John D. "Colonel Jack" Henderson was an American editor, rancher, businessman, and pro-slavery politician in the

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

. He was a

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in the Border Wars of

Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...

Biography

Henderson was born in Pennsylvania but moved to the

, where he became a leading advocate of

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. The proprietor and editor of the ''Leavenworth Journal'', he was elected chairman of the central committee of the pro-slavery National Democratic Party of Kansas but was later accused of vote fraud. In 1859, Henderson built a ranch, trading post and hotel on Henderson Island in the

South Platte River The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwestern United States, Midwest and the American Sout ...

in Arapaho County,

, from which he sold meat and provisions to gold seekers on their way up the South Platte River Trail to the gold fields during the

Pike's Peak Gold Rush The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Kansas Territory and southwestern Nebraska Territory of the United States that began in July 1858 a ...

. Henderson Island was the first permanent settlement in the South Platte River Valley between

Fort Saint Vrain Fort Saint Vrain was an 1837 fur trading post built by the Bent, St. Vrain Company, and located at the confluence of Saint Vrain Creek and the South Platte River, about 20 miles (32 km) east of the Rocky Mountains in the unorganized territ ...

in the

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebraska ...

and the Cherry Creek Diggings in the

. He returned to eastern Kansas and fought for the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. In

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the 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 western edge of t ...

, Henderson bought a chain of gold mines; on a visit to Colorado, he and some eighteen others were killed during an encounter with a group of

Osage The Osage Nation, a Native American tribe in the United States, is the source of most other terms containing the word "osage". Osage can also refer to: * Osage language, a Dhaegin language traditionally spoken by the Osage Nation * Osage (Unicode b ...

Indians for crossing the Osage territory with loaded weapons. The Adams County Fairgrounds are now located on Henderson Island. The community of

Henderson, Colorado Henderson, formerly known as Henderson Island, is an unincorporated community and a U.S. Post Office in Adams County, Colorado, United States. Henderson has the ZIP Code 80640. Portions of the Henderson area have been annexed by Commerce Cit ...

, has been largely absorbed by

Commerce City, Colorado The City of Commerce City is a home rule municipality located in Adams County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 62,418 at the 2020 United States Census, a 35.95% increase since the 2010 United States Census. Commerce City is the ...

References

External links

References to John D. Henderson at books.google.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, John D. Adams County, Colorado History of Colorado Kansas Democrats Place of birth missing American newspaper publishers (people) American newspaper editors People of Colorado in the American Civil War Year of death missing Year of birth missing