Post by Doris McCraw aka Angela Raines
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| Photo property of the Author |
In
the early days of Colorado Springs William S. and Helen (Hunt)
Jackson were quite the
couple. William,
as the majority owner of the El Paso County Bank, treasurer of the
Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, and later the receiver of the same
company when it went into bankruptcy, was a major influence on the
financial health and confidence in Colorado Springs.
Helen (Hunt) was already an established author when she arrived in
Colorado Springs. Her writings about the area were responsible for
the view many Easterners and those from Europe had of the
region.
How
did these two come to achieve this status? Perhaps it will help to
have a bit of background on the two individually.
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| William Sharpless Jackson |
Born in Pennsylvania to Caleb S
Jackson and Mary Ann Gause Jackson. His parents were involved in the
Underground Railway, their home being a stop on that historical line,
in Kennett Square, Chester County, Pennsylvania. His parents were
also Quakers, the faith that William Jackson Palmer, one of the
founders of Colorado Springs, also belonged to.
Helen
was born Helen Marie Fiske on October 18, 1830, in Amherst
Massachusetts. Her father Nathan Fiske was a teacher at Amherst
College. Her mother Deborah Waterman Venal Fiske, taught Helen and
her younger sister Anne at home whenever possible. There were two
other children born to the Fiskes. Both were boys and died in
infancy. Both of Helen's parents wrote. Her father wrote adult books
and her mother wrote children's stories.
Helen
came to Colorado in 1873 at the request of her doctor. She had been
having fevers and sore throats. It was thought that the climate in
Colorado would help Helen heal. She first arrived in Denver but did
not like the town. It was suggested that she try Colorado Springs
which was a few miles south of Denver.
Her
doctor had said she needed to come to a warm, dry climate. When she
arrived in Colorado Springs in the late fall it was snowing, overcast, and cold. She had thought that it might be best to go back to the
east coast. To her Colorado Springs was raw, new, and not very
welcoming. Helen felt the mountains were foreboding and the plains
flat and ugly.
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Helen H Jackson
from Wikipedia |
Helen
agreed to give Colorado one month. During that time, the sun came
out again and Helen had a chance to see so many wonderful things. She
soon fell in love with the area and over time traveled over a lot of
Colorado. She wrote about what she saw and many of her essays were
published in magazines back East. These essays described Colorado so
well that people wanted to see what she wrote about.
While
in Colorado Springs Helen met many people and one was William
Sharpless Jackson. He worked for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad
and also was involved in banking. The two spent time traveling
around the area and both loved the mountains and outdoors.
In
October of 1875, Helen and William were married. This was Williams's
first marriage and Helen's second. Helen was eight years older, but
that did not seem to make any difference to William, or as Helen
called him Will.
Williams's
work kept him traveling a great deal; sometimes Helen would accompany him and sometimes she would stay in the home he had
bought for them or travel on her own.
To
Helen, Cheyenne mountain was the most beautiful mountain in the
world. She and Will had spent much time around the mountain. Their
favorite spot to 'camp' was an area in South Cheyenne canyon where it
overlooked the city and the stream that flowed through the canyon.
Helen
continued to write and travel. Sometimes she traveled without William
and sometimes with him. Still, she kept writing her stories, essays, and poems. She would also return to the east coast where her sister
Ann and family lived.
Up until Helen's death in 1885, this couple followed their own rules, and in the process did much that benefitted many. They both left a lasting legacy.
Doris McCraw
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