Governor Mansion pays homage to
Boettcher and Cheesman families
By Rob Carrigan, robcarrrigan1@gmail.com
Years ago, when I was more active in Colorado Press Association, I loved the annual visit to the Governor's Mansion during convention. It was the former home of the
The Governor's Residence at the Boettcher Mansion, located at 400 E. 8th Avenue in Denver, CO, is the official executive residence for Colorado's governor, in use since 1960. Built in 1908 for the Cheesman family, this Georgian Revival-style mansion is on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as a historical home and official function space.
Charles Boettcher (1852 – July 1948) was a businessman in Colorado in the hardware, mining, cement and sugar beet businesses. He was one of the founders of the Ideal Cement Company. Born in Kölleda, Kingdom of Prussia, he came to the US at age 17 and worked with his brother Herman, first in Wyoming. He moved to Colorado and pursued various business projects, often partnering with John F. Campion. His family fortune has funded many philanthropic enterprises.
"Situated atop Logan Hill, the magnificent Governor’s Residence at the Boettcher Mansion and its one-acre grounds has entered its second century of helping to create Colorado history. Since 1908, this engaging 27-room red brick mansion has stood serenely in a neighborhood once referred to as Quality Hill. In 1959, when the Boettcher Foundation gave the property to the State of Colorado, it became the official residence of the Governor’s family. The mansion was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
"Today the Governor's Residence at the Boettcher Mansion is a treasure that stands as one of our finest symbols for Colorado's state civic heritage.Years of stewardship have served as “stepping stones” to the current and expanded preservation efforts," notes the The Governor’s Residence Preservation Fund.
Charles Boettcher
Born in Kölleda, Germany in 1852, Charles Boettcher, he began his career in a hardware store, quickly mastering the tinner's trade and making a name for himself.
H. Boettcher and Company
By 1870, Herman Boettcher owned H. Boettcher and Company, which included a Greeley, Colorado store that was managed by Charles. The successful business expanded to Fort Collins, where Charles arrived in 1872. In 1873, he met and married Fannie Augusta Cowan. The couple moved Boulder in 1874 to open another hardware store. After a partnership change, Charles gained control of multiple businesses, securing a near-monopoly on blasting powder sales by 1876, a much coveted mining supply.
Family Life
During Colorado's early boom, Charles and Fannie settled in Boulder, building their first home and raising their son Claude (born 1875). Despite his strict Prussian upbringing, Charles was a devoted father who often brought his family along on train trips to Denver.
Boulder
Charles built a grand two-story hardware store at Broadway and Pearl in Boulder, marked by a keystone with the inscription C. Boettcher A.D. 1878 and is currently the Häagen-Dazs ice cream store. Opened in 1879, it was hailed as one of Colorado's largest and finest hardware stores. Recognizing the booming silver market in Leadville, Charles quickly shifted focus, leaving Boulder to seize new opportunities in mining.
Opportunities and Expansions
By March 1879, Herman managed the Boulder store while Charles pursued mining opportunities in Leadville, quickly building a business that grew to nearly $40,000 monthly. Although he later regretted moving his family at such a happy time in their life. In 1882, during a family trip, he stopped in North Park, Colorado, where they filed a homestead claim that eventually blossomed into the 180 square mile Bighorn Ranch. Managed by family, it once served as home to about 600 horses, some of which were purebreds imported from Europe.
In 1884, Charles purchased a wholesale hardware business in Denver, renaming it Boettcher Hardware Company. He later moved it to 402 Lawrence Street, expanding the inventory and positioning it next to the iconic Daniels & Fisher store, later known as May D&F.
As business slowed in Leadville and grew in Denver, the Boettcher's shifted their focus to the city. By the early 1890s, they joined many prominent residents in Capitol Hill, Denver’s most fashionable neighborhood. Landmark buildings like the Brown Palace Hotel had already begun shaping the city's skyline.
A Home on Millionaire's Row
Charles and Fannie soon built their home at 1201 Grant Street in Denver. Though modest compared to some neighbors, Charles considered it “complete in every detail.” The house was proudly situated along the prestigious “Millionaire’s Row.”
New Ventures
By 1900, Charles was nearly 50. Having tried and rejected retirement, he went on to work almost 50 more years, he turned to his native Germany for new business ideas. Always the entrepreneur, Charles returned from a "grand tour" of Europe, which he took with Fannie, 25-year-old Claude and 10-year-old Ruth, with visions of starting sugar beet and cement industries. Shortly thereafter, two extremely lucrative enterprises, The Great Western Sugar Company and the Portland Cement Company, were launched in Colorado.
Boettcher's hunting lodge, the Boettcher House (also sometimes referred to as Lorraine Lodge; National Register of Historic Places listed building #84000858, Charles Boettcher Summer Home and the Jefferson County Conference & Nature Center) was built in 1917 as a summer home and seasonal hunting lodge. It sits on 110-acres donated to Jefferson County, Colorado, in the 1970s and has been used for weddings and other public events since 1975. It was designed by Denver architect John J. Huddart.
The foundation bearing his family name has supported numerous projects in Colorado such as the Boettcher Concert Hall and the Denver Botanic Gardens. In 1963, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, and was also a rancher.
