.
Human use of the present Pike National Forest, except for Indians and a few trappers and mountain men, began in 1859 with the first discovery of placer gold near Como. The finding of gold and silver veins in the mountains west of South Park followed, and the comparative permanency of the lode mines made for a more settled population with its increasing demand for timber and meat.
Pike National Forest is now considered a "protection forest"; that is, because it is the source of water for Denver, Colorado Springs, and other communities, it is more valuable for protection of the water supply than for the production of commercial timber and forage.
In 1936, the way to the "World's Greatest Gold Camp" became a public road maintained by County and Forest Service funds. The present Gold Camp Road carries one's thoughts back to that first cry of " G o l d ! " Let's relive the days of this big brawny complex creation of man; the montage of color — the beauty of nature along the right-of-way.
Interestingly, the brochure noted obscure points along the "Short Line" tracking. Places like:
• Duffields siding
One of the few mishaps on this "gold-plated railroad" occurred here. A locomotive smashed into a boulder that had fallen onto the tracks, demolishing the cab on the fireman's side. The fireman was scalded by billowing steam from broken pipes.
• Tunnel 6
• St. Peter's Dome
The long, continuous grade from Colorado Springs ends at Summit. This 3.8% maximum grade was one of the steepest standard gauge railroads in the world. Helper engines were uncoupled here and backed down to the nearby wye to turn around. Passengers "et" at the Summit lunchroom during short stops. Only the wide, cinder strewn area marks the location of these buildings today.
The famous December 1913 blizzard gave the railroads a taste of frozen hell. Train Number 4, heading for Colorado Springs, fought its way through howling winds, flying snow and drifts as far as Summit. An enormous drift blocked the rails ahead; the track behind was drifting over. Res- cue trains sent to help stranded Number 4 were snowed in and also had to await rescue.
It took two days for the Colorado Midland rotary snow plow and three coupled locomotives to reach Summit. After being shoveled out, Number 4 backed to Cameron and headed for Colorado Springs by way of the Mid- land Terminal and Colorado Midland tracks arriving three days late.
S.K. Hooper
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