History of the State of Colorado Volume II

Volume II begins with the ground itself. Its opening chapters are a geological outline of Colorado and a survey of the state's coal fields, written before Hall turns back to politics, railroads and the making of a state. Reading it feels like three books in one, and that mix is much of its charm.

After the science comes the year 1872 and the decade around it. Hall tells of the narrow gauge experiment, the Denver Pacific joining the Kansas Pacific, and a great diamond swindle that sent investors chasing false gems. He moves on to the Ute treaty and the opening of the San Juan mining region, then to Colorado's long road to statehood and the constitutional convention.

The last third belongs to the railroad war between the Santa Fe and the Rio Grande, and to the silver camp of Leadville. The catalogue lists this volume at 660 pages, and the original carries an 1890 date on its title page.

Volume II fits readers who like their history with a little of everything: a reader curious about Leadville and the carbonate boom, a rail enthusiast following the narrow gauge, or someone tracing how Colorado became a state in 1876. Geology hobbyists will notice the scientific chapters at the front. It also helps collectors of Colorado railroad lore, who will find the Santa Fe and Rio Grande clash told by a contemporary.

Hall's introductions say he leaned on the written and spoken recollections of early settlers. He was Secretary of Colorado Territory from 1866 to 1874, which covers much of the period here. Our author page gathers what we could confirm about him and describes the rest of the set.

More about Frank Hall →

Volume II reaches from the deep past to the late 1870s. The first chapters were meant to give readers a geological outline, which Hall's first-volume preface says would be prepared by Professor R. C. Hills of the Colorado Scientific Society, along with a treatment of the state's mining geology. They are followed by a survey of the coal fields in the Grand River, Raton, La Plata and other districts.

The narrative picks up in 1872 with the narrow gauge railroad experiment and the merger of the Denver Pacific into the Kansas Pacific. Hayden's surveys, the Ute treaty and the surrender of the San Juan country lead on to the preparations for admission to the Union and the constitutional convention. The late chapters describe the collision between the Santa Fe and the Rio Grande and the history of Lake County, where the Leadville strikes changed the state's fortunes.

Source: Hall, History of the State of Colorado, Volume II (Internet Archive)