William A.H. Loveland
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William Austin Hamilton Loveland (May 30, 1826 – 1894) was a U.S.
railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
entrepreneur and businessman in the late 19th century. An early resident of Golden when it was the capital of the
Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado. The territory was organized in the ...
, he was one of the founders of the Colorado Central Railroad and a principal figure in the early history of
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 the ...
. As president of the Colorado Central, he was instrumental in the expansion of the railroad network into the mining communities of Colorado. For much of the 1870s Loveland waged a fierce struggle with Union Pacific investors for control of the Colorado Central. He also served as
Lieutenant Governor of Colorado The lieutenant governor of Colorado is the second-highest-ranking member of the executive department of the Government of Colorado, United States, below the governor of Colorado. The lieutenant governor of Colorado, who acts as governor of Colora ...
.


Biography

His father was the Rev. Leonard Loveland, a prominent
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
minister and
prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...
in the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
. As a young man, Loveland served in the
Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the ...
, serving as a wagonmaster with the Illinois Volunteers. Serving in the battles of
Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
and
Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...
, Loveland was severely wounded in the
Battle of Chapultepec The Battle of Chapultepec was a battle between American forces and Mexican forces holding the strategically located Chapultepec Castle just outside Mexico City, fought 13 September 1847 during the Mexican–American War. The building, sitting ...
, and was returned to the United States as an invalid. Upon recovery, Loveland entered the mercantile business in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...
, and married Phelena Shaw in 1853. Following the death of Phelena (1854), Loveland married Miranda Ann Montgomery in 1856. In 1859 Loveland joined the
Colorado 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 185 ...
, and helped establish the town of the Golden 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 Union as the free state of Kansas. ...
and went into the mercantile business there, building the town's first storefront and second building. After the formation of the Colorado Territory in 1861, he was instrumental in helping establish the territorial capital at Golden. He offered the use of his building, which also was a public hall that was central to the town's activities, to the House of Representatives while another in the same block served the Council (Senate). When most of Golden's leading citizens left to fight in the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, Loveland kept the languishing town alive. At the height of the depression Loveland built the town's first brick storefront in 1863 to house his mercantile business, the Loveland Block, now considered to be the oldest existing commercial brick structure in Colorado. The building also served to house first Masonic Lodge in Colorado and was expanded in 1866 to accommodate both houses the Colorado Territorial Legislature, which met there until the capital was moved to
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 ...
in 1867. The Territorial Library and possibly Territorial Supreme Court were also housed there. In the 1860s, Loveland became an enthusiastic promoter of building a railroad west of Golden through the
Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...
, with the idea that Golden would become a great railroad metropolis of the region. In the early 1860s he began purchasing right-of-way in the canyon west of Golden. In 1864, he helped found the Colorado, Clear Creek and Pacific Railway (later Colorado Central Railroad) with the intention of building a rail line the mining communities, and connecting it to the
transcontinental railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...
that was to be built to the north across present-day
Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to t ...
. Loveland's early efforts to build a railroad were hampered by a lack of funds, as well as a fierce struggle for control of the railroad itself. In the meantime, in 1867, the territorial capital was moved to Denver, and in 1870, the rival Denver Pacific Railway completed its line between Denver and Cheyenne, cementing Denver as the future metropolis of Colorado. Loveland and his partners had to settle for connecting Golden to the Denver Pacific line. It was not until 1877 that the company was able to construct its own direct line from Golden (via
Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...
and Fort Collins) to Cheyenne. After the completion of the line, the new city of Loveland, Colorado was founded in Larimer County along the route and named in his honor. Loveland Pass in the Rockies west of Golden is also named for him. In 1870, Loveland was instrumental in persuading the Colorado Territorial Legislature to authorize funds for the establishment of the Colorado School of Mines in Golden. He later served on the board of trustees of the School of Mines after the Episcopal Church sold it to the Territory in 1874. Loveland was one of the most prominent philanthropists his area has known, whose contributions also helped build the community. Loveland gave land for three schools in Golden, and six churches including the
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
(3rd church in Colorado),
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...
(oldest church of its faith in Colorado),
Episcopalian Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
,
Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...
,
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...
, and
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...
(first Swedish immigrant church in Colorado). He regularly lent his hall for public events, community organizations and governmental entities, including the municipal, county and Territorial governments. As Mayor of Golden (1874–75), Loveland ordered the Golden firefighters to the aid of
Central City, Colorado The historic City of Central, commonly known as Central City, is a home rule municipality located in Gilpin and Clear Creek counties, Colorado, United States. Central City is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Gilpin County ...
when it was stricken by fire in 1874. Considered the first mutual aid call in Colorado history, the Golden firemen, arriving by the railroad, succeeded in saving the upper part of the city. In 1878 Loveland became the second owner of the
Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States, from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As ...
, purchasing it from founder
William N. Byers William Newton Byers (February 22, 1831 in Madison County, OhioByers, William Ne ...
. At that time Loveland moved to
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 ...
, but kept an active role in Golden's affairs. In 1889, in partnership with Charles Welch, Loveland platted a new 13-block country town along Colfax Avenue west of Denver. The town, called Lakewood, would eventually grow to Colorado's fourth largest municipality by 1990. It was laid out along the new mass transit line Loveland helped spearhead in 1890, the Denver, Lakewood & Golden Railway. Loveland moved to Lakewood in 1889. Loveland died in 1894 in Lakewood and was buried in Denver's Fairmount Cemetery. Loveland's mercantile business founded in 1859 continued until 1978 as one of the longest-lived businesses in Colorado history. His earliest Colorado residence, the Loveland Cottage in Golden, which he purchased from a town attorney, still stands at 717 12th Street. The Loveland Block, also a designated historic landmark at 1122 Washington Avenue, is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
. His Lakewood home, built in 1888 at 1435 Harlan Street, also still stands. Loveland had two sons, Francis William and William Leonard, and an adopted daughter, Jennie Froggatt Loveland.


References


External links

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Loveland Place Names


{{DEFAULTSORT:Loveland, William A. H. 1826 births 1894 deaths People from Colorado Colorado School of Mines Loveland, Colorado Lakewood, Colorado People from Golden, Colorado Mayors of places in Colorado American military personnel of the Mexican–American War 19th-century American politicians