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| Frank Kennicott Homestead |
Great Divide Pictures LLC
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Frontier Pathways
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Wayside Excursion: Life on the Kennicott Ranch
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Frank Kennicott came to Colorado with his brother George to claim 160 acres under the Homestead Act (1862). He combined the knowledge he had acquired at a business college in Chicago with hard work to build a prosperous hay and cattle business in the Wet Mountain Valley. He returned to Half Day, Illinois, to marry and brought his new wife, Mary Elizabeth, back to Colorado. She died in childbirth two years later. The baby, Mary Thorp Kennicott, was said to have been the first non-Native American child born in the Wet Mountain Valley. She was raised in Ontario, Canada by her maternal grandmother, but frequently visited the Kennicott Ranch as she grew older.
Some time later, Frank Kennicott remarried, going east once again to find a wife. This time he married Mary Azuba Smith of Cleveland, Ohio. Mary Azuba had two sisters, each of whom was married to one of Frank’s brothers. Mary Azuba and Frank had two daughters, Eugenia and Anna. Eugenia suffered from a spinal ailment that left her with limited mobility. To keep her occupied, her father gave her a camera and developing equipment, and many of her photographs of ranch and family life are part of the collection of the Colorado Historical Society.
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| Kennicott Ranch House, 1899 |
Courtesy, Colorado Historical Society
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Eugenia R. Kennicott, 1899
CHS.X7940
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Eugenia’s younger sister Anna kept a diary during her eleventh year. Although many of her entries are brief, the yearlong record gives an interesting glimpse of life in the Wet Mountain Valley. She wrote in her diary with a "dipping" pen, and often had to share it with her sister. Anna speaks of many chores. She helped to do the dishes, clean lamps, line cupboards, scrub floors, clean walks, rake the yard, and water and tend plants. Life was not all hard work. She took piano lessons and read 27 books in 1899. Her reading list included The Jungle Book, A Christmas Carol, Little Men, What Katy Did, and Spinning Wheel Stories. There was plenty of playtime on the ranch. Anna and her friends and family played croquet, cribbage and whist; built snow forts, rode horses, watched fireworks, and even went swimming in the creek. Anna wore an old dress for a bathing suit.
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| Children at Ula School |
Courtesy, Colorado Historical Society
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Eugenia R. Kennicott, 1899
CHS.X7968
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Anna attended school in the Wet Mountain Valley when the weather permitted. She was a good student, scoring 95 percent on her seventh grade exams. The day she took the test she wrote, "My head ached so that I had to come home before school, but it’s better [sic] now." Her high scores qualified her to continue school in Cañon City. She and Eugenia lived alone in a rented house whose owner stayed with the girls at night. They wrote home every day, and looked forward to visits from their parents. The family was reunited the next year when the Kennicotts moved to town.
Anna finished high school and went on to study at Stanford University. She taught school, married, had four children, and died in Cañon City in 1963.
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From Anna’s diary (with her original spelling and punctuation):
WEA. WINDY TUES. JAN 3, 1899 THER. 26
A whirlwind must have struck us last night for this morning the parlor was simply covered with soot and ashes so ma had to give it a "grand cleaning." I helped her and helped do the dishes clean lamps and lots of "odd jobs" so although I haven’t done much in particular I am pretty tired and sleepy. Oh-ho! Hum-m-m There’s no more room here to write.
WEA. WINDY MONDAY, JAN. 16 THER. 32
We have a rabbit that eats sausage, turkey, pork, caned peaches, buns, cream toast, buns pancakes, etc. I hope I will feel better tomorrow. "Early to bed ect" sounds like good advice so I will try it. etc.
WEA. GOOD SATURDAY [NOV.] 16
Mamma did washing with her new machine which Anna turned [cranked by hand]. We went to church twice and to Sunday School.
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| Reproduced with permission from the Colorado Historical Society, Colorado Heritage Magazine, Summer 1999, from an article edited by Clark Secrest. |
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Girls on a fence
Courtesy, Colorado Historical Society, Eugenia R. Kennicott CHS.X7973
1899
Life on the Kennicott Ranch.
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Mary A. Smith Kennicott in buggy
Courtesy, Colorado Historical Society, Eugenia R. Kennicott
CHS.X7963
Frank Kennicott remarries, going east to find a wife. This time he marries Mary Azuba Smith of Cleveland, Ohio.
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Four girls on two horses
Courtesy, Colorado Historical Society, Eugenia R. Kennicott
CHS.X7980
The expansive scenery of Wet Mountain Valley.
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Anna gardening
Courtesy, Colorado Historical Society, Eugenia R. Kennicott
CHS.X7951
1899
Anna speaks of many chores. She helps do the dishes, clean lamps, line cupboards, scrub floors, clean walks, rake the yard, and water and tend plants.
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Wet Mountain Valley
Great Divide Pictures LLC
2002
The Kennicott homestead is located in Wet Mountain Valley near Westcliffe, Colorado (ranch house pictured on right in photo). |
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