John Wesley Iliff Sr. (December 18, 1831 – February 9, 1878) was a

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

cattle rancher who is the namesake of the

Iliff School of Theology Iliff School of Theology is a graduate Methodist theological school in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1892, the school's campus is adjacent to the University of Denver. Fewer than 200 students attend the school. Iliff is one of thirteen United ...

in Denver.

Biography

Iliff was born on December 18, 1831, in McLuney, Ohio to Salome Reed and Thomas Iliff. He attended Ohio Wesleyan in

Delaware, Ohio Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County, Ohio, United States. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio ...

but did not graduate. In 1857, at the age of twenty-six, his father gave him $500 in cash, and he moved to Ohio City, Kansas, where he opened a

retail store Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

. In 1859 gold was discovered in

. He moved to

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

to open a new

on Blake Street, trading supplies for livestock from new immigrants, then fattening them on the open range and using the profits to buy land in northeast Colorado, creating the largest ranch in Colorado history, where he raised as many as 35,000 heads a year to sell to

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pac ...

construction crews, becoming a millionaire known as "the Cattle King of the Plains", leaving his fortune to found

. He died on February 9, 1878. When he died, Iliff's empire included 15,558 acres of prime land and 26,000 head of cattle, worth millions today. He became the largest and most successful cattle entrepreneur the west had ever produced. "No man was ever known on the frontier who had Mr. Iliff's genius for handling cattle and conducting successfully large operations."

Legacy

The town of

Iliff, Colorado The Town of Iliff is a Statutory Town located in Logan County, Colorado, United States. The population was 246 at the 2020 United States Census. History The town was named for John Wesley Iliff, a cattleman who owned a ranch near the town sit ...

was named for him. Iliff Avenue in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and

Aurora, Colorado Aurora (, ) is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties, Colorado, United States. The city's population was 386,261 at the 2020 United States Census with 336,035 residing in Arapahoe County, 47,720 residing in ...

, which goes past the Iliff School of Theology, was named for him. In 1960, he was inducted into the

Hall of Great Westerners The Hall of Great Westerners was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1958. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of more than 200 men and women of the American ...

of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iliff, John Wesley 1831 births 1878 deaths American cattlemen